High Family Nature Preserve
Managed by Lancaster County Conservancy
109 acres2.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Smallbones · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Mount Joy Township
29% of Mount Joy Township’s land is conserved: 5,250 acres
490 acres are parks and preserves, 45 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: High Family Nature Preserve (2.3 mi), Cove Outlook Park (1.5 mi), Bellaire Woods (0.8 mi). 5.7 miles of mapped trail cross Mount Joy Township, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns · #422 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
29%
5,250 acres · of 27.8 sq mi of land
Trails
5.7 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
490 ac
45 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
53%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.1 mi
5.1 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Mount Joy Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Mount Joy Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Mount Joy Township is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns, #422 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Mount Joy Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land29% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land45 acres of park per 1,000 residents (490 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 73%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 59%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Mount Joy Township’s 29% is ahead of 89% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 32% 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 High Family Nature Preserve, with 2.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Bellaire Woods
Nature preserve
52 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Bellaire WoodsWebsite ↗
Wolgemuth Park
Park
10 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
High Family Nature Preserve109 acres · 2.3 mi of trail · Lancaster County Conservancy
DirectionsCove Outlook Park31 acres · 1.5 mi of trail
DirectionsBellaire Woods52 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsWolgemuth Park10 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Old Trolley Line Park47 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Mount Joy Township
DirectionsShaw Family Nature Preserve126 acres · Lancaster County Conservancy
Who protects it
5,250 conserved acres
29% of Mount Joy Township’s land. Who manages Mount Joy Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County16,405 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits1,359 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government122 ac
Town or city48 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)21 ac
Regional agency1 ac
Not recorded648 ac
Agricultural Easement · 17,578 acPrivate Conservation · 472 acPrivate Agricultural · 232 acLocal Park · 122 acRecreation or Education Easement · 102 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 4,558 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donegal Highlands Nature Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 218 | Open |
| Conewago Creek Nature Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 150 | Open |
| Bellaire Woods Nature Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 103 | Open |
| 2015-017 Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 84 | Closed |
| 1993-007 Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 61 | Closed |
| Old Trolley Line Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 48 | Closed |
| EAPA Property Acquisition/Conewago Trail Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 48 | Open |
| 2003-005 Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 47 | Closed |
| Conewago Recreation Trail Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 35 | Open |
| Cove Outlook Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 29 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
6 places to go in Mount Joy Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Mount Joy Township
6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.0 mi
Elizabethtown Bike and Pedestrian Pathway0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
5.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
4Baseball
4Basketball
2Soccer
1Football
1Multi-sport
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Mount Joy 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 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 38 | 41 | 50 | 63 | 73 | 81 | 85 | 83 | 76 | 65 | 53 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.6 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 4.6 | 4.1 | 3.2 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.6 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Mount Joy Township →
Next door
Mount Joy Township and its neighbors
Mount Joy Township has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Londonderry Township9.7 miMount Joy Township5.7 miEast Donegal Township4.5 miRapho Township1.4 miElizabethtown1.4 miWest Donegal Township0.6 miConewago Township0.0 miMount Joy0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Joy Township | 29% | 0.2 | 45 | 53% | B+ |
| Rapho Township | 31% | under 0.1 | 4 | 37% | C+ |
| Conewago Township | 9% | under 0.1 | 12 | 9% | C |
| Elizabethtown | 5% | 0.5 | 7 | 96% | B+ |
| Mount Joy | 6% | under 0.1 | 12 | 99% | B− |
| Londonderry Township | 17% | 0.4 | 130 | 38% | A− |
| West Donegal Township | 28% | under 0.1 | 2 | 43% | C+ |
| East Donegal Township | 57% | 0.2 | 47 | 59% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Mount Joy Township
Where can I hike in Mount Joy Township?
The longest trail networks: High Family Nature Preserve, 2.3 miles; Cove Outlook Park, 1.5 miles; Bellaire Woods, 0.8 miles; Wolgemuth Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Mount Joy Township is conserved land?
29% 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 Mount Joy Township’s trails?
High Family Nature Preserve and Cove Outlook Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Mount Joy Township?
5.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Mount Joy Township?
20,720 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Mount Joy Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 490 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Mount Joy Township have?
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #422 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 Mount Joy 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 →