Big Elk Creek State Park
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks
926 acres4.4 mi of trail
Mount Olivet Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Franklin Township
30% of Franklin Township’s land is conserved: 2,507 acres
1,492 acres are parks and preserves, 335 per 1,000 residents. 14 miles of mapped trail cross Franklin Township, 1.1 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Big Elk Creek State Park (4.4 mi), Peacedale Preserve (3.6 mi).
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns · #56 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
30%
2,507 acres · of 13.1 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,492 ac
335 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
74%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
4
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 95% of U.S. towns, #56 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Franklin Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land30% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (14 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land335 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,492 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13AParks close to home74% of residents within a half mile of a park · PA 73% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 95%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 95%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Franklin Township’s 30% is ahead of 90% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 79% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A 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 Big Elk Creek State Park, with 4.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Peacedale Preserve
Managed by Natural Lands
206 acres3.6 mi of trail
Yellow/Purple LoopYellow LoopPurple LoopGreen Loop
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Fair Hill Natural Resource Management Area
Managed by Maryland Park Service
5 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
2,507 conserved acres
30% 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 & nonprofits2,876 ac
County1,885 ac
State parks1,401 ac
Joint380 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government296 ac
Town or city287 ac
Private owners12 ac
Conservation Easement · 2,639 acAgricultural Easement · 2,046 acState Park · 1,407 acState Conservation Area · 925 acPrivate Conservation · 432 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 876 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 5 of 142 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Elk Creek State Park State Park | State parks | 926 | Open |
| White Clay Creek Preserve State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 925 | Open |
| White Clay Creek State Park State Park | State parks | 476 | Open |
| Peacedale Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 432 | Open |
| Ford Farm Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 146 | Open |
| Elwood L Crossan Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 130 | Open |
| Elwood Crossan Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 121 | Open |
| Miller Property Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 91 | Open |
| Franklin Preserve Local Conservation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 91 | Open |
| Annand Parcel Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 59 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
1 places to go in Franklin Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Franklin Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
5 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 4.1 miHorses · 0.9 miUnpaved · 10.6 mi
Mount Olivet Trail0.7 mi
Yellow/Purple Loop0.6 mi
Yellow Loop0.5 mi
Purple Loop0.3 mi
Green Loop0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
3Equestrian
2Baseball
2Tennis
1Basketball
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, 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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.0 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 43 | 52 | 64 | 73 | 81 | 86 | 84 | 78 | 66 | 55 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 2.8 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 3.5 | 4.1 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.9 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Franklin Township →
Next door
Franklin Township and its neighbors
Franklin Township has the second most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
London Britain Township14 miFranklin Township14 miLondon Grove Township11 miElk Township8.5 miNew Garden Township7.4 miNew London Township1.4 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Township | 30% | 1.1 | 335 | 74% | A |
| Elk Township | 55% | 0.8 | 765 | 51% | A |
| London Britain Township | 39% | 1.5 | 482 | 94% | A+ |
| London Grove Township | 26% | 0.6 | 33 | 72% | A |
| New Garden Township | 12% | 0.5 | 47 | 56% | A− |
| New London Township | 17% | 0.1 | 9 | 37% | B− |
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: Big Elk Creek State Park, 4.4 miles; Peacedale Preserve, 3.6 miles; Elwood Crossan Park, 0.2 miles; Fair Hill Natural Resource Management Area, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Franklin Township is conserved land?
30% 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?
Big Elk Creek State Park and Peacedale Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Franklin Township?
20,068 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Franklin Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,639 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Franklin Township have?
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #56 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 →