Bald Eagle State Forest
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
1,920 acres0.3 mi of trail
Furnace Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
COutdoors
Outdoors in Franklin Township
18% of Franklin Township’s land is conserved: 3,180 acres
19% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 8 acres are parks and preserves, 3.8 per 1,000 residents. 2.4 miles of mapped trail cross Franklin Township, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 33% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
18%
3,180 acres · of 27.9 sq mi of land
Trails
2.4 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
8 ac
3.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
19%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
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 33% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Franklin Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land18% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4CPark land3.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (8 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13CParks close to home19% 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 33%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Franklin Township’s 18% is ahead of 76% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 17% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D 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 Bald Eagle State Forest, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Thor Park
Park
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
3,180 conserved acres
18% of Franklin Township’s land. Who manages Franklin Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources1,854 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government1,392 ac
County549 ac
Not recorded4 ac
State Resource Management Area · 1,854 acLocal Recreation Area · 1,392 acAgricultural Easement · 549 acLocal Park · 3 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 138 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bald Eagle State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 1,854 | Open |
| Franklin Township Open Space Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 1,388 | Closed |
| Middleburg Community Swimming Pool Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 4 | Open |
| Thor Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 3 | Open |
Things to do
2 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.
Campgrounds in Franklin Township
Bald Eagle #72In Bald Eagle State Forest
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Furnace Trail0.7 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
3Baseball
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 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 36 | 39 | 49 | 62 | 72 | 80 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 63 | 51 | 40 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.5 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.6 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.
West Perry Township20 miCenter Township9.3 miPerry Township4.8 miFranklin Township2.4 miMiddlecreek Township1.9 miWashington Township1.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Township | 18% | 0.1 | 4 | 19% | C |
| Center Township | 7% | 0.4 | 4 | 24% | C+ |
| Middlecreek Township | 5% | 0.1 | 20 | 40% | B− |
| Washington Township | 3% | 0.1 | 1 | 6% | D |
| West Perry Township | 31% | 0.7 | 34 | 14% | B+ |
| Perry Township | 12% | 0.2 | 4 | 20% | C+ |
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: Bald Eagle State Forest, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Franklin Township is conserved land?
18% 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?
Bald Eagle State Forest and Thor Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Franklin Township?
48,309 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Franklin Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,863 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Franklin Township have?
Ahead of 33% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 →