Windolph Landing Nature Preserve
Managed by Lancaster Conservancy
19 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Randolph Carney · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Lancaster Township
Lancaster Township has 141 acres of parks, 7.6 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Windolph Landing Nature Preserve (0.7 mi). 3.4 miles of mapped trail cross Lancaster Township, 0.6 per square mile of land. 80% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns · #614 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
186 acres · of 5.9 sq mi of land
Trails
3.4 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
141 ac
7.6 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
80%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.6 mi
0.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lancaster Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lancaster Township is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns, #614 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lancaster Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land7.6 acres of park per 1,000 residents (141 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home80% 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 61%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 41%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Lancaster Township’s 5% is ahead of 35% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 61% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Windolph Landing Nature Preserve, with 0.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lancaster Community Park
Park
21 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Conestoga Creek Park
Managed by City of Lancaster
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 8 parks & preserves
Windolph Landing Nature Preserve19 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · Lancaster Conservancy
DirectionsMaple Grove Park5 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsLancaster Community Park21 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsWindolph Landing Park10 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsConestoga Creek Park6 acres · City of Lancaster
DirectionsSpalding Conservancy3 acres · Franklin & Marshall College
City of Lancaster Open Space2 acres · City of Lancaster
DirectionsHamilton Park2 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
186 conserved acres
5% of Lancaster Township’s land. Who manages Lancaster Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits176 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government119 ac
Not recorded23 ac
Forest Stewardship Easement · 75 acLocal Park · 64 acPrivate Conservation · 41 acHistoric or Cultural Easement · 41 acLocal Recreation Area · 40 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 44 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 30 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windolph Landing Nature Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 41 | Open |
| Penn Manor Comet Field Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 36 | Open |
| Lancaster Community Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 27 | Open |
| Maple Grove Community Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 20 | Open |
| Water Plant Conservation Area Local Conservation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 15 | Unknown |
| Windolph Landing Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 10 | Open |
| Conestoga Creek Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 6 | Open |
| Open Space Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 4 | Open |
| Lyfc Trail Easement Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 3 | Closed |
| Hamilton Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 2 | Open |
Things to do
8 places to go in Lancaster Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Lancaster Township
8 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
12Baseball
8Tennis
7Soccer
2Basketball
1Lacrosse
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →7 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
AbbevilleBuilding · listed 1978
About itLancaster County House of EmploymentBuilding · listed 1980
About itLancaster Watch CompanyBuilding · listed 1982
About itNortheast Lancaster Township Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1986
About itTotten HouseDistrict · listed 1989
About itBausman FarmsteadBuilding · listed 1994
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Lancaster Township: April to June 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 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 42 | 52 | 64 | 74 | 82 | 86 | 84 | 78 | 66 | 54 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.6 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 3.1 | 3.6 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.6 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Lancaster Township →
Next door
Lancaster Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Manor Township18 miWest Lampeter Township16 miLancaster9.4 miEast Hempfield Township7.7 miPequea Township5.9 miEast Lampeter Township4.5 miLancaster Township3.4 miMillersville3.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lancaster Township | 5% | 0.6 | 8 | 80% | B |
| Lancaster | 12% | 1.3 | 10 | 99% | A |
| Pequea Township | 30% | 0.4 | 26 | 26% | B+ |
| Manor Township | 36% | 0.5 | 45 | 75% | A |
| Millersville | 2% | 1.7 | 3 | 45% | B− |
| West Lampeter Township | 28% | 1.0 | 36 | 76% | A |
| East Hempfield Township | 13% | 0.4 | 12 | 71% | B+ |
| East Lampeter Township | 12% | 0.2 | 9 | 56% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Lancaster Township
Where can I hike in Lancaster Township?
The longest trail networks: Windolph Landing Nature Preserve, 0.7 miles; Lancaster Community Park, 0.1 miles; Windolph Landing Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lancaster 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.
Are dogs allowed on Lancaster Township’s trails?
Windolph Landing Nature Preserve and Lancaster Community Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Lancaster Township?
0.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Lancaster Township?
11,723 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lancaster Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 141 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Lancaster Township have?
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #614 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 Lancaster 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 →