State Game Lands Number 156
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
2,450 acres16.6 mi of trail
Horse-Shoe TrailHorseshoe TrailAztec TrailCamp By-pass
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Photo by and (c)2006 Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man) · CC BY-SA 2.5A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Penn Township
36% of Penn Township’s land is conserved: 6,791 acres
The biggest trail networks: State Game Lands Number 156 (16.6 mi), Speedwell Forge County Park (0.6 mi), Cornwall Tract (0.5 mi). 21 miles of mapped trail cross Penn Township, 0.7 per square mile of land. 188 acres are parks and preserves, 18 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns · #325 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
36%
6,791 acres · of 29.6 sq mi of land
Trails
21 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
188 ac
18 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
53%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.3 mi
1.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Penn Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Penn Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Penn Township is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns, #325 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Penn Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land36% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (21 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land18 acres of park per 1,000 residents (188 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13BParks close to home53% 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 79%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 69%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Penn Township’s 36% is ahead of 94% 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 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 State Game Lands Number 156, with 16.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Speedwell Forge County Park
Managed by Lancaster County Parks and Recreation
75 acres0.6 mi of trail
Oak Loop Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Cornwall Tract
Nature preserve
9 acres0.5 mi of trail
Horseshoe Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 8 parks & preserves
State Game Lands Number 1562,450 acres · 16.6 mi of trail · Pennsylvania Game Commission
DirectionsSpeedwell Forge County Park75 acres · 0.6 mi of trail · Lancaster County Parks and Recreation
Cornwall Tract9 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsRuhl's United Methodist Church Grove6 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Classics Soccer Park46 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsWilliam Penn State Forest9 acres · Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
Kauffman Park4 acres
DirectionsVeterans Memorial Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
6,791 conserved acres
36% of Penn Township’s land. Who manages Penn Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County12,410 ac
State fish & wildlife2,452 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits1,514 ac
Joint190 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)171 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government125 ac
Other state land27 ac
Agricultural Easement · 13,660 acState Resource Management Area · 2,480 acPrivate Agricultural · 497 acForest Stewardship Easement · 424 acConservation Easement · 228 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 3,698 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 156 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 2,452 | Open |
| 2007-036 Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 105 | Closed |
| 2009-012 Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 82 | Closed |
| Speedwell Forge County Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 75 | Open |
| 1996-003 Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 71 | Closed |
| 2016-003 Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 70 | Closed |
| 1990-006 Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 54 | Closed |
| 2007-015 Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 50 | Closed |
| Penn Township Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 34 | Open |
| William Penn State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 28 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
3 places to go in Penn Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Penn Township
Penn Township Community Park at Cedar Hollow
DirectionsSweetbriar Creek Park
DirectionsPicnic areas in Penn Township
Penryn Church Grove
DirectionsTrails & water
5 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 9.0 miHorses · 7.5 miUnpaved · 5.5 mi
Horse-Shoe Trail2.2 mi
Horseshoe Trail1.5 mi
Oak Loop Trail0.6 mi
Aztec Trail0.4 mi
Camp By-pass0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
8Soccer
5Baseball
2Softball
1Basketball
1Volleyball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Penn 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 | 15.0 | 14.8 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 38 | 41 | 50 | 63 | 73 | 81 | 85 | 83 | 76 | 65 | 53 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.6 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 3.2 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.7 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Penn Township →
Next door
Penn Township and its neighbors
Penn Township has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Elizabeth Township36 miPenn Township21 miManheim Township15 miEast Hempfield Township7.7 miWarwick Township7.5 miCornwall5.3 miManheim1.5 miRapho Township1.4 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penn Township | 36% | 0.7 | 18 | 53% | A− |
| Rapho Township | 31% | under 0.1 | 4 | 37% | C+ |
| Manheim | 12% | 1.1 | 22 | 99%+ | A |
| Warwick Township | 24% | 0.4 | 10 | 52% | B |
| Elizabeth Township | 42% | 2.1 | 129 | 57% | A |
| East Hempfield Township | 13% | 0.4 | 12 | 71% | B+ |
| Manheim Township | 7% | 0.6 | 14 | 85% | B+ |
| Cornwall | 16% | 0.5 | 10 | 55% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Penn Township
Where can I hike in Penn Township?
The longest trail networks: State Game Lands Number 156, 16.6 miles; Speedwell Forge County Park, 0.6 miles; Cornwall Tract, 0.5 miles; Classics Soccer Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Penn Township is conserved land?
36% 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 Township’s trails?
State Game Lands Number 156 and Speedwell Forge County Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Penn Township?
1.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Penn Township?
22,763 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Penn Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,657 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Penn Township have?
Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #325 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 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 →