Gettysburg Recreational Park
Park
51 acres1.7 mi of trail
Biser Fitness Trail and Walking Path
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Bubba73 · CC BY-SA 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Gettysburg
20% of Gettysburg’s land is conserved: 208 acres
2.7 miles of mapped trail cross Gettysburg, 1.6 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Gettysburg Recreational Park (1.7 mi). 89% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns · #250 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
20%
208 acres · of 1.7 sq mi of land
Trails
2.7 mi
1.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
54 ac
6.5 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
89%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.3 mi
0.3 mi lanes
Highest peak
604 ft
Cemetery Hill
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Gettysburg?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Gettysburg have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Gettysburg is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #250 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Gettysburg’s overall grade.
Conserved land20% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4APark land6.5 acres of park per 1,000 residents (54 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home89% 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 84%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 76%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Gettysburg’s 20% is ahead of 80% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 89% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ 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 Gettysburg Recreational Park, with 1.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
208 conserved acres
20% of Gettysburg’s land. Who manages Gettysburg’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
National Park Service140 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits130 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government50 ac
Not recorded6 ac
Conservation Easement · 106 acHistoric or Cultural Area · 93 acHistoric or Cultural Easement · 60 acLocal Recreation Area · 50 acPrivate Historic or Cultural · 15 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 53 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gettysburg National Military Park Historic or Cultural Area | National Park Service | 108 | Restricted |
| Gettysburg Recreational Park Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 50 | Open |
| School Park Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 2 | Open |
Things to do
7 places to go in Gettysburg
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Gettysburg
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Gettysburg
Gettysburg Dog ParkIn Gettysburg Recreational Park
DirectionsPeaks in Gettysburg
Cemetery Hill604 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Biser Fitness Trail and Walking Path1.0 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.3 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
17Tennis
8Soccer
5Football
3Basketball
1Skate park
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →8 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 80 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Pennsylvania Hall, Gettysburg CollegeBuilding · listed 1972
About itDobbin HouseBuilding · listed 1973
About itLutheran Theological Seminary-Old DormBuilding · listed 1974
About itAdams County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1974
About itGettysburg Battlefield Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1975
About itSheads HouseBuilding · listed 1976
About itGettysburg ArmoryBuilding · listed 1990
About itLincoln CemeterySite · listed 2025
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Gettysburg: 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 | 73 | 82 | 87 | 85 | 78 | 66 | 54 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.6 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 4.8 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 3.6 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.8 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Gettysburg →
Next door
Gettysburg and its neighbors
Gettysburg has the second most mapped trails of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gettysburg | 20% | 1.6 | 6 | 89% | A− |
| Cumberland Township | 33% | 0.5 | under 1 | 18% | B− |
| Straban Township | 6% | 0.1 | 3 | 5% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Gettysburg
Where can I hike in Gettysburg?
The longest trail networks: Gettysburg Recreational Park, 1.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Gettysburg is conserved land?
20% 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 Gettysburg’s trails?
Gettysburg Recreational Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Gettysburg?
0.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.3 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Gettysburg?
6,315 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Gettysburg or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 66 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Gettysburg have?
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #250 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 Gettysburg 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 →