New Hanover Community Park
Park
13 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Shuvaev · CC BY-SA 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in New Hanover Township
13% of New Hanover Township’s land is conserved: 1,838 acres
The biggest trail networks: New Hanover Community Park (0.6 mi), Wassmer-Layfield (0.5 mi). 15 miles of mapped trail cross New Hanover Township, 0.7 per square mile of land. 329 acres are parks and preserves, 24 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns · #334 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
1,838 acres · of 21.6 sq mi of land
Trails
15 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
329 ac
24 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
61%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.2 mi
1.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is New Hanover Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does New Hanover Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, New Hanover Township is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #334 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of New Hanover Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (15 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land24 acres of park per 1,000 residents (329 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home61% 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 78%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 68%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so New Hanover Township’s 13% is ahead of 67% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 67% 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 New Hanover Community Park, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Swamp Creek Park
Park
29 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 8 parks & preserves
New Hanover Community Park13 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsWassmer-Layfield83 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsSwamp Creek Park29 acres
Hickory Park17 acres
DirectionsAnthony "Tony" Garbone Sports Complex11 acres · New Hanover Township
Pleasant Run Park7 acres
Middle Creek Athletic Fields7 acres
Green Lane Park5 acres
Who protects it
1,838 conserved acres
13% of New Hanover Township’s land. Who manages New Hanover Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County4,915 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits419 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government239 ac
Joint138 ac
Not recorded98 ac
Agricultural Easement · 4,915 acForest Stewardship Easement · 419 acLocal Park · 140 acConservation Easement · 138 acLocal Recreation Area · 117 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,501 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 95 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Layfield Park Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 94 | Open |
| Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 44 | Unknown |
| Municipal Land Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 36 | Open |
| Swamp Creek Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 33 | Open |
| New Hanover Community Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 30 | Open |
| Hickory Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 20 | Open |
| Parestic Park Local Park | Not recorded | 18 | Unknown |
| Recreation Center Fields Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 12 | Open |
| Pleasant Run Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 11 | Open |
| Middle Creek Athletic Fields Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 11 | Open |
3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
10 places to go in New Hanover Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in New Hanover Township
9 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Campgrounds in New Hanover Township
Camp Laughing Waters
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.7 mi
Trail Path0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Basketball
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).
Long Meadow FarmBuilding · listed 1973
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in New Hanover 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 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 43 | 51 | 64 | 74 | 82 | 87 | 85 | 78 | 66 | 54 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.7 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 4.3 | 4.8 | 4.1 | 3.2 | 4.0 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 5.0 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in New Hanover Township →
Next door
New Hanover Township and its neighbors
New Hanover Township has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Upper Hanover Township34 miNew Hanover Township15 miUpper Frederick Township7.9 miUpper Pottsgrove Township5.1 miLower Pottsgrove Township1.3 miDouglass Township0.8 miGilbertsville0.8 miPottsgrove0.7 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Hanover Township | 13% | 0.7 | 24 | 61% | A− |
| Douglass Township | 24% | 0.1 | 13 | 81% | B |
| Upper Frederick Township | 28% | 0.8 | 272 | 32% | A |
| Lower Pottsgrove Township | 5% | 0.2 | 32 | 98% | B+ |
| Pottsgrove | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Upper Pottsgrove Township | 10% | 1.0 | 55 | 97% | A |
| Upper Hanover Township | 39% | 1.7 | 350 | 91% | A+ |
| Gilbertsville | — 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 Hanover Township
Where can I hike in New Hanover Township?
The longest trail networks: New Hanover Community Park, 0.6 miles; Wassmer-Layfield, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of New Hanover Township is conserved land?
13% 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 Hanover Township’s trails?
New Hanover Community Park and Wassmer-Layfield don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in New Hanover Township?
1.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near New Hanover Township?
29,057 acres of parks and open public land lie inside New Hanover Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 329 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does New Hanover Township have?
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #334 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 Hanover 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 →