Ephrata Nature Reserve
Nature preserve
18 acres1.4 mi of trail
B TrailA TrailHUBB 1 Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Dough4872 · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Ephrata
13% of Ephrata’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 13% of Ephrata’s land is conserved, about 282 acres. 3.2 miles of mapped trail cross Ephrata, 0.9 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns · #63 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
282 acres · of 3.4 sq mi of land
Trails
3.2 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
369 ac
27 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.5 mi
1.5 mi paths
Highest peak
807 ft
Ephrata Mountain
Lakes & rivers
1
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Ephrata?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ephrata have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ephrata is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #63 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 Ephrata’s overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land27 acres of park per 1,000 residents (369 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · PA 73% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 94%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 94%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Ephrata’s 13% is ahead of 65% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 74% 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 Ephrata Nature Reserve, with 1.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Ephrata Mountain Conservation Area
Nature preserve
148 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Brickyard Park
Park
4 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Thomas P. Grater Memorial Park
Park
21 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 14 parks & preserves
Ephrata Nature Reserve18 acres · 1.4 mi of trail
DirectionsEphrata Mountain Conservation Area148 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsBrickyard Park4 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Thomas P. Grater Memorial Park21 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsLincoln Heights Outdoor Recreation Area15 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsMoyer's Meadow Park9 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsHaller Homestead14 acres
DirectionsThe Terraces Park11 acres · Ephrata Borough
DirectionsNissley Park9 acres
Edgewater Meadow Park8 acres
DirectionsBethany Playground4 acres
Riparian Buffer3 acres
DirectionsSycamore Park1 acres · Ephrata Borough
Lincoln Heights Park1 acres · Ephrata Township
Who protects it
282 conserved acres
13% of Ephrata’s land. Who manages Ephrata’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government133 ac
Other state land24 ac
County3 ac
Not recorded123 ac
Local Park · 116 acLocal Conservation Area · 110 acState Historic or Cultural Area · 24 acLocal Recreation Area · 17 acLocal Other or Unknown · 13 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ephrata Mountain Conservation Area Local Conservation Area | Not recorded | 110 | Open |
| Mountain Land Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 35 | Open |
| Ephrata Cloister State Historic or Cultural Area | Other state land | 24 | Open |
| Heatherwood Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 19 | Open |
| Ephrata Borough Community Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 17 | Open |
| Lincoln Heights Outdoor Recreation Area Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 15 | Open |
| Nissley Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 13 | Open |
| Irene Avenue Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 11 | Open |
| Moyer Meadow Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 9 | Open |
| Ephrata Rail-Trail Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 8 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
18 places to go in Ephrata
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Ephrata
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Ephrata
14 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Ephrata
Ephrata Unleashed Dog ParkIn Haller Homestead
DirectionsPeaks in Ephrata
Ephrata Mountain807 ft elevation · In Ephrata Mountain Conservation Area
DirectionsPicnic areas in Ephrata
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
4 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.2 miUnpaved · 1.1 mi
B Trail0.5 mi
A Trail0.4 mi
HUB0.1 mi
B 1 Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
18Tennis
9Basketball
7Tracks
6Baseball
6Soccer
5Softball
3Pickleball
1Field hockey
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 4 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Ephrata: 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 | 14.8 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 42 | 51 | 64 | 73 | 81 | 86 | 84 | 77 | 65 | 54 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.5 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 3.1 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.7 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Ephrata →
Next door
Ephrata and its neighbors
Ephrata has the most mapped trails of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ephrata | 13% | 0.9 | 27 | 99%+ | A |
| Ephrata Township | 20% | 0.1 | 14 | 75% | B+ |
| Akron | 11% | 2.1 | 22 | 98% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Ephrata
Where can I hike in Ephrata?
The longest trail networks: Ephrata Nature Reserve, 1.4 miles; Ephrata Mountain Conservation Area, 0.5 miles; Brickyard Park, 0.3 miles; Thomas P. Grater Memorial Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ephrata is conserved land?
13% 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 Ephrata’s trails?
Ephrata Nature Reserve and Ephrata Mountain Conservation Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Ephrata?
1.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Ephrata?
17,283 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ephrata or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 369 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Ephrata have?
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #63 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 Ephrata 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 →