State Game Lands Number 297
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
610 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Kathy from just livin' in a small town in SW PA, USA · CC BY 2.0DOutdoors
Outdoors in North Bethlehem Township
6% of North Bethlehem Township’s land is conserved: 864 acres
4% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.2 miles of mapped trail cross North Bethlehem Township.
Ahead of 13% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
864 acres · of 22.1 sq mi of land
Trails
0.2 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Near a park
4%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is North Bethlehem Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does North Bethlehem Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, North Bethlehem Township is ahead of 13% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
D
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of North Bethlehem Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4DPark land0.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (0 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13DParks close to home4% of residents within a half mile of a park · PA 73% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 13%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so North Bethlehem Township’s 6% is ahead of 41% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 7% of them.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in North Bethlehem Township. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C−. 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
864 conserved acres
6% of North Bethlehem Township’s land. Who manages North Bethlehem Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County749 ac
State fish & wildlife610 ac
Agricultural Easement · 749 acState Resource Management Area · 610 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 254 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Game Land 297 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 610 | Open |
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
History along the way
History →4 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 North Bethlehem Township: April 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 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 38 | 41 | 50 | 63 | 72 | 80 | 83 | 82 | 76 | 64 | 52 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 3.2 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in North Bethlehem Township →
Next door
North Bethlehem Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
South Strabane Township4.8 miSomerset Township3.4 miWest Pike Run Township0.6 miWest Bethlehem Township0.5 miCokeburg0.3 miNorth Bethlehem Township0.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Bethlehem Township | 6% | under 0.1 | under 1 | 4% | D |
| South Strabane Township | 2% | 0.2 | 18 | 50% | C+ |
| Cokeburg | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Somerset Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 9 | 28% | C− |
| West Bethlehem Township | 2% | under 0.1 | 4 | 19% | D |
| West Pike Run Township | 1% | under 0.1 | 1 | 10% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in North Bethlehem Township
How much of North Bethlehem 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 North Bethlehem Township’s trails?
State Game Lands Number 297 doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near North Bethlehem Township?
6,660 acres of parks and open public land lie inside North Bethlehem Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 613 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does North Bethlehem Township have?
Ahead of 13% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 North Bethlehem 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 →