Camp Hebron Sanctuary
Nature preserve
336 acres5.9 mi of trail
Peter's Mountain TrailFar Out LoopSpirit Fruit TrailNature Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Halifax Township
14% of Halifax Township’s land is conserved: 2,499 acres
182 acres are parks and preserves, 54 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Camp Hebron Sanctuary (5.9 mi), Joseph E. Ibberson Conservation Area (1.1 mi). 12% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 67% of U.S. towns · #527 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
14%
2,499 acres · of 27.6 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
182 ac
54 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
12%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
3
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Halifax Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Halifax Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Halifax Township is ahead of 67% of U.S. towns, #527 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 Halifax Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land14% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (14 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land54 acres of park per 1,000 residents (182 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home12% 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 67%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 49%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Halifax Township’s 14% is ahead of 69% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 55% of them.
Water is 13% of Halifax Township’s area (4 of 32 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 12%.
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 Camp Hebron Sanctuary, with 5.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Joseph E. Ibberson Conservation Area
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks
427 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
State Game Lands Number 254
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
292 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
2,499 conserved acres
14% of Halifax Township’s land. Water is left out: Halifax Township has 27.6 square miles of land and 4.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Halifax Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County3,676 ac
State parks430 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits403 ac
State fish & wildlife298 ac
National Park Service269 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government181 ac
Town or city175 ac
Agricultural Easement · 3,676 acState Other or Unknown · 444 acLocal Park · 356 acState Resource Management Area · 284 acConservation Easement · 234 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,416 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 5 of 64 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph E. Ibberson Conservation Area State Other or Unknown | State parks | 430 | Open |
| State Game Land 254 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 276 | Open |
| Halifax Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 175 | Open |
| Conservation and Passive Recreation Park Local Park | Town or city | 175 | Open |
| Appalachian National Scenic Trail National Scenic or Historic Trail | National Park Service | 124 | Open |
| Ned Smith Center Private Historic or Cultural | Not recorded | 103 | Open |
| Halifax Access State Other or Unknown | State fish & wildlife | 12 | Open |
| State Game Land 211 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 9 | Open |
| Deppen Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 6 | Open |
| Peters Mountain Transmitter Site State Other or Unknown | State fish & wildlife | 1 | Open |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
9 places to go in Halifax Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Halifax Township
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Halifax Township
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Halifax Township
River Mile 93 CampsiteSusquehanna River Trail Association
DirectionsRiver Mile 97 CampsiteSusquehanna River Trail Association
DirectionsThe Campground at Camp HebronIn Camp Hebron Sanctuary
DirectionsTrails & water
5 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.5 mi
Appalachian National Scenic Trail3.5 mi
Peter's Mountain Trail1.2 mi
Berry's Mountain Trail0.5 mi
Far Out Loop0.4 mi
Spirit Fruit Trail0.3 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
3Basketball
3Equestrian
2Soccer
2Beach volleyball
2Baseball
2Tennis
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). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Legislative Route 1 Sycamore AlleeSite · listed 2007
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Halifax 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 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 37 | 40 | 50 | 63 | 72 | 81 | 85 | 83 | 76 | 64 | 52 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.5 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.5 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Halifax Township →
Next door
Halifax Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Middle Paxton Township58 miUpper Paxton Township15 miHalifax Township14 miReed Township9.1 miBuffalo Township2.2 miWatts Township0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halifax Township | 14% | 0.5 | 54 | 12% | B+ |
| Watts Township | 6% | under 0.1 | 9 | 12% | C− |
| Buffalo Township | 6% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Reed Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Upper Paxton Township | 18% | 0.6 | 15 | 37% | B+ |
| Middle Paxton Township | 51% | 1.1 | 171 | 50% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Halifax Township
Where can I hike in Halifax Township?
The longest trail networks: Camp Hebron Sanctuary, 5.9 miles; Joseph E. Ibberson Conservation Area, 1.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Halifax Township is conserved land?
14% 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 Halifax Township’s trails?
Camp Hebron Sanctuary and Joseph E. Ibberson Conservation Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Halifax Township?
51,652 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Halifax Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,037 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Halifax Township have?
Ahead of 67% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #527 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 Halifax 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 →