Rager Mountain Division
Nature preserve
4,952 acres22.9 mi of trail
Laurel Run TrailChickaree TrailLeslie TrailSnowmobile Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Photo: Ron Shawley · CC BY 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Jackson Township
31% of Jackson Township’s land is conserved: 9,533 acres
The biggest trail networks: Rager Mountain Division (22.9 mi), State Game Lands Number 79 (3.9 mi). 34 miles of mapped trail cross Jackson Township, 0.7 per square mile of land. 33% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 67% of U.S. towns · #518 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
31%
9,533 acres · of 47.8 sq mi of land
Trails
34 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
46 ac
11 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
33%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.6 mi
3.6 mi paths
Highest peak
2,579 ft
Rager Mountain
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Jackson Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Jackson Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Jackson Township is ahead of 67% of U.S. towns, #518 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 Jackson Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land31% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (34 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land11 acres of park per 1,000 residents (46 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home33% 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 50%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Jackson Township’s 31% is ahead of 91% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 67% 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 Rager Mountain Division, with 22.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
State Game Lands Number 79
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
4,523 acres3.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Gallitzin State Forest
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
4,952 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 8 parks & preserves
Rager Mountain Division4,952 acres · 22.9 mi of trail
DirectionsState Game Lands Number 794,523 acres · 3.9 mi of trail · Pennsylvania Game Commission
DirectionsLeidy Lane Park5 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsCharles F. Lewis Natural Area19 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
DirectionsGallitzin State Forest4,952 acres · Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
Mitchell Park7 acres
Veteran's Memorial Park2 acres
Loraine Lake1 acres
Who protects it
9,533 conserved acres
31% of Jackson Township’s land. Who manages Jackson Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources4,957 ac
State fish & wildlife4,523 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government41 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits38 ac
Town or city2 ac
State Resource Management Area · 9,479 acLocal Park · 41 acLocal Other or Unknown · 25 acConservation Easement · 13 acLocal Recreation Area · 2 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 12 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gallitzin State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 4,957 | Open |
| State Game Land 079 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 4,523 | Open |
| Manufacturers Water Co.Tracts Local Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 25 | Open |
| Cambria Somerset Authority Reservoir Tract Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 25 | Open |
| Mitchell Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 8 | Open |
| Leidy Field Community Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 6 | Open |
| Leidy Park Addition Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 2 | Open |
| Marhefka Land Acquisition (Leidy Park Addition) Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Jackson Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Jackson Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Jackson Township
Rager Mountain2,579 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
7 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 7.4 miHorses · 16.3 miUnpaved · 0.5 mi
Laurel Run Trail6.0 mi
Chickaree Trail2.7 mi
Leslie Trail2.2 mi
Snowmobile Trail2.1 mi
Rager Mountain Trail1.8 mi
Wenturine Tract Trail1.1 mi
Leslie Trail Loop0.7 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
3.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Jackson Township: April, May 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 | 15.0 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 37 | 46 | 59 | 69 | 77 | 80 | 79 | 72 | 61 | 48 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 3.8 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.8 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 4.0 |
February is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.8 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Jackson Township →
Next door
Jackson Township and its neighbors
Jackson Township has the most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Jackson Township34 miBlacklick Township14 miCambria Township13 miCroyle Township1.8 miVintondale0.6 miMundys Corner0.2 miTwin Rocks0.0 miNanty-Glo0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson Township | 31% | 0.7 | 11 | 33% | B+ |
| Blacklick Township | 23% | 0.4 | 43 | 20% | B+ |
| Twin Rocks | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Nanty-Glo | 7% | under 0.1 | 28 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Vintondale | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Mundys Corner | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Croyle Township | 2% | 0.1 | 26 | 35% | C+ |
| Cambria Township | 3% | 0.3 | 39 | 39% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Jackson Township
Where can I hike in Jackson Township?
The longest trail networks: Rager Mountain Division, 22.9 miles; State Game Lands Number 79, 3.9 miles; Leidy Lane Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Jackson Township is conserved land?
31% 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 Jackson Township’s trails?
Rager Mountain Division and State Game Lands Number 79 don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Jackson Township?
3.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Jackson Township?
47,535 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Jackson Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 9,595 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Jackson Township have?
Ahead of 67% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #518 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 Jackson 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 →