State Game Lands Number 207
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
1,181 acres11.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Ashley Planes · Photo: Russ Nelson · CC BY-SA 2.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Hanover Township
37% of Hanover Township’s land is conserved: 4,413 acres
30 miles of mapped trail cross Hanover Township, 1.6 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: State Game Lands Number 207 (11.2 mi), Pinchot State Forest (5.7 mi). 88% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns · #126 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
37%
4,413 acres · of 18.9 sq mi of land
Trails
30 mi
1.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
146 ac
13 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
88%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.2 mi
2.2 mi paths
Highest peak
1,417 ft
Wilkes-Barre Mountain
Lakes & rivers
5
1 boat launch
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, #126 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Hanover Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land37% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A+Trails1.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (30 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4APark land13 acres of park per 1,000 residents (146 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home88% 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 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 37% is ahead of 94% 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 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 State Game Lands Number 207, with 11.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Pinchot State Forest
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
2,165 acres5.7 mi of trail
Sugar Notch Trails: Ridgetop Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Joe Palooka Mountain AccessWebsite ↗
Hanover Recreation Club Park
Park
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
State Game Lands Number 2071,181 acres · 11.2 mi of trail · Pennsylvania Game Commission
DirectionsPinchot State Forest2,165 acres · 5.7 mi of trail · Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
DirectionsHanover Recreation Club Park10 acres
Hanover Green Park2 acres
DirectionsKorn Krest Park1 acres
Who protects it
4,413 conserved acres
37% of Hanover Township’s land. Who manages Hanover Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits1,914 ac
State natural resources1,448 ac
State fish & wildlife1,180 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government95 ac
Not recorded2,903 ac
State Resource Management Area · 4,076 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 1,557 acPrivate Conservation · 1,495 acConservation Easement · 284 acLocal Recreation Area · 68 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 70 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 19 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earth Conservancy Property Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 2,940 | Unknown |
| Crystal Lake Tract State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 1,448 | Open |
| Pinchot State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 1,447 | Open |
| State Game Land 207 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 1,180 | Open |
| Hanover Crossings Marsh Private Conservation | Not recorded | 81 | Open |
| Luzerne County Levee Trail Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 50 | Open |
| Anthracite Scenic Trails Private Recreation or Education | Not recorded | 32 | Open |
| Back Mountain Trail Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 32 | Closed |
| Richard Island Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 17 | Open |
| Front Street Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 12 | Open |
4 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
9 places to go in Hanover Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Hanover Township
Hanover Township Municipal Playground
DirectionsPlus 5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Hanover Township
Hanover Township Boat Launch
DirectionsScenic views in Hanover Township
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Hanover Township
Wilkes-Barre Mountain1,417 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Sugar Notch Trails: Ridgetop Trail0.5 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
6Baseball
5Tennis
5Basketball
2Soccer
1Football
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 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Ashley PlanesStructure · listed 1980
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Hanover 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) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 37 | 46 | 59 | 70 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 61 | 49 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.3 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 3.1 | 3.3 |
February is the driest month (2.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.4 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Hanover Township →
Next door
Hanover Township and its neighbors
Hanover Township has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Plymouth Township62 miHanover Township30 miNewport Township26 miFairview Township25 miWilkes-Barre3.2 miNanticoke1.9 miLarksville1.0 miNuangola0.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hanover Township | 37% | 1.6 | 13 | 88% | A |
| Plymouth Township | 45% | 3.9 | 511 | 67% | A+ |
| Nanticoke | 10% | 0.5 | 3 | 90% | B |
| Larksville | 1% | 0.2 | 9 | 89% | B− |
| Fairview Township | 55% | 2.6 | 85 | 55% | A |
| Nuangola | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Wilkes-Barre | 8% | 0.5 | 8 | 99%+ | A− |
| Newport Township | 47% | 1.6 | 18 | 54% | A |
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: State Game Lands Number 207, 11.2 miles; Pinchot State Forest, 5.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hanover Township is conserved land?
37% 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?
State Game Lands Number 207 and Pinchot State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Hanover Township?
2.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Hanover Township?
72,588 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hanover Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,773 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Hanover Township have?
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #126 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 →