Beltzville State Park
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks
977 acres2.9 mi of trail
Sawmill Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Photo: Anthony Bley, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers · Public domainBOutdoors
Outdoors in Franklin Township
14% of Franklin Township’s land is conserved: 1,389 acres
The biggest trail networks: Beltzville State Park (2.9 mi). 49% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 6.4 miles of mapped trail cross Franklin Township, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns · #620 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
14%
1,389 acres · of 15.2 sq mi of land
Trails
6.4 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
46 ac
10 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
49%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.2 mi
2.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
1 beach
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 61% of U.S. towns, #620 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Franklin Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land14% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land10 acres of park per 1,000 residents (46 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home49% 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 61%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 40%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Franklin Township’s 14% is ahead of 69% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 48% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. 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 Beltzville State Park, with 2.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
1,389 conserved acres
14% of Franklin Township’s land. Who manages Franklin Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks1,953 ac
County1,375 ac
Army Corps of Engineers965 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits120 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government23 ac
Not recorded286 ac
State Park · 2,239 acAgricultural Easement · 1,375 acRecreation Management Area · 965 acForest Stewardship Easement · 61 acConservation Easement · 30 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 379 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beltzville State Park State Park | State parks | 2,239 | Open |
| Beltzville Recreation Area Recreation Management Area | Army Corps of Engineers | 965 | Open |
| Phifer Ice Dam Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 15 | Open |
| Franklin Heights Memorial Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 8 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Franklin Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Franklin Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Franklin Township
1 playground without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Franklin Township
Pocono Point RV & CampgroundFee · Private
DirectionsSunny Rest CampgroundFee
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.5 mi
Sawmill Trail1.6 mi
Ridge Drop0.5 mi
LC Singletrack0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
3Baseball
2Beach volleyball
2Tennis
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Carbon County Section of the Lehigh CanalStructure · listed 1979
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Franklin Township: April, May 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) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 36 | 40 | 48 | 62 | 72 | 80 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 63 | 51 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 2.8 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 4.7 | 5.2 | 4.5 | 3.7 | 4.2 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 5.2 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Franklin Township →
Next door
Franklin Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Penn Forest Township75 miJim Thorpe28 miTowamensing Township17 miFranklin Township6.4 miMahoning Township2.6 miLehighton0.3 miWeissport East0.0 miWeissport0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Township | 14% | 0.4 | 10 | 49% | B |
| Weissport East | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Mahoning Township | 3% | 0.1 | 3 | 13% | C− |
| Weissport | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Lehighton | 2% | 0.2 | 4 | 99% | B− |
| Penn Forest Township | 42% | 1.0 | 277 | 34% | A |
| Towamensing Township | 35% | 0.6 | 16 | 31% | B+ |
| Jim Thorpe | 23% | 1.9 | 433 | 96% | 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: Beltzville State Park, 2.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Franklin Township is conserved land?
14% 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?
Beltzville State Park and Phifer's Ice Dam Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Franklin Township?
2.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Franklin Township?
50,409 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Franklin Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 46 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Franklin Township have?
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #620 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 →