Frances Slocum State Park
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks
998 acres13 mi of trail
Maconaquah TrailDeer TrailLake Shore TrailLarch Tree Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Umrok · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Kingston Township
Kingston Township has 1,028 acres of parks, 144 for every 1,000 residents
14 miles of mapped trail cross Kingston Township, 1.1 per square mile of land. 12% of Kingston Township’s land is conserved, about 1,041 acres. The biggest trail networks: Frances Slocum State Park (13 mi).
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns · #189 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
12%
1,041 acres · of 13.6 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,028 ac
144 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
56%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.8 mi
2.8 mi paths
Highest peak
1,542 ft
Bunker Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Kingston Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Kingston Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Kingston Township is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns, #189 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Kingston Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (14 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land144 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,028 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13AParks close to home56% 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 87%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 82%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Kingston Township’s 12% is ahead of 64% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 79% 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 Frances Slocum State Park, with 13 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Pinchot State Forest
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Kingston Township Park
Park
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
1,041 conserved acres
12% of Kingston Township’s land. Who manages Kingston Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks998 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits32 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government16 ac
State natural resources5 ac
Not recorded192 ac
State Park · 1,160 acPrivate Conservation · 22 acLocal Park · 16 acRecreation or Education Easement · 15 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 13 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frances Slocum State Park State Park | State parks | 1,160 | Open |
| Back Mountain Trail Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 35 | Closed |
| Center Street Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 16 | Open |
| Pinchot State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 10 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Kingston Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Kingston Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Kingston Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Peaks in Kingston Township
Bunker Hill1,542 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
11 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 5.2 miUnpaved · 12.2 mi
Maconaquah Trail2.5 mi
Deer Trail1.7 mi
Lake Shore Trail1.5 mi
Larch Tree Trail1.3 mi
Upper Deer Trail0.8 mi
Bluebird Trail0.7 mi
Campground Trail0.6 mi
Buck Trail0.4 mi
Loop Trail0.4 mi
Hilltop Trail0.2 mi
1 more trails
Doe Trail
0.2 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.8 mi
off-road bike paths
When to get out
The best walking months in Kingston Township: May 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) | 33 | 37 | 45 | 59 | 70 | 77 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 61 | 48 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.4 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 3.1 | 3.3 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.3 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Kingston Township →
Next door
Kingston Township and its neighbors
Kingston 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingston Township | 12% | 1.1 | 144 | 56% | A |
| Luzerne | 1% | 0.3 | 1 | 99%+ | C+ |
| Swoyersville | 2% | 0.8 | 7 | 99%+ | B+ |
| West Wyoming | 1% | 0.1 | 6 | 81% | C |
| Jackson Township | 8% | 0.1 | 1 | 6% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Kingston Township
Where can I hike in Kingston Township?
The longest trail networks: Frances Slocum State Park, 13 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Kingston Township is conserved land?
12% 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 Kingston Township’s trails?
Frances Slocum State Park and Pinchot State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Kingston Township?
2.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Kingston Township?
31,664 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Kingston Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,032 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Kingston Township have?
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #189 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 Kingston 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 →