North Park
Managed by Allegheny County
1,780 acres25.2 mi of trail
Red Trail Loop (old Red / Blue Dot Trail)Orange TrailRachel Carson TrailGreen Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
AOutdoors
Outdoors in McCandless Township
McCandless Township has 32 miles of mapped trails, 2.0 for every square mile of land
16% of McCandless Township’s land is conserved, about 1,660 acres. 1,668 acres are parks and preserves, 57 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: North Park (25.2 mi).
Ahead of 89% of U.S. towns · #156 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
16%
1,660 acres · of 16.5 sq mi of land
Trails
32 mi
2.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,668 ac
57 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
53%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.4 mi
0.4 mi lanes · 5.0 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is McCandless Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does McCandless Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, McCandless Township is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns, #156 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of McCandless Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land16% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%ATrails2.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (32 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4APark land57 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,668 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home53% 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 89%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 85%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so McCandless Township’s 16% is ahead of 72% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 93% 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 North Park, with 25.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Potter Park
Park
9 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Wall Park
Park
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
North Park1,780 acres · 25.2 mi of trail · Allegheny County
DirectionsPotter Park9 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Vestal Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsDevlin Park8 acres · Town of McCandless
DirectionsWall Park5 acres
Who protects it
1,660 conserved acres
16% of McCandless Township’s land. Who manages McCandless Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government1,638 ac
Private owners14 ac
Not recorded80 ac
Local Park · 1,732 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 10 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 1,659 | Open |
| Devlin Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 18 | Open |
| Potter Park Local Park | Not recorded | 17 | Unknown |
| Vestal Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 15 | Open |
| Vincentian Fields Local Park | Private owners | 14 | Open |
| Wall Park Local Park | Not recorded | 9 | Unknown |
Things to do
23 places to go in McCandless Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in McCandless Township
15 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in McCandless Township
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in McCandless Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Scenic views in McCandless Township
North Park Meadow OverlookIn North Park
DirectionsPlus 3 scenic views without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in McCandless Township
picnic tablesIn North Park
DirectionsPlus 1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
25 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 17.7 miHorses · 1.9 miUnpaved · 23.7 mi
Red Trail Loop (old Red / Blue Dot Trail)3.3 mi
Orange Trail2.9 mi
Rachel Carson Trail2.3 mi
Green Trail1.7 mi
Purple Trail1.4 mi
Purple / Black Dot Trail0.9 mi
Brandt Trail0.9 mi
White / Green Dot Trail0.7 mi
Orange / Green Dot Trail0.6 mi
Pump House Loop0.6 mi
15 more trails
Orange / Yellow Dot Trail
0.5 miUpper Ridge
0.4 miWhite Trail
0.4 miHarmony Trail
0.3 miLower Ridge
0.3 miGreen / Yellow Dot Trail
0.3 miFishing Trail
0.3 miGreen / Black Dot Trail
0.3 miRed / Black Dot Trail
0.3 miPine Creek Trail - Vestal Park
0.3 miOrange / Black Dot Trail
0.2 miGreen / White Dot Trail
0.2 miOrange / Purple Dot Trail
0.1 miOrange / White Dot Trail
0.1 miNeverending
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
5.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.4 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
5.0 mi
off-road bike paths
Harmony TrailBike route
0.3 miCourts & fields
112Golf
22Baseball
20Tennis
9Pickleball
8Soccer
4Basketball
4Football
2Tracks
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in McCandless Township: April 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 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 37 | 40 | 49 | 63 | 72 | 80 | 83 | 82 | 76 | 64 | 52 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.4 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 3.2 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.4 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in McCandless Township →
Next door
McCandless Township and its neighbors
McCandless 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McCandless Township | 16% | 2.0 | 57 | 53% | A |
| Ross Township | 4% | 0.9 | 11 | 92% | B+ |
| Hampton Township | 10% | 1.9 | 51 | 55% | A |
| Franklin Park | 8% | 1.6 | 34 | 58% | A− |
| Pine Township | 12% | 1.5 | 77 | 48% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in McCandless Township
Where can I hike in McCandless Township?
The longest trail networks: North Park, 25.2 miles; Potter Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of McCandless Township is conserved land?
16% 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 McCandless Township’s trails?
North Park and Potter Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in McCandless Township?
5.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.4 of painted or protected lanes and 5.0 of off-road paths. Named routes: Harmony Trail.
Is there public land near McCandless Township?
20,379 acres of parks and open public land lie inside McCandless Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,668 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does McCandless Township have?
Ahead of 89% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #156 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 McCandless 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 →