Buchanan State Forest
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
2,154 acres7.3 mi of trail
Tuscarora TrailCharcoal TrailHogback Mountain TrailGeyer Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Lot #2Website ↗
Photo: Cromdog · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Metal Township
Metal Township has 174 acres of parks, 105 for every 1,000 residents
12% of Metal Township’s land is conserved, about 3,381 acres. The biggest trail networks: Buchanan State Forest (7.3 mi), State Game Lands Number 76 (2.1 mi), Cowans Gap State Park (1.4 mi). 4% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 66% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
12%
3,381 acres · of 44.5 sq mi of land
Trails
22 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
174 ac
105 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
4%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,428 ft
Big Mountain
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Metal Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Metal Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Metal Township is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Metal Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (22 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land105 acres of park per 1,000 residents (174 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13AParks close to home4% 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 66%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Metal Township’s 12% is ahead of 63% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 56% 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 Buchanan State Forest, with 7.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
State Game Lands Number 76
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
1,017 acres2.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Cowans Gap State Park
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks
174 acres1.4 mi of trail
Tuscarora TrailGeyer Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
State Game Lands Number 235
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
29 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
3,381 conserved acres
12% of Metal Township’s land. Who manages Metal Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources2,153 ac
State fish & wildlife1,017 ac
State parks178 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)64 ac
Not recorded1 ac
State Resource Management Area · 3,170 acState Park · 178 acConservation Easement · 64 acResearch or Educational Area · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 34 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buchanan State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 2,153 | Open |
| State Game Land 076 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 989 | Open |
| Cowans Gap State Park State Park | State parks | 178 | Open |
| State Game Land 235 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 29 | Open |
| School Park Research or Educational Area | Not recorded | 1 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Metal Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Metal Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Metal Township
Big Mountain OverlookIn Buchanan State Forest
DirectionsPeaks in Metal Township
Big Mountain2,428 ft elevation · In Buchanan State Forest
DirectionsHogback Mountain1,801 ft elevation · In Buchanan State Forest
DirectionsCampgrounds in Metal Township
BV014 - Route 75Fee · In Buchanan State Forest · PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
DirectionsTrails & water
11 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Horses · 0.9 miUnpaved · 17.3 mi
Tuscarora Trail4.7 mi
Charcoal Trail1.8 mi
Hogback Mountain Trail1.1 mi
Geyer Trail0.2 mi
Fore Trail0.2 mi
Burd Trail0.2 mi
Burd Run Trail0.1 mi
Allen Trail0.1 mi
Heath Trail0.1 mi
Ellisic Trail0.1 mi
1 more trails
Cowans Trail
0.1 miLakes & 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
3Baseball
2Tennis
1Softball
1Soccer
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Metal Township: April, May, July 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) | 38 | 42 | 51 | 64 | 73 | 81 | 85 | 84 | 77 | 65 | 53 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 2.8 | 2.5 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 3.3 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.3 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Metal Township →
Next door
Metal Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Todd Township43 miLetterkenny Township34 miPeters Township27 miMetal Township22 miDublin Township19 miSt. Thomas Township14 miDublin Township5.2 miFort Loudon2.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metal Township | 12% | 0.5 | 105 | 4% | B+ |
| Letterkenny Township | 19% | 0.5 | 18 | 14% | B |
| Todd Township | 39% | 1.5 | 550 | 51% | A |
| St. Thomas Township | 22% | 0.3 | 5 | 10% | C+ |
| Dublin Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Dublin Township | 3% | 0.1 | 46 | 11% | C+ |
| Peters Township | 19% | 0.5 | 8 | 18% | B− |
| Fort Loudon | — 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 Metal Township
Where can I hike in Metal Township?
The longest trail networks: Buchanan State Forest, 7.3 miles; State Game Lands Number 76, 2.1 miles; Cowans Gap State Park, 1.4 miles; State Game Lands Number 235, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Metal Township is conserved land?
12% 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 Metal Township’s trails?
Buchanan State Forest and State Game Lands Number 76 don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Metal Township?
54,911 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Metal Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,362 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Metal Township have?
Ahead of 66% 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 Metal 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 →