Chrome Serpentine Barrens
Nature preserve
221 acres3.7 mi of trail
Chrome TrailLaurel TrailPal's Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Smallbones at English Wikipedia · Public domainAOutdoors
Outdoors in Elk Township
More than half of Elk Township’s land is conserved: 55%
55% of Elk Township’s land is conserved, about 3,559 acres. 1,348 acres are parks and preserves, 765 per 1,000 residents. 8.5 miles of mapped trail cross Elk Township, 0.8 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
55%
3,559 acres · of 10.1 sq mi of land
Trails
8.5 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,348 ac
765 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
51%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
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 92% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Elk Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land55% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land765 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,348 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home51% 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 92%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Elk Township’s 55% is ahead of 99% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 72% 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 Chrome Serpentine Barrens, with 3.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Big Elk Creek State Park
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks
931 acres3.2 mi of trail
Springlawn Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Lower Chrome Serpentine Barrens
Nature preserve
60 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Fair Hill Natural Resource Management Area
Managed by Maryland Park Service
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
3,559 conserved acres
55% of Elk Township’s land. Who manages Elk Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County7,360 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits1,346 ac
State parks1,204 ac
Joint187 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government59 ac
Not recorded1,411 ac
Agricultural Easement · 7,828 acState Park · 1,209 acState Conservation Area · 938 acPrivate Conservation · 766 acConservation Easement · 761 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2,150 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 170 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| White Clay Creek Preserve State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 938 | Open |
| Big Elk Creek State Park State Park | State parks | 937 | Open |
| Little Elk Creek Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 358 | Open |
| White Clay Creek State Park State Park | State parks | 268 | Open |
| Chrome Barrens Local Conservation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 247 | Unknown |
| Chrome Barrens Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 220 | Open |
| Big Elk Creek Woods Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 7 | Open |
| Fair Hill Nrma State Park | Not recorded | 5 | Unknown |
Trails & water
4 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.2 miHorses · 3.7 miUnpaved · 3.2 mi
Springlawn Trail2.1 mi
Chrome Trail1.5 mi
Laurel Trail1.1 mi
Pal's Trail0.9 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Glen Hope Covered BridgeStructure · listed 1980
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Elk Township: 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 | 14.3 | 15.0 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 43 | 52 | 64 | 73 | 81 | 86 | 84 | 78 | 66 | 55 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 2.8 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 4.4 | 4.8 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 4.1 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.9 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Elk Township →
Next door
Elk Township and its neighbors
Elk Township has the second most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk Township | 55% | 0.8 | 765 | 51% | A |
| New London Township | 17% | 0.1 | 9 | 37% | B− |
| Franklin Township | 30% | 1.1 | 335 | 74% | A |
| East Nottingham Township | 25% | under 0.1 | 7 | 18% | 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: Chrome Serpentine Barrens, 3.7 miles; Big Elk Creek State Park, 3.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Elk Township is conserved land?
55% 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?
Chrome Serpentine Barrens and Big Elk Creek State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Elk Township?
16,194 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Elk Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,348 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Elk Township have?
Ahead of 92% 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 →