Rock Springs Preserve
Managed by Lancaster County Conservancy
171 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Fulton Township
39% of Fulton Township’s land is conserved: 6,408 acres
427 acres are parks and preserves, 133 per 1,000 residents. 0.9 miles of mapped trail cross Fulton Township. 29% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns · #601 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
39%
6,408 acres · of 25.8 sq mi of land
Trails
0.9 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
427 ac
133 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
29%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
364 ft
Cherry Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Fulton Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Fulton Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Fulton Township is ahead of 62% of U.S. towns, #601 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Fulton Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land39% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land133 acres of park per 1,000 residents (427 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13AParks close to home29% 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 62%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 42%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Fulton Township’s 39% is ahead of 96% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 11% of them.
Water is 12% of Fulton Township’s area (3 of 29 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 34%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Octoraro Creek Nature Preserve
Managed by Lancaster Conservancy
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
6,408 conserved acres
39% of Fulton Township’s land. Water is left out: Fulton Township has 25.8 square miles of land and 3.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Fulton Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County19,683 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits1,368 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)347 ac
Private owners104 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government5 ac
Not recorded1,034 ac
Agricultural Easement · 21,150 acPrivate Agricultural · 514 acPrivate Conservation · 388 acUnknown Easement · 234 acLocal Other or Unknown · 180 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 5,430 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 244 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exelon Recreation Land Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 180 | Open |
| Rock Springs Serpentine Barrens Private Conservation | Not recorded | 175 | Open |
| Rock Springs Serpentine Barren Nature Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 169 | Open |
| 1999-008 Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 93 | Closed |
| 1998-009 Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 79 | Closed |
| PECO Energy Recreation Land Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 70 | Open |
| 2018-005 Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 65 | Closed |
| 2007-026 Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 61 | Closed |
| 2019-018 Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 58 | Closed |
| 2009-002-1 Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 56 | Closed |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
5 places to go in Fulton Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Fulton Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Fulton Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Peaks in Fulton Township
Cherry Hill364 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Fulton Township
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Fulton Township
Camp John H. Ware 3rd at Horseshoe Scout ReservationBoy Scouts of America (Chester County Council)
DirectionsTrails & water
2 lakes & rivers
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
3Soccer
2Tennis
2Baseball
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, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Fulton Township: April to June 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 | 74 | 82 | 86 | 85 | 78 | 66 | 55 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.7 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.1 | 4.8 | 4.3 | 3.2 | 3.9 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.8 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Fulton Township →
Next door
Fulton Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
West Nottingham Township18 miDrumore Township12 miPeach Bottom Township11 miFulton Township0.9 miLittle Britain Township0.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fulton Township | 39% | under 0.1 | 133 | 29% | B |
| West Nottingham Township | 37% | 1.3 | 373 | 52% | A |
| Peach Bottom Township | 19% | 0.4 | 4 | 3% | C+ |
| Little Britain Township | 26% | under 0.1 | 27 | 23% | B− |
| Drumore Township | 43% | 0.5 | 760 | 33% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Fulton Township
How much of Fulton Township is conserved land?
39% 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 Fulton Township’s trails?
Rock Springs Preserve and Octoraro Creek Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Fulton Township?
13,129 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Fulton Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 427 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Fulton Township have?
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #601 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 Fulton 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 →