State Game Lands Number 141
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
2,617 acres7.4 mi of trail
American StandardJeans' Run Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Hshuvaeva · CC BY-SA 3.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Nesquehoning
Nesquehoning has 96 miles of mapped trails, 4.6 for every square mile of land
28% of Nesquehoning’s land is conserved, about 3,793 acres. 439 acres are parks and preserves, 131 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: State Game Lands Number 141 (7.4 mi), Lehigh Gorge State Park (1.2 mi).
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns · #40 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
28%
3,793 acres · of 21.2 sq mi of land
Trails
96 mi
4.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
439 ac
131 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
72%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.8 mi
0.8 mi paths
Highest peak
1,417 ft
Locust Mountain
What kind of outdoors town is Nesquehoning?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Nesquehoning have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Nesquehoning is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns, #40 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Nesquehoning’s overall grade.
Conserved land28% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%ATrails4.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (96 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land131 acres of park per 1,000 residents (439 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13AParks close to home72% of residents within a half mile of a park · PA 73% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 97%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 96%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Nesquehoning’s 28% is ahead of 89% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 99% 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 State Game Lands Number 141, with 7.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lehigh Gorge State Park
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks
298 acres1.2 mi of trail
Jeans' Run Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
3,793 conserved acres
28% of Nesquehoning’s land. Who manages Nesquehoning’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife5,235 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits1,233 ac
State parks563 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government134 ac
Not recorded105 ac
State Recreation Area · 2,618 acState Resource Management Area · 2,617 acForest Stewardship Easement · 1,226 acState Park · 563 acLocal Recreation Area · 131 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 746 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sgl 141 State Recreation Area | State fish & wildlife | 2,618 | Open |
| State Game Land 141 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 2,617 | Open |
| Lehigh Gorge State Park State Park | State parks | 563 | Open |
| Carbon County Open Space Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 130 | Open |
| Mount Pisgah Park Local Park | Not recorded | 105 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 7 | Open |
| John F Cerchiaro Memorial Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 4 | Open |
| Nesquehoning Recreation Center Ballfield Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 1 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Nesquehoning
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Scenic views in Nesquehoning
Giant Boulder
DirectionsPisgah Vista
DirectionsPlus 1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Nesquehoning
Locust Mountain1,417 ft elevation
DirectionsIndian Mountain1,198 ft elevation
DirectionsPlus 1 peak without a name on the map.
Trails & water
14 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.5 miHorses · 1.9 miUnpaved · 10.8 mi
American Standard4.8 mi
UTV Trails4.0 mi
Galen's Revenge Part 21.9 mi
Jeans' Run Trail1.4 mi
Summit Hill Singletrack1.1 mi
Upper Switchback1.1 mi
The Blue Trail1.0 mi
Galen's Revenge0.9 mi
Cabin Ridge0.6 mi
G-Up Pisgah0.3 mi
4 more trails
To Blue Heaven
0.3 miLung Buster
0.1 miUTV Trail
0.1 miDeadly Deposit
0.1 miBiking & sports
0.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Switchback TrailBike route
1.1 miCourts & fields
2Pickleball
2Tennis
1Basketball
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 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 Nesquehoning: May 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) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 36 | 44 | 57 | 67 | 75 | 79 | 77 | 71 | 59 | 47 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 3.9 | 3.0 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 5.2 | 5.3 | 4.8 | 5.4 | 5.0 | 4.1 | 4.5 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 5.4 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Nesquehoning →
Next door
Nesquehoning and its neighbors
Nesquehoning 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nesquehoning | 28% | 4.6 | 131 | 72% | A+ |
| Jim Thorpe | 23% | 1.9 | 433 | 96% | A+ |
| Summit Hill | 20% | 2.5 | 220 | 95% | A+ |
| Packer Township | 13% | 1.6 | under 1 | under 1% | C+ |
| Lehigh Township | — 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 Nesquehoning
Where can I hike in Nesquehoning?
The longest trail networks: State Game Lands Number 141, 7.4 miles; Lehigh Gorge State Park, 1.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Nesquehoning is conserved land?
28% 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 Nesquehoning’s trails?
State Game Lands Number 141 and Lehigh Gorge State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Nesquehoning?
0.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.8 of off-road paths. Named routes: Switchback Trail.
Is there public land near Nesquehoning?
61,843 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Nesquehoning or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,067 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Nesquehoning have?
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #40 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 Nesquehoning 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 →