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Shenango River in Jefferson TownshipPhoto: Nyttend · Public domain
COutdoors
Outdoors in Jefferson Township

5% of Jefferson Township’s land is conserved: 834 acres

2% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4.3 miles of mapped trail cross Jefferson Township, 0.2 per square mile of land. 22 acres are parks and preserves, 13 per 1,000 residents.

Ahead of 34% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Conserved land
5%
834 acres · of 24.7 sq mi of land
Trails
4.3 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
22 ac
13 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
2%
of residents within ½ mile
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Jefferson Township have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Jefferson Township is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.

C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Jefferson Township’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 34%
LessMore

Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Jefferson Township’s 5% is ahead of 38% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 29% of them.

How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. 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
Who protects it

834 conserved acres

5% of Jefferson Township’s land. Who manages Jefferson Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

County3,182 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)243 ac
Joint112 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government21 ac
Agricultural Easement · 3,425 acUnknown Easement · 112 acLocal Park · 21 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 812 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Jefferson Township Park
Local Park
Other or Unknown Local Government21Open
Things to do

5 places to go in Jefferson Township

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Boat launches in Jefferson Township
Big Bend Boat Launch
Directions

Plus 1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.

Trails & water

4 named trails

Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.6 miHorses · 1.6 miUnpaved · 1.9 mi
Shenango River Trail0.9 mi
Tow Path Trail0.5 mi
Pew Rd Entrance Trail0.2 mi
Shenango River Bypass Trail0.1 mi
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
1Equestrian
1Basketball
1Pickleball
1Tennis

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

When to get out

The best walking months in Jefferson Township: April, May, August and 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.510.611.813.314.515.114.913.812.411.09.89.2
High (°F)353847617179838175635039
Rain (in)3.02.43.24.04.04.64.63.84.03.43.13.2

February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Jefferson Township →

Next door

Jefferson Township and its neighbors

Jefferson Township has the second most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.

TownConserved
of land
Trail mi
per sq mi
Park acres
per 1,000
Near a park
½ mile
Outdoors
Jefferson Township5%0.2132%C
Delaware Township4%0.2711%C
Lackawannock Township1%0.172%D
Coolspring Township7%under 0.1under 14%D

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in Jefferson Township

How much of Jefferson Township is conserved land?

5% 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.

Is there public land near Jefferson Township?

4,212 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Jefferson Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 22 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Jefferson Township have?

Ahead of 34% 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 Jefferson Township neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →