State Game Lands Number 63
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
3,280 acres9.4 mi of trail
North Country TrailState Game Land 63 Rail-Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainBOutdoors
Outdoors in Elk Township
16% of Elk Township’s land is conserved: 3,305 acres
The biggest trail networks: State Game Lands Number 63 (9.4 mi). 16 miles of mapped trail cross Elk Township, 0.5 per square mile of land. 32% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
16%
3,305 acres · of 31.5 sq mi of land
Trails
16 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
23 ac
15 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
32%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Elk Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Elk Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Elk Township is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Elk Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land16% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (16 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land15 acres of park per 1,000 residents (23 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13BParks close to home32% of residents within a half mile of a park · PA 73% · U.S. 72%C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 64%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Elk Township’s 16% is ahead of 74% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 57% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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 State Game Lands Number 63, with 9.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
3,305 conserved acres
16% of Elk Township’s land. Who manages Elk Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife3,282 ac
Not recorded84 ac
State Resource Management Area · 3,282 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 36 acPrivate Conservation · 36 acLocal Other or Unknown · 12 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Game Land 063 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 3,282 | Open |
| Clarion Highlands Trail Private Recreation or Education | Not recorded | 71 | Open |
| Shippenville Borough Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 7 | Open |
| Elk Twp Election House Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 6 | Open |
Trails & water
3 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.7 miHorses · 3.7 miUnpaved · 3.3 mi
North Country Trail5.6 mi
Clarion Highlands Rail-Trail2.1 mi
State Game Land 63 Rail-Trail1.6 mi
When to get out
The best walking months in Elk Township: April, May, August and September
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) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 37 | 46 | 60 | 71 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 74 | 62 | 49 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 2.6 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 5.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Elk Township →
Next door
Elk Township and its neighbors
Elk Township has the most mapped trails of the 7 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Elk Township16 miPaint Township16 miAshland Township9.1 miWashington Township3.5 miPinegrove Township2.7 miBeaver Township2.2 miKnox Township1.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk Township | 16% | 0.5 | 15 | 32% | B |
| Beaver Township | 4% | 0.1 | 412 | 40% | B− |
| Paint Township | 9% | 0.8 | 39 | 27% | B+ |
| Pinegrove Township | 11% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
| Ashland Township | 6% | 0.4 | 21 | 34% | B |
| Knox Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Washington Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 17 | 7% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Elk Township
Where can I hike in Elk Township?
The longest trail networks: State Game Lands Number 63, 9.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Elk Township is conserved land?
16% 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 Elk Township’s trails?
State Game Lands Number 63 doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Elk Township?
32,617 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Elk Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,322 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Elk Township have?
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Elk Township 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 →