Luzerne County Recreational Complex
Park
110 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Denison House · Photo: John Jennings · Public domainAOutdoors
Outdoors in Forty Fort
23% of Forty Fort’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. 23% of Forty Fort’s land is conserved, about 193 acres. 202 acres are parks and preserves, 48 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns · #212 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
23%
193 acres · of 1.3 sq mi of land
Trails
0.1 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
202 ac
48 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.3 mi
0.3 mi lanes
What kind of outdoors town is Forty Fort?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Forty Fort have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Forty Fort is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns, #212 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Forty Fort’s overall grade.
Conserved land23% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4CPark land48 acres of park per 1,000 residents (202 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13A−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 86%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 80%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Forty Fort’s 23% is ahead of 84% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 16% of them.
Water is 14% of Forty Fort’s area (0 of 2 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 20%.
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 Luzerne County Recreational Complex, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
193 conserved acres
23% of Forty Fort’s land. Water is left out: Forty Fort has 1.3 square miles of land and 0.2 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Forty Fort’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government192 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits2 ac
Local Recreation Area · 191 acLocal Park · 2 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luzerne County Recreation Complex Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 104 | Open |
| Luzerne County Levee Trail Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 51 | Open |
| Luzerne County Open Space Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 34 | Open |
| Forty Fort Borough Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 2 | Open |
| Forty Fort Baseball Field Local Recreation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 2 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Forty Fort
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Forty Fort
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Forty Fort
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Biking & sports
0.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.3 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
12Soccer
5Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Forty Fort: April to July
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) | 35 | 39 | 47 | 61 | 72 | 80 | 85 | 82 | 75 | 63 | 51 | 40 |
| Rain (in) | 2.8 | 2.1 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 2.8 | 2.9 |
February is the driest month (2.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.1 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Forty Fort →
Next door
Forty Fort and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forty Fort | 23% | 0.1 | 48 | 99%+ | A |
| Plains Township | 21% | 0.4 | 22 | 85% | A− |
| Kingston | 11% | 0.1 | 11 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Wyoming | 7% | 0.2 | 20 | 99%+ | A− |
| Swoyersville | 2% | 0.8 | 7 | 99%+ | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Forty Fort
Where can I hike in Forty Fort?
The longest trail networks: Luzerne County Recreational Complex, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Forty Fort is conserved land?
23% 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 Forty Fort’s trails?
Luzerne County Recreational Complex and Betty Mascelli Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Forty Fort?
0.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.3 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Forty Fort?
44,456 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Forty Fort or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 202 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Forty Fort have?
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #212 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 Forty Fort 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 →