Smedley Park
Park
13 acres0.8 mi of trail
Green Loop
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Thomas Leiper Estate · Photo: Smallbones · CC0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Nether Providence Township
7% of Nether Providence Township’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 11 miles of mapped trail cross Nether Providence Township, 2.4 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Smedley Park (0.8 mi), Furness Park (0.7 mi).
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns · #109 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
212 acres · of 4.7 sq mi of land
Trails
11 mi
2.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
195 ac
14 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.9 mi
1.9 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Nether Providence Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Nether Providence Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Nether Providence Township is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #109 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Nether Providence Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%B+Trails2.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (11 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land14 acres of park per 1,000 residents (195 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · PA 73% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 92%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 90%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Nether Providence Township’s 7% is ahead of 45% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 95% 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 Smedley Park, with 0.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Furness Park
Managed by Nether Providence Township
17 acres0.7 mi of trail
Furness Park Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Houston Park
Managed by Nether Providence Township
39 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Sapovits Park
Park
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 7 parks & preserves
Smedley Park13 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsFurness Park17 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · Nether Providence Township
DirectionsHepford Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsHouston Park39 acres · Nether Providence Township
DirectionsSapovits Park5 acres
Gouley Park3 acres
Chester Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
212 conserved acres
7% of Nether Providence Township’s land. Who manages Nether Providence Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government164 ac
Town or city52 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits31 ac
Not recorded60 ac
Local Park · 197 acLocal Recreation Area · 71 acOther Easement · 26 acLocal Other or Unknown · 8 acConservation Easement · 5 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 27 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 25 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smedley Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 71 | Open |
| Duer and Houston Tracts Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 52 | Open |
| County Land Local Park | Not recorded | 48 | Unknown |
| Houston Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 36 | Open |
| Furness Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 19 | Open |
| Gouley Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 10 | Open |
| Wallingford Swim Club Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 10 | Open |
| Municipal Land Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 8 | Open |
| Leiper Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 6 | Open |
| Morris Sopovitz Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 4 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
4 places to go in Nether Providence Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Nether Providence Township
Creekside Baby pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Nether Providence Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Waterfalls in Nether Providence Township
1 waterfall without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 3.0 mi
Green Loop0.4 mi
Furness Park Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.9 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
16Tennis
8Baseball
6Soccer
3Pickleball
2Basketball
1Football
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). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Nether Providence 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 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 41 | 44 | 52 | 64 | 74 | 83 | 88 | 85 | 79 | 67 | 56 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.8 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 4.1 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 4.7 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Nether Providence Township →
Next door
Nether Providence Township and its neighbors
Nether Providence Township has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Springfield Township19 miNether Providence Township11 miUpper Providence Township6.0 miSwarthmore4.2 miChester2.2 miRidley Township1.6 miWoodlyn1.3 miBrookhaven0.4 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nether Providence Township | 7% | 2.4 | 14 | 99%+ | A |
| Springfield Township | 7% | 2.9 | 13 | 99%+ | A |
| Swarthmore | 4% | 3.0 | 7 | 99%+ | A− |
| Chester | 9% | 0.5 | 9 | 99%+ | A− |
| Brookhaven | 9% | 0.2 | 10 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Woodlyn | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Ridley Township | 5% | 0.3 | 5 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Upper Providence Township | 10% | 1.1 | 35 | 96% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Nether Providence Township
Where can I hike in Nether Providence Township?
The longest trail networks: Smedley Park, 0.8 miles; Furness Park, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Nether Providence 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 Nether Providence Township’s trails?
Smedley Park and Furness Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Nether Providence Township?
1.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.9 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Nether Providence Township?
21,127 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Nether Providence Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 195 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Nether Providence Township have?
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #109 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 Nether Providence 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 →