Churchill Valley Greenway
Managed by Allegheny Land Trust
47 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Lee Paxton · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Penn Hills
Penn Hills has 14 miles of mapped trails, 0.7 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Churchill Valley Greenway (0.7 mi), Penn Hills Community Park (0.5 mi). 361 acres are parks and preserves, 8.8 per 1,000 residents. 68% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns · #670 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
371 acres · of 19.1 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
361 ac
8.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
68%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Penn Hills have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Penn Hills is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns, #670 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Penn Hills’ overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (14 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land8.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (361 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home68% 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 56%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 35%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Penn Hills’ 3% is ahead of 21% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 67% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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 Churchill Valley Greenway, with 0.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Penn Hills Community Park
Managed by Municipality of Penn Hills
29 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Friendship Park
Managed by Municipality of Penn Hills
22 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Universal Memorial Park
Managed by Municipality of Penn Hills
19 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 13 parks & preserves
Churchill Valley Greenway47 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · Allegheny Land Trust
DirectionsPenn Hills Community Park29 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Municipality of Penn Hills
DirectionsFriendship Park22 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Municipality of Penn Hills
DirectionsCrescent Hills Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Universal Memorial Park19 acres · Municipality of Penn Hills
DirectionsOlypic Swim & Health Club5 acres
DirectionsMilltown Community Park4 acres
Duff Park3 acres · Municipality of Penn Hills
North Bessemer Field3 acres
Rosedale Beach Club1 acres
Meadow Avenue Park1 acres
William McKinley Park1 acres · Municipality of Penn Hills
DirectionsRoss Street Park1 acres
Who protects it
371 conserved acres
3% of Penn Hills’ land. Who manages Penn Hills’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government230 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits127 ac
Private owners4 ac
Not recorded110 ac
Local Park · 291 acForest Stewardship Easement · 90 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 48 acConservation Easement · 38 acPrivate Conservation · 4 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 29 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 8 of 32 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penn Hills Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 82 | Open |
| Church Valley Greenway Private Recreation or Education | Not recorded | 46 | Open |
| Turner-Friendship Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 43 | Open |
| Universal Memorial Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 28 | Open |
| Friendship Park Local Park | Not recorded | 24 | Unknown |
| Penn Hills Community Park Local Park | Not recorded | 21 | Unknown |
| Lincoln Park Multipurpose Center Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 16 | Open |
| Santiago Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 15 | Open |
| Jefferson Road Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 13 | Open |
| Duff Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 13 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
19 places to go in Penn Hills
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Penn Hills
Red Oak GroveIn Penn Hills Community Park
DirectionsPlus 16 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Penn Hills
Penn Hills Dog Park
DirectionsPeaks in Penn Hills
Gascola slag dump summit
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.5 miUnpaved · 2.8 mi
international border trail0.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
12Baseball
11Tennis
7Basketball
6Soccer
3Pickleball
3Football
3Softball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Longue Vue Club and Golf CourseDistrict · listed 2005
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Penn Hills: April, May 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 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 37 | 41 | 50 | 63 | 72 | 80 | 83 | 82 | 76 | 64 | 52 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.5 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.3 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Penn Hills →
Next door
Penn Hills and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Pittsburgh118 miPlum40 miMonroeville19 miPenn Hills14 miChurchill4.8 miOakmont2.5 miWilkinsburg0.6 miVerona0.4 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penn Hills | 3% | 0.7 | 9 | 68% | B |
| Plum | 7% | 1.4 | 47 | 58% | A− |
| Monroeville | 8% | 0.9 | 37 | 88% | A |
| Pittsburgh | 12% | 2.1 | 15 | 99% | A |
| Verona | 1% | 0.8 | 2 | 99%+ | B |
| Oakmont | 6% | 1.6 | 11 | 99%+ | A |
| Wilkinsburg | 2% | 0.3 | 2 | 99% | B− |
| Churchill | 11% | 2.2 | 50 | 83% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Penn Hills
Where can I hike in Penn Hills?
The longest trail networks: Churchill Valley Greenway, 0.7 miles; Penn Hills Community Park, 0.5 miles; Friendship Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Penn Hills is conserved land?
3% 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 Penn Hills’ trails?
Churchill Valley Greenway and Penn Hills Community Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Penn Hills?
19,523 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Penn Hills or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 393 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Penn Hills have?
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #670 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 Penn Hills 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 →