Second Mountain Tract - Weiser State Forest
Nature preserve
366 acres0.5 mi of trail
Second Mountain Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Shuvaev · CC BY-SA 4.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in North Manheim Township
7% of North Manheim Township’s land is conserved: 928 acres
The biggest trail networks: Second Mountain Tract - Weiser State Forest (0.5 mi). 15 acres are parks and preserves, 3.7 per 1,000 residents. 9.9 miles of mapped trail cross North Manheim Township, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns · #774 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
928 acres · of 20.3 sq mi of land
Trails
9.9 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
15 ac
3.7 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
46%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.2 mi
0.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does North Manheim Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, North Manheim Township is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns, #774 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of North Manheim Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (10 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land3.7 acres of park per 1,000 residents (15 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13CParks close to home46% of residents within a half mile of a park · PA 73% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 47%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 25%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so North Manheim Township’s 7% is ahead of 45% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 54% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. 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 Second Mountain Tract - Weiser State Forest, with 0.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Weiser State Forest
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
366 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
State Game Lands Number 286
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
316 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Schuylkill Haven Football Field and Baseball Fields
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
928 conserved acres
7% of North Manheim Township’s land. Who manages North Manheim Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources733 ac
State fish & wildlife633 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits616 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government7 ac
Town or city5 ac
State Resource Management Area · 1,049 acState Recreation Area · 316 acForest Stewardship Easement · 299 acConservation Easement · 253 acUnknown Easement · 63 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 234 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weiser State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 733 | Open |
| State Game Land 286 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 316 | Open |
| Sgl 286 State Recreation Area | State fish & wildlife | 316 | Open |
| Forest Hills Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 7 | Open |
| Unknown Field Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
Trails & water
2 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 4.4 miUnpaved · 3.8 mi
Second Mountain Trail0.5 mi
Schuylkill River Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
9Tennis
3Soccer
2Baseball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in North Manheim 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 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 35 | 39 | 47 | 61 | 71 | 79 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 63 | 51 | 40 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 2.9 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 3.7 | 4.1 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 5.0 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in North Manheim Township →
Next door
North Manheim Township and its neighbors
North Manheim Township has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
West Brunswick Township19 miNorth Manheim Township9.9 miBranch Township4.3 miPottsville1.6 miOrwigsburg1.3 miSchuylkill Haven0.9 miCressona0.0 miLandingville0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Manheim Township | 7% | 0.5 | 4 | 46% | B− |
| Schuylkill Haven | 7% | 0.6 | 14 | 99%+ | A− |
| Pottsville | 1% | 0.4 | 2 | 98% | C+ |
| Cressona | 3% | under 0.1 | 16 | 99%+ | B− |
| Orwigsburg | 2% | 0.6 | 11 | 87% | B |
| Branch Township | 8% | 0.4 | 17 | 61% | B |
| Landingville | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| West Brunswick Township | 19% | 0.6 | under 1 | 13% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in North Manheim Township
Where can I hike in North Manheim Township?
The longest trail networks: Second Mountain Tract - Weiser State Forest, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of North Manheim Township is conserved land?
7% 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 Manheim Township’s trails?
Second Mountain Tract - Weiser State Forest and Weiser State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in North Manheim Township?
0.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near North Manheim Township?
45,639 acres of parks and open public land lie inside North Manheim Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 704 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does North Manheim Township have?
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #774 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 North Manheim 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 →