State Game Lands Number 168
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
227 acres2.3 mi of trail
Appalachian Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto SGL 168
Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ MD · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Lower Towamensing Township
Lower Towamensing Township has 18 miles of mapped trails, 0.8 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: State Game Lands Number 168 (2.3 mi). 7% of Lower Towamensing Township’s land is conserved, about 974 acres. 19% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns · #611 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
974 acres · of 21.3 sq mi of land
Trails
18 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
64 ac
21 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
19%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Lower Towamensing Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lower Towamensing Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lower Towamensing Township is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns, #611 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lower Towamensing Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (18 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land21 acres of park per 1,000 residents (64 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home19% of residents within a half mile of a park · PA 73% · U.S. 72%C−
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 Lower Towamensing Township’s 7% is ahead of 46% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 71% 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 State Game Lands Number 168, with 2.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Buckwha Creek Preserve
Managed by Wildlands Conservancy
24 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
SAP Laser Tag
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Aquashicola Playground
Managed by Lower Towamensing Twp.
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
974 conserved acres
7% of Lower Towamensing Township’s land. Who manages Lower Towamensing Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
National Park Service750 ac
State fish & wildlife454 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits98 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government25 ac
Not recorded343 ac
National Scenic or Historic Trail · 529 acState Resource Management Area · 454 acState Other or Unknown · 225 acConservation Easement · 221 acPrivate Conservation · 216 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 101 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 14 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appalachian National Scenic Trail National Scenic or Historic Trail | National Park Service | 529 | Open |
| State Game Land 168 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 452 | Open |
| Sgl 168 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 227 | Open |
| Lehigh Gap Nature Center Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 153 | Unknown |
| Buckwha Creek Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 32 | Closed |
| Buckwha Creek Rail-Trail Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 32 | Unknown |
| Fireline Road Community Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 23 | Open |
| Aquashicola Borough Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 1 | Open |
| Chestnut Ridge Rail-Trail Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 1 | Open |
Things to do
8 places to go in Lower Towamensing Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Lower Towamensing Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Lower Towamensing Township
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Lower Towamensing Township
Marshall's Hill
DirectionsCampgrounds in Lower Towamensing Township
Blue Mountain Resort CampgroundFee
DirectionsPlus 3 campgrounds without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.0 mi
Appalachian Trail4.1 mi
Winter Trail1.1 mi
L&NE Palmerton Branch1.0 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
5Baseball
1Basketball
1Football
1Tennis
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). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Little Gap Covered BridgeStructure · listed 1980
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Lower Towamensing Township: April and May
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 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 37 | 40 | 48 | 62 | 72 | 80 | 85 | 82 | 75 | 64 | 52 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 2.9 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 4.9 | 5.2 | 4.5 | 3.7 | 4.3 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 5.2 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Lower Towamensing Township →
Next door
Lower Towamensing Township and its neighbors
Lower Towamensing Township has the most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Lower Towamensing Township18 miMoore Township18 miTowamensing Township17 miEast Penn Township17 miLehigh Township12 miEldred Township7.2 miPalmerton4.3 miBowmanstown0.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Towamensing Township | 7% | 0.8 | 21 | 19% | B |
| Palmerton | 3% | 1.7 | 7 | 94% | B+ |
| Bowmanstown | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Lehigh Township | 18% | 0.4 | 19 | 38% | B+ |
| East Penn Township | 25% | 0.7 | 318 | 29% | A− |
| Towamensing Township | 35% | 0.6 | 16 | 31% | B+ |
| Eldred Township | 22% | 0.3 | 42 | 28% | B+ |
| Moore Township | 22% | 0.5 | 32 | 18% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Lower Towamensing Township
Where can I hike in Lower Towamensing Township?
The longest trail networks: State Game Lands Number 168, 2.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lower Towamensing Township is conserved land?
7% 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 Towamensing Township’s trails?
State Game Lands Number 168 and Buckwha Creek Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Lower Towamensing Township?
45,065 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lower Towamensing Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 771 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Lower Towamensing Township have?
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #611 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 Towamensing 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 →