Michaux State Forest
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
12,998 acres55.8 mi of trail
Abigail TrailUnamedRocky Knob TrailGreen Ridge Trail+1
Dogs on leash
Directionsto Old Birch Run Reservoir Parking AreaWebsite ↗
Photo: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Franklin Township
44% of Franklin Township’s land is conserved: 19,185 acres
968 acres are parks and preserves, 205 per 1,000 residents. 62 miles of mapped trail cross Franklin Township, 0.9 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Michaux State Forest (55.8 mi), Caledonia State Park (1.4 mi).
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns · #270 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
44%
19,185 acres · of 68.2 sq mi of land
Trails
62 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
968 ac
205 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
11%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.8 mi
2.8 mi paths
Highest peak
1,985 ft
Strasbaugh Hill
Lakes & rivers
4
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Franklin Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Franklin Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Franklin Township is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #270 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Franklin Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land44% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (62 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land205 acres of park per 1,000 residents (968 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13AParks close to home11% 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 82%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 74%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Franklin Township’s 44% is ahead of 98% 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 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 Michaux State Forest, with 55.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Caledonia State Park
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks
126 acres1.4 mi of trail
Charcoal Hearth TrailWaterline Trail
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lot
Carbaugh Run Natural Area
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
818 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
19,185 conserved acres
44% of Franklin Township’s land. Who manages Franklin Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits13,573 ac
State natural resources13,001 ac
County10,266 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)1,613 ac
State parks126 ac
Regional agency9 ac
Other or Unknown Federal Land6 ac
State Resource Management Area · 24,367 acAgricultural Easement · 13,849 acForest Stewardship Easement · 8,141 acConservation Easement · 3,458 acState Conservation Area · 818 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 6,044 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 228 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michaux State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 24,367 | Open |
| Carbaugh Run Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 818 | Open |
| Caledonia State Park State Park | State parks | 126 | Open |
| Municipal Land Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 11 | Open |
Things to do
18 places to go in Franklin Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Franklin Township
2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Franklin Township
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Franklin Township
Strasbaugh Hill1,985 ft elevation · In Michaux State Forest
DirectionsSier Hill1,923 ft elevation · In Michaux State Forest
DirectionsRocky Knob1,857 ft elevation · In Michaux State Forest
DirectionsWolf Hill1,808 ft elevation · In Michaux State Forest
DirectionsWigwam Hill1,801 ft elevation · In Michaux State Forest
DirectionsMount Newman1,785 ft elevation · In Michaux State Forest
DirectionsBig Hill1,611 ft elevation
DirectionsWildcat Hill1,526 ft elevation · In Michaux State Forest
Directions5 more peaks
Graefenburg Hill1,522 ft elevation · In Michaux State Forest
DirectionsChamberlains Hill1,322 ft elevation
DirectionsBushy Hill1,266 ft elevation
DirectionsRock Top1,191 ft elevation
DirectionsFox Hill1,001 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Franklin Township
Camp Liahona
DirectionsEUB/Wildcat - Michaux Campsite #13Fee · In Michaux State Forest · Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
DirectionsTrails & water
23 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 26.0 miHorses · 25.3 miUnpaved · 17.2 mi
Abigail Trail4.1 mi
Unamed3.2 mi
Rocky Knob Trail2.6 mi
Green Ridge Trail2.5 mi
Yellow Ridge Trail2.3 mi
Charcoal Hearth Trail1.6 mi
Lippencote Trail1.6 mi
Ant Hill Trail1.6 mi
Yellow Ridge Descent1.5 mi
Beaver Trail1.4 mi
13 more trails
Radio Tower Trail
1.1 miWildcat Trail
1.1 miEUB Camp Trail
0.8 miWigwam Trail
0.6 mi(overgrown)
0.4 miLong Pine Connector Trail
0.4 miWildcat Hill Trail
0.3 miLippencote Alternate
0.3 miRam Hill Trail
0.2 miHillside Trail
0.2 miHaunted Hollow Road Spur
0.2 miHidden Run Haul Road Connector
0.1 miWaterline Trail
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
1Equestrian
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Franklin Township: April 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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.0 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 38 | 41 | 50 | 63 | 72 | 81 | 85 | 83 | 76 | 65 | 53 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.6 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 4.8 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.8 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Franklin Township →
Next door
Franklin Township and its neighbors
Franklin Township has the most mapped trails of the 7 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Franklin Township62 miHamiltonban Township46 miGreene Township37 miMenallen Township22 miCumberland Township18 miHighland Township5.6 miButler Township3.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Township | 44% | 0.9 | 205 | 11% | A− |
| Hamiltonban Township | 39% | 1.2 | 389 | 29% | A |
| Menallen Township | 32% | 0.5 | 29 | 6% | B+ |
| Cumberland Township | 33% | 0.5 | under 1 | 18% | B− |
| Highland Township | 17% | 0.5 | under 1 | under 1% | C |
| Butler Township | 14% | 0.1 | 53 | 27% | B |
| Greene Township | 25% | 0.7 | 66 | 42% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Franklin Township
Where can I hike in Franklin Township?
The longest trail networks: Michaux State Forest, 55.8 miles; Caledonia State Park, 1.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Franklin Township is conserved land?
44% 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 Franklin Township’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Michaux State Forest (on leash) and Caledonia State Park (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Franklin Township?
2.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Franklin Township?
93,254 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Franklin Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 13,570 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Franklin Township have?
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #270 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 Franklin 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 →