Ontelaunee-Reading Watershed
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
1,006 acres7.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Robert C. Shelley, Photographer · Public domainA+Outdoors
Outdoors in Ontelaunee Township
Ontelaunee Township has 25 miles of mapped trails, 2.8 for every square mile of land
1,056 acres are parks and preserves, 373 per 1,000 residents. 20% of Ontelaunee Township’s land is conserved, about 1,089 acres. The biggest trail networks: Ontelaunee-Reading Watershed (7.9 mi).
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns · #24 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
20%
1,089 acres · of 8.7 sq mi of land
Trails
25 mi
2.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,056 ac
373 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
86%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.2 mi
0.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Ontelaunee Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
A trail town2.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 97% of U.S. towns.Room to roam373 acres of park per 1,000 residents; the typical U.S. town has 13.Land that stays wild20% of the land is conserved; a typical Pennsylvania town, 8%.History along the way3 places on the National Register.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ontelaunee Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ontelaunee Township is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #24 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ontelaunee Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land20% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%ATrails2.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (25 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land373 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,056 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13AParks close to home86% 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 98%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 98%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Ontelaunee Township’s 20% is ahead of 79% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 96% of them.
Water is 7% of Ontelaunee Township’s area (1 of 9 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 18%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A 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 Ontelaunee-Reading Watershed, with 7.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Willow Glen Park
Park
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
1,089 conserved acres
20% of Ontelaunee Township’s land. Water is left out: Ontelaunee Township has 8.7 square miles of land and 0.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Ontelaunee Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government1,013 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits112 ac
County63 ac
Town or city8 ac
Not recorded28 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 1,024 acForest Stewardship Easement · 71 acAgricultural Easement · 63 acPrivate Conservation · 33 acConservation Easement · 24 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 40 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Ontelaunee Local Other or Unknown | Other or Unknown Local Government | 1,013 | Open |
| Ontelaunee Wetlands Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 17 | Open |
| Ontelaunee Wetland Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 17 | Open |
| Ontelaunee Municipal Land Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 11 | Open |
| Willow Glen Sports Area Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Willow Glen Playground Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
Trails & water
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Ontelaunee Wetland Path0.2 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
8Tennis
3Baseball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 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 Ontelaunee 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) | 39 | 42 | 51 | 64 | 73 | 82 | 87 | 85 | 78 | 65 | 54 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.4 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 4.0 | 3.1 | 3.6 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.8 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Ontelaunee Township →
Next door
Ontelaunee Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Bern Township56 miMuhlenberg Township39 miMaidencreek Township25 miOntelaunee Township25 miBlandon5.5 miPerry Township3.6 miCentre Township1.5 miLeesport1.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ontelaunee Township | 20% | 2.8 | 373 | 86% | A+ |
| Bern Township | 19% | 2.9 | 125 | 71% | A+ |
| Maidencreek Township | 41% | 1.9 | 238 | 90% | A+ |
| Centre Township | 36% | 0.1 | 1 | 25% | C |
| Perry Township | 46% | 0.2 | 67 | 33% | B+ |
| Leesport | 5% | 1.5 | 10 | 99%+ | A− |
| Blandon | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Muhlenberg Township | 5% | 3.3 | 20 | 96% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Ontelaunee Township
Where can I hike in Ontelaunee Township?
The longest trail networks: Ontelaunee-Reading Watershed, 7.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ontelaunee Township is conserved land?
20% 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 Ontelaunee Township’s trails?
Ontelaunee-Reading Watershed and Willow Glen Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Ontelaunee Township?
0.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Ontelaunee Township?
29,554 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ontelaunee Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,056 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Ontelaunee Township have?
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #24 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 Ontelaunee 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 →