Moshannon State Forest
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
4,354 acres5.8 mi of trail
Quehanna Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: Pubdog · Public domainAOutdoors
Outdoors in Jay Township
39% of Jay Township’s land is conserved: 16,936 acres
1,379 acres are parks and preserves, 676 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Moshannon State Forest (5.8 mi), Hemlock Ave Park (0.5 mi). 38 miles of mapped trail cross Jay Township, 0.6 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 89% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
39%
16,936 acres · of 67.7 sq mi of land
Trails
38 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,379 ac
676 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
55%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,834 ft
Gray Hill
Lakes & rivers
4
What kind of outdoors town is Jay Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Jay Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Jay Township is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Jay Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land39% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (38 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land676 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,379 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home55% 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 89%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Jay Township’s 39% is ahead of 96% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 58% 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 Moshannon State Forest, with 5.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Elk State Forest
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
3,068 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
State Game Lands Number 34
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
669 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 6 parks & preserves
Moshannon State Forest4,354 acres · 5.8 mi of trail · Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
Hemlock Ave Park5 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsElk State Forest3,068 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
State Game Lands Number 34669 acres · Pennsylvania Game Commission
DirectionsState Game Lands Number 311230 acres · Pennsylvania Game Commission
DirectionsByrnedale Park3 acres
Who protects it
16,936 conserved acres
39% of Jay Township’s land. Who manages Jay Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits22,236 ac
State natural resources7,442 ac
State fish & wildlife857 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government6 ac
Not recorded1,401 ac
Conservation Easement · 20,095 acState Resource Management Area · 8,298 acPrivate Conservation · 2,708 acUnknown Easement · 787 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 38 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 7,239 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 23 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moshannon State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 4,355 | Open |
| Elk State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 3,087 | Open |
| Bennet Branch Forest Private Conservation | Not recorded | 2,708 | Open |
| State Game Land 034 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 661 | Open |
| State Game Land 311 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 196 | Open |
| Elk Timberlands - Trout Run South Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 38 | Unknown |
| Spruce Street Recreational Park Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 6 | Open |
| Bennetts Valley Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 4 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Not recorded | 3 | Open |
| Thurisaz Field Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 3 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Jay Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Jay Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Jay Township
Gray Hill1,834 ft elevation
DirectionsRed Hill1,640 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 5.4 mi
Quehanna Trail4.7 mi
Shawmut Grade3.5 mi
Lakes & 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
1Basketball
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Jay Township: April, May and July to September
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) | 33 | 36 | 46 | 59 | 70 | 78 | 81 | 80 | 73 | 61 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 3.3 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Jay Township →
Next door
Jay Township and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jay Township | 39% | 0.6 | 676 | 55% | A |
| Fox Township | 26% | 0.5 | 27 | 24% | B+ |
| Benezette Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| St. Marys | 30% | 1.0 | 9 | 62% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Jay Township
Where can I hike in Jay Township?
The longest trail networks: Moshannon State Forest, 5.8 miles; Hemlock Ave Park, 0.5 miles; Elk State Forest, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Jay Township is conserved land?
39% 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 Jay Township’s trails?
Moshannon State Forest and Hemlock Ave Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Jay Township?
221,681 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Jay Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 9,634 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Jay Township have?
Ahead of 89% 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.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Jay 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 →