Dorothy Rider Pool Wildlife Sanctuary
Managed by Wildlands Conservatory
72 acres2.7 mi of trail
Sensory TrailWoodlands TrailConnectorFloodplain Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Photo: Nicholas · CC BY 2.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Lower Macungie Township
15% of Lower Macungie Township’s land is conserved, and 99% of residents live within a half mile of a park
15% of Lower Macungie Township’s land is conserved, about 2,145 acres. 1,173 acres are parks and preserves, 36 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Dorothy Rider Pool Wildlife Sanctuary (2.7 mi), Brenner-Penfield Macungie Mountain Preserve (1 mi), Reimert Memorial Bird Haven (0.6 mi).
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns · #139 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
15%
2,145 acres · of 22.4 sq mi of land
Trails
9.8 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,173 ac
36 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.5 mi
4.6 mi lanes · 0.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Lower Macungie Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lower Macungie Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lower Macungie Township is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #139 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lower Macungie Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land15% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (10 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land36 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,173 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home99% of residents within a half mile of a park · PA 73% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 90%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 87%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Lower Macungie Township’s 15% is ahead of 70% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 50% 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 Dorothy Rider Pool Wildlife Sanctuary, with 2.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Brenner-Penfield Macungie Mountain Preserve
Managed by Wildlands Conservancy
42 acres1 mi of trail
Tulip TrailSpicebush Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Reimert Memorial Bird Haven
Managed by Wildlands Conservancy
12 acres0.6 mi of trail
Magnolia TrailTulip Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Lower Macungie Township Municipal Campus
Park
48 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 34 parks & preserves
Dorothy Rider Pool Wildlife Sanctuary72 acres · 2.7 mi of trail · Wildlands Conservatory
DirectionsBrenner-Penfield Macungie Mountain Preserve42 acres · 1 mi of trail · Wildlands Conservancy
DirectionsReimert Memorial Bird Haven12 acres · 0.6 mi of trail · Wildlands Conservancy
Lower Macungie Township Municipal Campus48 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsMillbrook Farms Park5 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Camp Olympic Park109 acres
DirectionsCreamery Park33 acres
DirectionsQuarry Road Park31 acres
DirectionsHills at Lock Ridge Park and Community Center24 acres
DirectionsHills at Lock Ridge Park21 acres
DirectionsSpring Ridge Crossing Park18 acres
DirectionsSpring Creek Estates Park15 acres
DirectionsChurch Lane Sports Park13 acres
DirectionsFarmington Hills Park13 acres
DirectionsWild Cherry Park11 acres
DirectionsEast Texas Community Park8 acres
DirectionsWinding Brook Lower Park7 acres
Heritage Heights Park6 acres · Lower Macungie Township
DirectionsBrookfield Park6 acres
Macungie Memorial Park5 acres
DirectionsPrater Park5 acres
Rodale County Park5 acres
DirectionsWescosville Memorial Park5 acres
DirectionsAncient Oaks South Park5 acres
Watermill Park4 acres
DirectionsBeaumont at Brookside Park4 acres · Lower Macungie Township
Lock Ridge Park3 acres
Lehigh Crossings Park3 acres
Millbrook Farms Open Space3 acres
Hidden Valley Park3 acres
Shepherd Hills Park2 acres
Brookside Farms Park2 acres
DirectionsCross Timbers Park2 acres
The Hills at Lockridge1 acres · The Hills at Lockridge
Who protects it
2,145 conserved acres
15% of Lower Macungie Township’s land. Who manages Lower Macungie Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County3,405 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government518 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits492 ac
Joint99 ac
State fish & wildlife19 ac
Not recorded654 ac
Agricultural Easement · 3,860 acLocal Park · 533 acLocal Other or Unknown · 268 acPrivate Conservation · 254 acLocal Recreation Area · 184 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,032 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 8 of 144 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Municipal Land Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 219 | Open |
| Dorothy Rider Pool Wildlife Sanctuary Private Conservation | Not recorded | 152 | Open |
| Camp Olympic Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 98 | Open |
| Little Lehigh Creek Local Park | Not recorded | 94 | Unknown |
| Lower Macungie Township Community Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 90 | Open |
| Little Lehigh Creek Flood Plain-Miscellaneous Open Local Park | County | 88 | Open |
| Brenner-Penfield Macungie Mountain Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 79 | Open |
| Hills at Lock Ridge Open Space Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 64 | Open |
| Wild Cherry Knoll Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 41 | Unknown |
| Millbrook Farms Recreation Area Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 34 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
49 places to go in Lower Macungie Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Lower Macungie Township
1 public pool without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Lower Macungie Township
Eco PlaygroundIn Camp Olympic Park
DirectionsPenn's West Playground
DirectionsSchoeneck Field West
DirectionsWillow Lane Playground
Directions44 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Dog parks in Lower Macungie Township
Lower Macungie Dog Park - Large DogsIn Spring Creek Estates Park
DirectionsLower Macungie Dog Park - Small DogsIn Spring Creek Estates Park
DirectionsPlus 1 dog park without a name on the map.
Community gardens in Lower Macungie Township
Community Garden
DirectionsTrails & water
11 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.8 mi
Tulip Trail0.8 mi
Sensory Trail0.5 mi
Magnolia Trail0.4 mi
Spicebush Trail0.4 mi
Woodlands Trail0.4 mi
Connector0.3 mi
Floodplain Trail0.3 mi
Backyard Trail0.2 mi
Pheasant Run Trail0.2 mi
Urban Forest Trail0.1 mi
1 more trails
PA Tree ID
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
5.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.6 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.2 mi
off-road bike paths
0.6 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
35Tennis
24Basketball
20Baseball
14Soccer
9Pickleball
2Football
1Lacrosse
1Cricket
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Rodale Organic Gardening Experimental FarmBuilding · listed 1999
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Lower Macungie Township: April to June
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 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 42 | 50 | 63 | 74 | 82 | 86 | 84 | 77 | 65 | 54 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.7 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 4.0 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.0 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Lower Macungie Township →
Next door
Lower Macungie Township and its neighbors
Lower Macungie Township has the most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Lower Macungie Township9.8 miUpper Macungie Township6.3 miUpper Milford Township3.6 miEmmaus3.2 miTrexlertown3.1 miSouth Whitehall Township2.6 miMacungie1.5 miWescosville0.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Macungie Township | 15% | 0.4 | 36 | 99% | A |
| Macungie | 9% | 1.5 | 18 | 99%+ | A |
| Emmaus | 9% | 1.1 | 15 | 99%+ | A |
| Upper Milford Township | 14% | 0.2 | 43 | 61% | B+ |
| Upper Macungie Township | 9% | 0.2 | 21 | 73% | B+ |
| Wescosville | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| South Whitehall Township | 4% | 0.2 | 20 | 94% | B |
| Trexlertown | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Lower Macungie Township
Where can I hike in Lower Macungie Township?
The longest trail networks: Dorothy Rider Pool Wildlife Sanctuary, 2.7 miles; Brenner-Penfield Macungie Mountain Preserve, 1 miles; Reimert Memorial Bird Haven, 0.6 miles; Lower Macungie Township Municipal Campus, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lower Macungie Township is conserved land?
15% 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 Lower Macungie Township’s trails?
Dorothy Rider Pool Wildlife Sanctuary and Brenner-Penfield Macungie Mountain Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Lower Macungie Township?
5.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.6 of painted or protected lanes, 0.2 of off-road paths and 0.6 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Lower Macungie Township?
17,853 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lower Macungie Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,179 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Lower Macungie Township have?
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #139 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 Lower Macungie 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 →