Tuscarora State Forest
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
3,402 acres9.3 mi of trail
Cider PathWoodburn TrailFlat Rock TrailTuscarora Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Hiker ParkingWebsite ↗
Photo: w:Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks , probably Burt Ellsworth, the staff photographer · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Lower Mifflin Township
25% of Lower Mifflin Township’s land is conserved: 3,824 acres
258 acres are parks and preserves, 140 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Tuscarora State Forest (9.3 mi), Colonel Denning State Park (4.4 mi). 2% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 74% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
25%
3,824 acres · of 23.8 sq mi of land
Trails
16 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
258 ac
140 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
2%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Lower Mifflin Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lower Mifflin Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lower Mifflin Township is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lower Mifflin Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land25% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (16 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land140 acres of park per 1,000 residents (258 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13AParks close to home2% of residents within a half mile of a park · PA 73% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 74%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Lower Mifflin Township’s 25% is ahead of 85% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 66% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B 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 Tuscarora State Forest, with 9.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Colonel Denning State Park
Managed by Pennyslvania Bureau of State Parks
298 acres4.4 mi of trail
Rattlesnake TrailFlat Rock Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Hiker ParkingWebsite ↗
Who protects it
3,824 conserved acres
25% of Lower Mifflin Township’s land. Who manages Lower Mifflin Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources3,516 ac
State parks256 ac
County71 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)17 ac
State Resource Management Area · 3,516 acState Park · 256 acAgricultural Easement · 71 acConservation Easement · 17 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 53 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuscarora State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 3,516 | Open |
| Colonel Denning State Park State Park | State parks | 256 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Lower Mifflin Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Lower Mifflin Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Campgrounds in Lower Mifflin Township
Colonel Denning State Park CampgroundIn Colonel Denning State Park
DirectionsTrails & water
8 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.2 mi
Cider Path2.3 mi
Tuscarora Trail2.2 mi
Rattlesnake Trail1.9 mi
Woodburn Trail1.4 mi
Flat Rock Trail1.4 mi
Old Flat Rock Trail0.5 mi
Warner Trail0.4 mi
lower garage trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Lower Mifflin 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 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 38 | 42 | 51 | 63 | 73 | 82 | 86 | 84 | 77 | 65 | 53 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 2.9 | 2.5 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 3.7 | 3.0 | 3.3 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.4 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Lower Mifflin Township →
Next door
Lower Mifflin Township and its neighbors
Lower Mifflin Township has the most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Lower Mifflin Township16 miTyrone Township16 miJackson Township16 miUpper Mifflin Township10 miWest Pennsboro Township4.3 miUpper Frankford Township4.0 miSouthwest Madison Township2.3 miNorth Newton Township0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Mifflin Township | 25% | 0.7 | 140 | 2% | B+ |
| North Newton Township | 13% | under 0.1 | 28 | 37% | B− |
| Tyrone Township | 24% | 0.4 | 18 | 22% | B |
| Jackson Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Southwest Madison Township | 22% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
| Upper Mifflin Township | 24% | 0.5 | 5 | 5% | B− |
| Upper Frankford Township | 6% | 0.2 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
| West Pennsboro Township | 23% | 0.1 | 26 | 34% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Lower Mifflin Township
Where can I hike in Lower Mifflin Township?
The longest trail networks: Tuscarora State Forest, 9.3 miles; Colonel Denning State Park, 4.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lower Mifflin Township is conserved land?
25% 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 Mifflin Township’s trails?
Tuscarora State Forest and Colonel Denning State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Lower Mifflin Township?
67,823 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lower Mifflin Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,791 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Lower Mifflin Township have?
Ahead of 74% 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 Lower Mifflin 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 →