Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Ralston Freeman Covered Bridge · Photo: Lee Paxton (Original uploader was Leepaxton at en.wikipedia) · CC BY-SA 4.072 miles of mapped trail cross Hanover Township, 1.5 per square mile of land. 14% of Hanover Township’s land is conserved, about 4,176 acres. The biggest trail networks: Hillman State Park (43 mi).
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hanover Township is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Hanover Township’s 14% is ahead of 68% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 88% of them.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
The longest trail network is Hillman State Park, with 43 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
14% of Hanover Township’s land. Who manages Hanover Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 328 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hillman State Park State Park | State parks | 3,648 | Open |
| State Game Land 117 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 134 | Open |
| Hanover Township Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 22 | Open |
| Hanover Township Community Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 17 | Open |
| Paris Ballfields Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 16 | Open |
| Panhandle Trail Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 11 | Open |
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
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.
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) | 36 | 40 | 49 | 62 | 72 | 80 | 83 | 82 | 76 | 64 | 51 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 3.1 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Hanover Township →
Hanover Township has the most mapped trails of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hanover Township | 14% | 1.5 | 1,544 | 28% | A |
| Robinson Township | 1% | 0.2 | 78 | 40% | B− |
| Jefferson Township | 1% | 0.3 | 9 | 10% | C |
| Smith Township | 13% | 0.2 | 43 | 54% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
The longest trail networks: Hillman State Park, 43 miles; Hanover Township Community Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
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.
Hillman State Park and State Game Lands Number 117 don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
1.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.2 of off-road paths.
29,236 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hanover Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,870 of them inside the town line.
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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.
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Hanover Township neighbors.
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 →