Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
2,973 acres5 mi of trail
Appalachian Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Nicholas · CC BY 2.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Hamilton Township
25% of Hamilton Township’s land is conserved: 6,232 acres
345 acres are parks and preserves, 40 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge (5 mi). 9.2 miles of mapped trail cross Hamilton Township, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns · #556 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
25%
6,232 acres · of 38.3 sq mi of land
Trails
9.2 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
345 ac
40 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
25%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
902 ft
Crystal Hill
Lakes & rivers
8
What kind of outdoors town is Hamilton Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hamilton Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hamilton Township is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns, #556 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 Hamilton Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land25% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land40 acres of park per 1,000 residents (345 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home25% 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 65%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 46%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Hamilton Township’s 25% is ahead of 86% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 36% 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 Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge, with 5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Pomeroy McMichaels Creek Nature Preserve
Managed by Pocono Heritage Land Trust
58 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Hickory Valley Park
Park
8 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
6,232 conserved acres
25% of Hamilton Township’s land. Who manages Hamilton Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service5,945 ac
County5,067 ac
National Park Service1,405 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits679 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)260 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government249 ac
Private owners111 ac
National Wildlife Refuge · 5,945 acAgricultural Easement · 5,067 acConservation Easement · 1,077 acNational Scenic or Historic Trail · 873 acPrivate Conservation · 730 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,597 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 6 of 104 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 5,945 | Restricted |
| Appalachian National Scenic Trail National Scenic or Historic Trail | National Park Service | 873 | Open |
| Cherry Valley Private Conservation | Not recorded | 313 | Unknown |
| Pomeroy McMichaels Creek Nature Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 138 | Open |
| Manor Drive Ballfields Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 118 | Open |
| Cherry Valley Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 111 | Closed |
| PHLT Conservation Private Conservation | Private owners | 111 | Unknown |
| Kettle Creek Wildlife Sanctuary Local Conservation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 76 | Open |
| Walker II Private Conservation | Not recorded | 51 | Restricted |
| Monroe County Conservation District Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 38 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
4 places to go in Hamilton Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Waterfalls in Hamilton Township
Old Mill Falls
DirectionsScenic views in Hamilton Township
Wolf Rocks
DirectionsPeaks in Hamilton Township
Crystal Hill902 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Hamilton Township
Twin Pines
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 8 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 6.5 mi
Appalachian Trail5.5 mi
Wolf Rocks Bypass Trail0.9 mi
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
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places 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.
When to get out
The best walking months in Hamilton Township: April, May, July 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) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 36 | 40 | 48 | 61 | 71 | 79 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 63 | 52 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.7 | 2.9 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 5.1 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 4.6 | 3.6 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 5.1 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Hamilton Township →
Next door
Hamilton Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Jackson Township32 miPocono Township28 miStroud Township25 miUpper Mount Bethel Township14 miHamilton Township9.2 miRoss Township6.9 miPlainfield Township5.9 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton Township | 25% | 0.2 | 40 | 25% | B+ |
| Jackson Township | 38% | 1.1 | 200 | 34% | A |
| Stroud Township | 16% | 0.8 | 60 | 61% | A |
| Ross Township | 20% | 0.3 | 14 | 12% | B− |
| Upper Mount Bethel Township | 25% | 0.3 | 407 | 42% | A− |
| Plainfield Township | 30% | 0.2 | 45 | 56% | A− |
| Pocono Township | 10% | 0.8 | 74 | 33% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Hamilton Township
Where can I hike in Hamilton Township?
The longest trail networks: Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge, 5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hamilton Township is conserved land?
25% 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 Hamilton Township’s trails?
Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge and Pomeroy McMichaels Creek Nature Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Hamilton Township?
44,148 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hamilton Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,277 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Hamilton Township have?
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #556 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 Hamilton 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 →