Arlington Ernst Nature Park
Park
19 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: Skabat169 · CC BY-SA 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in New Freedom
6% of New Freedom’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. The biggest trail networks: Arlington Ernst Nature Park (0.6 mi). 6% of New Freedom’s land is conserved, about 84 acres.
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns · #258 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
84 acres · of 2.1 sq mi of land
Trails
1.0 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
94 ac
19 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.4 mi
2.4 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is New Freedom?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does New Freedom have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, New Freedom is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #258 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of New Freedom’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land19 acres of park per 1,000 residents (94 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13BParks 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 84%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 75%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so New Freedom’s 6% is ahead of 43% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 53% 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 Arlington Ernst Nature Park, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Heritage Rail Trail County Park
Managed by York County Department of Parks and Recreation
19 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto New Freedom Station Parking Lot
Summers Glen HOA
Nature preserve
14 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Weatherfield Park
Managed by New Freedom Borough
13 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 8 parks & preserves
Arlington Ernst Nature Park19 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
Marge Goodfellow Park9 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsHeritage Rail Trail County Park19 acres · York County Department of Parks and Recreation
DirectionsSummers Glen HOA14 acres
Weatherfield Park13 acres · New Freedom Borough
DirectionsThe Coop Park6 acres
DirectionsSmith Woods2 acres · New Freedom Borough
DirectionsFreedom Green Community Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
84 conserved acres
6% of New Freedom’s land. Who manages New Freedom’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government71 ac
County7 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)1 ac
Not recorded11 ac
Local Park · 71 acLocal Other or Unknown · 11 acAgricultural Easement · 8 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arlington Ernst Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 20 | Open |
| Marge Goodfellow Park / Wethersfield Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 18 | Open |
| Federal Hill Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 14 | Open |
| Heritage Rail Trail County Park Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 11 | Open |
| Marge Goodfellow Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 7 | Open |
| Community Center and Community Center Woods Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 4 | Open |
| Chicken Coop Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 4 | Open |
| Quail Ridge Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 2 | Open |
| Bunker Hill Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 2 | Open |
| Freedom Green Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 1 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in New Freedom
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in New Freedom
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Campgrounds in New Freedom
Summit Grove Camp & Retreat Center
DirectionsBiking & sports
2.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Tennis
2Soccer
1Basketball
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
New Freedom Railroad Station, Northern Central RailwayBuilding · listed 1995
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in New Freedom: 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 | 14.3 | 15.0 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 42 | 51 | 63 | 72 | 80 | 84 | 83 | 76 | 65 | 53 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.8 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 4.8 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 3.8 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 5.0 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in New Freedom →
Next door
New Freedom and its neighbors
New Freedom has the second most mapped trails of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Freedom | 6% | 0.5 | 19 | 99%+ | A− |
| Shrewsbury Township | 20% | 0.2 | 26 | 59% | B+ |
| Railroad | — 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 New Freedom
Where can I hike in New Freedom?
The longest trail networks: Arlington Ernst Nature Park, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of New Freedom is conserved land?
6% 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 New Freedom’s trails?
Arlington Ernst Nature Park and Heritage Rail Trail County Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in New Freedom?
2.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near New Freedom?
7,357 acres of parks and open public land lie inside New Freedom or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 94 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does New Freedom have?
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #258 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 New Freedom 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 →