Kerr Park
Managed by Borough of Downingtown
30 acres0.3 mi of trail
Brandywine Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Downingtown
8% of Downingtown’s land is conserved, and 99% of residents live within a half mile of a park
2.1 miles of mapped trail cross Downingtown, 1.0 per square mile of land. 8% of Downingtown’s land is conserved, about 113 acres. 124 acres are parks and preserves, 15 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns · #188 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
113 acres · of 2.2 sq mi of land
Trails
2.1 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
124 ac
15 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.0 mi
2.0 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Downingtown?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Downingtown have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Downingtown is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns, #188 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Downingtown’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land15 acres of park per 1,000 residents (124 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13BParks close to home99% of residents within a half mile of a park · PA 73% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 87%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 82%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Downingtown’s 8% is ahead of 49% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 75% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Kerr Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 6 parks & preserves
Kerr Park30 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Borough of Downingtown
DirectionsKardon Park25 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsSunnybrook Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Samuel Tabas Memorial Park22 acres
DirectionsJohnsontown Park14 acres
DirectionsMarinelli Park4 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
113 conserved acres
8% of Downingtown’s land. Who manages Downingtown’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government103 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits31 ac
Local Park · 101 acHistoric or Cultural Easement · 21 acConservation Easement · 10 acLocal Recreation Area · 2 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 10 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kerr Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 38 | Open |
| Kardon Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 26 | Open |
| Tabas Memorial Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 14 | Open |
| Johnsontown Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 11 | Open |
| Brandywine Trail Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 7 | Open |
| Marinelli Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 4 | Open |
| Prospect Ave. Open Space Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 1 | Open |
| Struble Trail Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 1 | Open |
Things to do
11 places to go in Downingtown
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Downingtown
Sky's the Limit PlaygroundIn Kerr Park
DirectionsPlus 9 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Disc golf in Downingtown
1 disc golf course without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.2 mi
Brandywine Trail0.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.0 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
12Tennis
9Basketball
7Soccer
5Baseball
4Softball
3Football
2Beach volleyball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Downingtown: April to June and August
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.0 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 43 | 51 | 64 | 73 | 82 | 87 | 85 | 78 | 66 | 55 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.8 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 4.8 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 4.1 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.8 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Downingtown →
Next door
Downingtown and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downingtown | 8% | 1.0 | 15 | 99% | A |
| East Caln Township | 10% | 0.6 | 17 | 80% | A− |
| Caln Township | 5% | 0.4 | 19 | 74% | B+ |
| West Bradford Township | 19% | 0.5 | 33 | 67% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Downingtown
Where can I hike in Downingtown?
The longest trail networks: Kerr Park, 0.3 miles; Kardon Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Downingtown is conserved land?
8% of its land, against a typical 8% for a Pennsylvania town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Downingtown’s trails?
Kerr Park and Kardon Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Downingtown?
2.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.0 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Downingtown?
17,257 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Downingtown or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 124 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Downingtown have?
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #188 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Downingtown neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →