East Snyder Park
Park
38 acres1.4 mi of trail
Nature Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: User:Dincher · CC BY-SA 3.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Penn Township
7% of Penn Township’s land is conserved: 779 acres
The biggest trail networks: East Snyder Park (1.4 mi). 35% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4.0 miles of mapped trail cross Penn Township, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 45% of U.S. towns · #798 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
779 acres · of 17.6 sq mi of land
Trails
4.0 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
42 ac
10 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
35%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
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 45% of U.S. towns, #798 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Penn Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land10 acres of park per 1,000 residents (42 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home35% 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 45%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 23%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Penn Township’s 7% is ahead of 45% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 34% 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 East Snyder Park, with 1.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
779 conserved acres
7% of Penn Township’s land. Who manages Penn Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County2,297 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)219 ac
State fish & wildlife63 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government39 ac
Not recorded125 ac
Agricultural Easement · 2,641 acState Other or Unknown · 63 acLocal Recreation Area · 39 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 677 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middle Creek Lake (formerly Mussers Dam) State Other or Unknown | State fish & wildlife | 63 | Open |
| East Snyder Regional Recreational Complex Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 39 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Penn Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Penn Township
Rock PlaygroundIn East Snyder Park
DirectionsToddler PlaygroundIn East Snyder Park
DirectionsPlus 2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Campgrounds in Penn Township
Penn Avon CampgroundFee
DirectionsPlus 1 campground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.2 mi
Trail of Trees0.7 mi
Nature Trail0.5 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
4Baseball
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) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 36 | 39 | 48 | 62 | 72 | 80 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 63 | 51 | 40 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.4 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 3.2 | 3.3 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.6 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.
Lower Augusta Township8.6 miPenn Township4.0 miMonroe Township3.2 miMiddlecreek Township1.9 miJackson Township1.7 miWashington Township1.2 miSelinsgrove0.4 miUnion Township0.3 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penn Township | 7% | 0.2 | 10 | 35% | C+ |
| Jackson Township | 5% | 0.1 | 3 | 23% | C |
| Washington Township | 3% | 0.1 | 1 | 6% | D |
| Selinsgrove | 28% | 0.2 | 59 | 99%+ | A |
| Union Township | 6% | under 0.1 | 12 | 28% | C |
| Monroe Township | 4% | 0.2 | 58 | 73% | B |
| Lower Augusta Township | 5% | 0.5 | 25 | under 1% | B− |
| Middlecreek Township | 5% | 0.1 | 20 | 40% | 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: East Snyder Park, 1.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Penn 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 Penn Township’s trails?
East Snyder Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Penn Township?
14,061 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Penn Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 103 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Penn Township have?
Ahead of 45% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #798 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 →