Ricketts Glen State Park
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks
9,759 acres26.2 mi of trail
Cherry Run TrailOld Beaver Dam Road TrailMountain Springs TrailBear Walk Trail+1
Dogs on leash
Directionsto Evergreen ParkingWebsite ↗
Photo: User:Ruhrfisch · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Fairmount Township
Fairmount Township has 9,937 acres of parks, 8,880 for every 1,000 residents
34% of Fairmount Township’s land is conserved, about 10,041 acres. 41 miles of mapped trail cross Fairmount Township, 0.9 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Ricketts Glen State Park (26.2 mi), The Glens Natural Area (10.1 mi).
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
34%
10,041 acres · of 45.7 sq mi of land
Trails
41 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
9,937 ac
8,880 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
17%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,444 ft
Grand View
Lakes & rivers
7
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Fairmount Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Fairmount Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Fairmount Township is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Fairmount Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land34% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (41 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land8,880 acres of park per 1,000 residents (9,937 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home17% 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 86%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Fairmount Township’s 34% is ahead of 93% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 73% 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 Ricketts Glen State Park, with 26.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
The Glens Natural Area
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks
1,476 acres10.1 mi of trail
Falls TrailOld Bulldozer Road TrailOld Beaver Dam Rd. TrailHighland Trail+1
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lot
State Game Lands Number 57
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
28 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
10,041 conserved acres
34% of Fairmount Township’s land. Who manages Fairmount Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks9,855 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits385 ac
State fish & wildlife89 ac
Not recorded207 ac
State Park · 10,061 acForest Stewardship Easement · 277 acConservation Easement · 117 acState Other or Unknown · 32 acState Resource Management Area · 31 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 120 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 15 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ricketts Glenn State Park State Park | State parks | 10,056 | Open |
| Mountain Springs Lake State Other or Unknown | State fish & wildlife | 32 | Open |
| State Game Land 057 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 31 | Open |
| Glens Natural Area State Park | Not recorded | 5 | Unknown |
Things to do
38 places to go in Fairmount Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Fairmount Township
Lake Jean BeachIn Ricketts Glen State Park
DirectionsWaterfalls in Fairmount Township
B. Reynolds FallsIn The Glens Natural Area
DirectionsCayuga FallsIn The Glens Natural Area
DirectionsConestoga FallsIn The Glens Natural Area
DirectionsDelaware FallsIn The Glens Natural Area
DirectionsErie FallsIn The Glens Natural Area
DirectionsF.L. Ricketts FallsIn The Glens Natural Area
DirectionsGanoga FallsIn The Glens Natural Area
DirectionsHarrison Wright FallsIn The Glens Natural Area
Directions13 more waterfalls
Huron FallsIn The Glens Natural Area
DirectionsMohawk FallsIn The Glens Natural Area
DirectionsMohican FallsIn The Glens Natural Area
DirectionsMurray Reynolds FallsIn The Glens Natural Area
DirectionsOneida FallsIn The Glens Natural Area
DirectionsOnondaga FallsIn The Glens Natural Area
DirectionsOzone FallsIn The Glens Natural Area
DirectionsR.B. Ricketts FallsIn The Glens Natural Area
DirectionsSeneca FallsIn The Glens Natural Area
DirectionsShawnee FallsIn The Glens Natural Area
DirectionsSheldon Reynolds FallsIn The Glens Natural Area
DirectionsTuscarora FallsIn The Glens Natural Area
DirectionsWyandot FallsIn The Glens Natural Area
DirectionsPlus 5 waterfalls without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Fairmount Township
Valley View VistaIn Ricketts Glen State Park
DirectionsPlus 1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Fairmount Township
Grand View2,444 ft elevation · In Ricketts Glen State Park
DirectionsLine Hill1,427 ft elevation
DirectionsBethel Hill1,385 ft elevation
DirectionsJackson Hill1,368 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Fairmount Township
Glens Picnic AreaIn The Glens Natural Area
DirectionsCampgrounds in Fairmount Township
Delux CottagesIn Ricketts Glen State Park
DirectionsModern CabinsFee · In Ricketts Glen State Park
DirectionsOrganized Group Tenting AreaIn Ricketts Glen State Park
DirectionsSmall LoopIn Ricketts Glen State Park
DirectionsTrails & water
15 named trails and 7 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 5.5 miHorses · 16.2 miUnpaved · 18.8 mi
Cherry Run Trail4.7 mi
Falls Trail3.8 mi
Mountain Springs Trail2.9 mi
Old Bulldozer Road Trail2.9 mi
Old Beaver Dam Road Trail2.6 mi
Bear Walk Trail1.3 mi
Laurel View Trail1.2 mi
Beach Trail1.1 mi
Old Beaver Dam Rd. Trail1.1 mi
Highland Trail1.0 mi
5 more trails
Little Cherry Run Trail
0.8 miEvergreen Trail
0.7 miLake Rose Trail
0.5 miFalls Trail (Lower)
0.4 miFalls Trail (Upper)
0.4 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Fairmount Township: May to 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) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 29 | 32 | 41 | 54 | 65 | 72 | 76 | 75 | 68 | 56 | 44 | 34 |
| Rain (in) | 3.8 | 3.0 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 5.3 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 4.2 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 76 °F). 5.3 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Fairmount Township →
Next door
Fairmount Township and its neighbors
Fairmount Township has the most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Fairmount Township41 miRoss Township21 miColley Township11 miBenton Township6.3 miHuntington Township0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairmount Township | 34% | 0.9 | 8,880 | 17% | A |
| Benton Township | 1% | 0.3 | 10 | 17% | C |
| Colley Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Ross Township | 34% | 0.5 | 509 | under 1% | B+ |
| Huntington Township | 2% | under 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Fairmount Township
Where can I hike in Fairmount Township?
The longest trail networks: Ricketts Glen State Park, 26.2 miles; The Glens Natural Area, 10.1 miles; State Game Lands Number 57, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Fairmount Township is conserved land?
34% 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 Fairmount Township’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Ricketts Glen State Park (on leash) and The Glens Natural Area (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Fairmount Township?
125,430 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Fairmount Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 9,978 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Fairmount Township have?
Ahead of 86% 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 Fairmount 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 →