Raccoon Creek State Park
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks
7,097 acres42.5 mi of trail
Heritage Trail [Blue]Forest Trail [White]Appaloosa Trail [Yellow]Ski trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Jason Pratt (FishSpeaker) from Pittsburgh, PA · CC BY 2.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Hanover Township
Hanover Township has 7,187 acres of parks, 2,169 for every 1,000 residents
26% of Hanover Township’s land is conserved, about 7,369 acres. 46 miles of mapped trail cross Hanover Township, 1.0 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Raccoon Creek State Park (42.5 mi).
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns · #124 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
26%
7,369 acres · of 44.9 sq mi of land
Trails
46 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
7,187 ac
2,169 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
45%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
1 beach · 3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Hanover Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hanover Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hanover Township is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #124 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Hanover Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land26% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (46 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land2,169 acres of park per 1,000 residents (7,187 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home45% 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 91%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 88%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Hanover Township’s 26% is ahead of 86% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 78% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Raccoon Creek State Park, with 42.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
State Game Lands Number 189
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
53 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
7,369 conserved acres
26% of Hanover Township’s land. Who manages Hanover Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks7,118 ac
County691 ac
State fish & wildlife58 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government15 ac
Not recorded92 ac
State Park · 7,201 acAgricultural Easement · 691 acState Resource Management Area · 58 acLocal Recreation Area · 15 acLocal Park · 10 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 173 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 9 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raccoon Creek State Park State Park | State parks | 7,201 | Open |
| State Game Land 189 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 58 | Open |
| Ballfield Complex Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 15 | Open |
| Hanover Township Ballfields Local Park | Not recorded | 10 | Unknown |
Things to do
13 places to go in Hanover Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Hanover Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Hanover Township
1 playground without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Hanover Township
3 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Waterfalls in Hanover Township
Frankfort Mineral SpringsIn Raccoon Creek State Park
DirectionsScenic views in Hanover Township
Mineral SpringsIn Raccoon Creek State Park
DirectionsPicnic areas in Hanover Township
Rider's RidgeIn Raccoon Creek State Park
DirectionsCampgrounds in Hanover Township
Pioneer Backpacking SitesIn Raccoon Creek State Park
DirectionsPioneer Group SitesIn Raccoon Creek State Park
DirectionsPlus 3 campgrounds without a name on the map.
Trails & water
24 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.9 miHorses · 9.1 miUnpaved · 29.0 mi
Heritage Trail [Blue]9.4 mi
Forest Trail [White]6.1 mi
Appaloosa Trail [Yellow]3.0 mi
Ski trail2.7 mi
Lake Trail [Blue]1.9 mi
Pinto Loop Trail [Yellow]1.9 mi
X-C Ski Trail [White]1.4 mi
Camp Trail [White]1.4 mi
Buckskin Trail [Yellow]1.2 mi
Valley Trail [Red]1.1 mi
14 more trails
Mineral Springs Loop Trail [White]
1.1 miPalomino Trail [Yellow]
1.1 miWetlands Trail [Green]
1.0 miAppaloosa Spur Trail
0.7 miHeron Trail [Orange]
0.6 miUpland Trail [Red]
0.5 miBeach Trail
0.4 miConnector 4
0.3 miConnector 5
0.3 mi"No Outlet" Trail
0.2 miRaccoon Creek State Park Trails
0.2 miConnector
0.1 miConnector 1 (C-1)
0.1 miConnector 9 (C-9)
0.1 miLakes & 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
4Baseball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Hanover Township: April 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 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 36 | 40 | 49 | 62 | 72 | 80 | 83 | 82 | 76 | 64 | 51 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 3.0 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Hanover Township →
Next door
Hanover Township and its neighbors
Hanover Township has the most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Hanover Township46 miFindlay Township19 miIndependence Township7.0 miRobinson Township5.3 miGreene Township1.6 miRaccoon Township0.4 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hanover Township | 26% | 1.0 | 2,169 | 45% | A |
| Findlay Township | 2% | 0.6 | 36 | 85% | B+ |
| Robinson Township | 1% | 0.2 | 78 | 40% | B− |
| Greene Township | 3% | 0.1 | 143 | 24% | C+ |
| Independence Township | 7% | 0.3 | 316 | 26% | B |
| Raccoon Township | 14% | under 0.1 | 605 | 38% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Hanover Township
Where can I hike in Hanover Township?
The longest trail networks: Raccoon Creek State Park, 42.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hanover Township is conserved land?
26% 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 Hanover Township’s trails?
Raccoon Creek State Park and State Game Lands Number 189 don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Hanover Township?
25,981 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hanover Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 7,249 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Hanover Township have?
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #124 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 Hanover 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 →