John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
244 acres0.1 mi of trail
Darby Creek TrailTinicum Marsh Boardwalk
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Adam Moss · CC BY-SA 2.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Folcroft
36% of Folcroft’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. 36% of Folcroft’s land is conserved, about 291 acres. 0.1 miles of mapped trail cross Folcroft, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns · #446 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
36%
291 acres · of 1.2 sq mi of land
Trails
0.1 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
48 ac
7.0 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Folcroft?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Folcroft have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Folcroft is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #446 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Folcroft’s overall grade.
Conserved land36% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4CPark land7.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (48 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13C+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 72%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 57%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Folcroft’s 36% is ahead of 94% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 17% of them.
Water is 12% of Folcroft’s area (0 of 1 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 32%.
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 John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
291 conserved acres
36% of Folcroft’s land. Water is left out: Folcroft has 1.2 square miles of land and 0.2 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Folcroft’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service487 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government40 ac
Not recorded6 ac
National Wildlife Refuge · 487 acLocal Park · 37 acLocal Recreation Area · 9 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge At Tinicum National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 487 | Restricted |
| Montgomery Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 30 | Open |
| Folcroft Swim Club Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 6 | Open |
| Rasmussen Square Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 5 | Open |
| Primos Avenue Ballfield Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 3 | Open |
| Llanwellyn Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 2 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Folcroft
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Folcroft
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Darby Creek Trail0.1 mi
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
1Baseball
1Basketball
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Folcroft: 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 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 42 | 44 | 53 | 65 | 74 | 83 | 88 | 85 | 79 | 67 | 56 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.8 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 4.1 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 4.7 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Folcroft →
Next door
Folcroft and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Philadelphia234 miTinicum Township11 miDarby Township2.5 miGlenolden0.3 miSharon Hill0.3 miFolcroft0.1 miNorwood0.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Folcroft | 36% | 0.1 | 7 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Norwood | 12% | 0.1 | 11 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Philadelphia | 15% | 1.7 | 7 | 99%+ | A |
| Glenolden | 4% | 0.3 | 5 | 99%+ | B |
| Tinicum Township | 21% | 1.9 | 62 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Darby Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Sharon Hill | 3% | 0.4 | 4 | 99%+ | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Folcroft
Where can I hike in Folcroft?
The longest trail networks: John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Folcroft is conserved land?
36% 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 Folcroft’s trails?
John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge and Montgomery Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Folcroft?
19,544 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Folcroft or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 48 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Folcroft have?
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #446 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 Folcroft 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 →