State Game Lands Number 243
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
950 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Clear Spring Mill · Photo: Smallbones · CC0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Franklin Township
9% of Franklin Township’s land is conserved: 1,163 acres
34% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 84 acres are parks and preserves, 17 per 1,000 residents. 4.0 miles of mapped trail cross Franklin Township, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 52% of U.S. towns · #728 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
1,163 acres · of 19.2 sq mi of land
Trails
4.0 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
84 ac
17 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
34%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.1 mi
2.1 mi paths
Highest peak
1,371 ft
Stone Head
Lakes & rivers
2
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 52% of U.S. towns, #728 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 land9% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land17 acres of park per 1,000 residents (84 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13BParks close to home34% 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 52%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 30%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Franklin Township’s 9% is ahead of 55% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 32% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Athletic Field
Park
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Archie Hess Memorial Park
Managed by York County Parks
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 19 parks & preserves
State Game Lands Number 243950 acres · Pennsylvania Game Commission
DirectionsAthletic Field5 acres
Archie Hess Memorial Park3 acres · York County Parks
Mall2 acres
DirectionsShawnee Site2 acres
Onondaga Site1 acres
Iroquois Site1 acres
Munsee Site1 acres
Lenni Lenapi Site1 acres
Mohican Site1 acres
Tuscarora Site1 acres
Unami Site1 acres
Conoy Site1 acres
Grass Area1 acres
Nanicoke Site1 acres
Susquehannock Site1 acres
Delaware Site1 acres
Wyandotte Site1 acres
Cayuga Site1 acres
Who protects it
1,163 conserved acres
9% of Franklin Township’s land. Who manages Franklin Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife950 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits65 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government57 ac
County16 ac
Town or city4 ac
Not recorded136 ac
State Resource Management Area · 950 acAgricultural Easement · 164 acLocal Park · 59 acForest Stewardship Easement · 33 acConservation Easement · 16 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 153 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Game Land 243 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 950 | Open |
| Franklin Township Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 27 | Open |
| Ponderosa Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 20 | Open |
| Twin Hills Neighborhood Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 5 | Open |
| Archie Hess Memorial Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 4 | Open |
| Municipal Park Expansion Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Robinhood Drive Park Local Park | Not recorded | 2 | Open |
| Municipal Land Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 2 | Open |
| Sherwood Forest Neighborhood Park Local Park | Not recorded | 1 | Open |
Things to do
7 places to go in Franklin Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Franklin Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Franklin Township
Stone Head1,371 ft elevation
DirectionsPlus 2 peaks without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Franklin Township
Kings campground
DirectionsWalmar Manor CampgroundFee
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.4 mi
Red Trail0.6 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
10Equestrian
2Soccer
1Baseball
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).
Clear Spring MillBuilding · listed 1996
About itWhen 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 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 38 | 42 | 51 | 63 | 73 | 81 | 86 | 84 | 77 | 65 | 53 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.6 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.7 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Franklin Township →
Next door
Franklin Township and its neighbors
Franklin Township has the second most mapped trails of the 4 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 | 9% | 0.2 | 17 | 34% | B− |
| Latimore Township | 12% | 0.6 | 47 | 39% | B+ |
| Carroll Township | 2% | 0.1 | 8 | 43% | C |
| Washington Township | 13% | under 0.1 | under 1 | 2% | 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
How much of Franklin Township is conserved land?
9% 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?
State Game Lands Number 243 and Athletic Field don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Franklin Township?
2.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Franklin Township?
30,886 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Franklin Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,039 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Franklin Township have?
Ahead of 52% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #728 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 →