Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Nyttend · Public domain41% of Franklin Township’s land is conserved, about 5,604 acres. 29 miles of mapped trail cross Franklin Township, 1.4 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Moraine State Park (27.9 mi).
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns · #145 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Franklin Township is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #145 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Franklin Township’s 41% is ahead of 97% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 86% of them.
Water is 7% of Franklin Township’s area (2 of 23 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 38%.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
The longest trail network is Moraine State Park, with 27.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
41% of Franklin Township’s land. Water is left out: Franklin Township has 21.3 square miles of land and 1.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Franklin Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 126 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 13 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moraine State Park State Park | State parks | 6,490 | Open |
| Butler County Fairgrounds Local Park | Not recorded | 11 | Open |
| Prospect Park Local Park | Not recorded | 3 | Open |
| Franklin Twp Elementary Play Area Local Park | Not recorded | 2 | Unknown |
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
5 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
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 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 35 | 38 | 48 | 61 | 71 | 79 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 63 | 50 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.5 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.3 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Franklin Township →
Franklin Township has the most mapped trails of the 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Township | 41% | 1.4 | 2,124 | 23% | A |
| Brady Township | 32% | 1.7 | 2,825 | 39% | A |
| Prospect | 9% | 0.4 | 15 | 79% | B+ |
| Center Township | 1% | 0.1 | 4 | 16% | C− |
| Connoquenessing Township | 9% | 0.1 | 28 | 21% | B− |
| Clay Township | 3% | 0.2 | 17 | 14% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
The longest trail networks: Moraine State Park, 27.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
41% 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.
Moraine State Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
27,816 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Franklin Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 5,500 of them inside the town line.
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #145 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.
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Franklin Township neighbors.
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 →