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Square Tavern NewtownPhoto: Smallbones · Public domain
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Newtown Township

Newtown Township has 8.4 miles of mapped trails, 0.8 for every square mile of land

94% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 6% of Newtown Township’s land is conserved, about 372 acres. 243 acres are parks and preserves, 16 per 1,000 residents.

Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns · #298 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Conserved land
6%
372 acres · of 10.0 sq mi of land
Trails
8.4 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
243 ac
16 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
94%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1

What kind of outdoors town is Newtown Township?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

A trail town0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 76% of U.S. towns.Parks close to home94% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Newtown Township have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Newtown Township is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #298 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 Newtown Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land16 acres of park per 1,000 residents (243 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13BParks close to home94% of residents within a half mile of a park · PA 73% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 80%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 71%

Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Newtown Township’s 6% is ahead of 40% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 72% 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.

1234
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 Liseter Commons, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Liseter Commons

Park
6 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet

Drexel Lodge Park

Park
21 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Greer Park

Park
9 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Brookside Park

Park
8 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 9 parks & preserves
Liseter Commons6 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Newby Park6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Gable Park4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Directions
Skunk Hollow1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Directions
Bishop Hollow Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Drexel Lodge Park21 acres
Directions
Greer Park9 acres
Directions
Brookside Park8 acres
Directions
Liseter Commons (extension)4 acres
Who protects it

372 conserved acres

6% of Newtown Township’s land. Who manages Newtown Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

Land trusts & nonprofits429 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government108 ac
Joint6 ac
Not recorded175 ac
Conservation Easement · 306 acPrivate Conservation · 116 acLocal Other or Unknown · 99 acLocal Park · 91 acOther Easement · 48 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 89 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 68 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Waterloo Mills Preserve
Private Conservation
Not recorded116Open
Municipal Land
Local Other or Unknown
Not recorded99Open
Brookside Park
Local Park
Other or Unknown Local Government20Open
Drexel Lodge Park
Local Park
Other or Unknown Local Government19Open
Gable Park
Local Park
Other or Unknown Local Government17Open
St Albans Swim Club
Local Recreation Area
Not recorded17Open
Marple-Newtown Leisure Center
Local Park
Other or Unknown Local Government16Open
Newtown/Edgmont Little League Fields
Local Recreation Area
Other or Unknown Local Government9Open
Newby Park
Local Park
Other or Unknown Local Government7Open
Greer Park
Local Park
Other or Unknown Local Government6Open

4 smaller protected places aren’t shown.

Things to do

10 places to go in Newtown Township

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Playgrounds in Newtown Township
Kids Playground
Directions

Plus 5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.

Trails & water

2 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Unpaved · 1.5 mi
GoshenTrail0.9 mi
Overgrown path0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Rosemont Pondpond
Biking & sports

0.0 miles of bike routes

Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.

Courts & fields
53Tennis
22Golf
14Baseball
6Soccer
3Basketball
3Football
1Equestrian
1Field hockey

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

5 places on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.

History →
St. David's Church and GraveyardBuilding · listed 1978
About it
Bartram's Covered BridgeStructure · listed 1980
About it
Square TavernBuilding · listed 1984
About it
Crosley-Garrett Mill Workers' Housing, Store and Mill SiteBuilding · listed 2003
About it
Hood Octagonal SchoolBuilding · listed 2006
About it
When to get out

The best walking months in Newtown 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.610.611.813.214.415.014.713.712.411.19.99.3
High (°F)404351647382878578665545
Rain (in)3.42.94.23.73.84.34.74.64.84.03.34.2

February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.8 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Newtown Township →

Next door

Newtown Township and its neighbors

Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Edgmont Township24 miWillistown Township21 miMarple Township19 miRadnor Township15 miNewtown Township8.4 miUpper Providence Township6.0 miEasttown Township3.5 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Newtown Township6%0.81694%A−
Willistown Township35%1.22280%A
Edgmont Township44%2.553788%A+
Radnor Township12%1.11896%A
Marple Township8%1.82294%A
Easttown Township16%0.4671%B
Upper Providence Township10%1.13596%A

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in Newtown Township

Where can I hike in Newtown Township?

The longest trail networks: Liseter Commons, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Newtown Township 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 Newtown Township’s trails?

Liseter Commons and Drexel Lodge Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Is there public land near Newtown Township?

25,551 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Newtown Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 244 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Newtown Township have?

Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #298 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 Newtown Township neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →