Blue Marsh Lake Recreation Area
Nature preserve
1,386 acres11 mi of trail
Lake Border TrailSkinners Loop
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Shuvaev · CC BY-SA 3.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in North Heidelberg Township
37% of North Heidelberg Township’s land is conserved: 3,197 acres
12 miles of mapped trail cross North Heidelberg Township, 0.9 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Blue Marsh Lake Recreation Area (11 mi). 9% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 70% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
37%
3,197 acres · of 13.5 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
20 ac
19 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
9%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is North Heidelberg Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does North Heidelberg Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, North Heidelberg Township is ahead of 70% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of North Heidelberg Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land37% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land19 acres of park per 1,000 residents (20 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13BParks close to home9% 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 70%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so North Heidelberg Township’s 37% is ahead of 95% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 73% 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 Blue Marsh Lake Recreation Area, with 11 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
3,197 conserved acres
37% of North Heidelberg Township’s land. Who manages North Heidelberg Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County6,663 ac
Army Corps of Engineers1,417 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)135 ac
State fish & wildlife47 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits28 ac
Other or Unknown Federal Land14 ac
Not recorded183 ac
Agricultural Easement · 6,904 acRecreation Management Area · 1,417 acPrivate Agricultural · 55 acState Resource Management Area · 47 acForest Stewardship Easement · 25 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,704 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Marsh Recreation Area Recreation Management Area | Army Corps of Engineers | 1,417 | Open |
| State Game Land 280 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 51 | Open |
| Charming Forge Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 31 | Closed |
| North Heidelberg Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 21 | Open |
| Blue Marsh Lake Border Trail Private Other or Unknown | Other or Unknown Federal Land | 14 | Open |
| Ludwig Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 12 | Closed |
| Stoltzfus Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 12 | Closed |
Trails & water
2 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 9.7 miHorses · 9.7 miUnpaved · 10.7 mi
Lake Border Trail7.4 mi
Skinners Loop2.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in North Heidelberg Township: April and May
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) | 38 | 41 | 50 | 63 | 73 | 81 | 86 | 84 | 77 | 65 | 53 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.5 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 4.1 | 3.2 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.8 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in North Heidelberg Township →
Next door
North Heidelberg Township and its neighbors
North Heidelberg Township has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Lower Heidelberg Township46 miNorth Heidelberg Township12 miPenn Township11 miHeidelberg Township5.2 miJefferson Township2.6 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Heidelberg Township | 37% | 0.9 | 19 | 9% | B+ |
| Jefferson Township | 34% | 0.2 | 22 | 19% | B |
| Lower Heidelberg Township | 44% | 3.1 | 14 | 71% | A |
| Penn Township | 39% | 0.6 | 48 | 48% | A− |
| Heidelberg Township | 52% | 0.4 | 632 | 63% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in North Heidelberg Township
Where can I hike in North Heidelberg Township?
The longest trail networks: Blue Marsh Lake Recreation Area, 11 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of North Heidelberg Township is conserved land?
37% 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 Heidelberg Township’s trails?
Blue Marsh Lake Recreation Area doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near North Heidelberg Township?
32,056 acres of parks and open public land lie inside North Heidelberg Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 67 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does North Heidelberg Township have?
Ahead of 70% 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 Heidelberg 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 →