Cold Stream Dam Recreation Area
Park
2 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Philipsburg
27% of Philipsburg’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 2.9 miles of mapped trail cross Philipsburg, 2.7 per square mile of land. 27% of Philipsburg’s land is conserved, about 178 acres.
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns · #2 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
27%
178 acres · of 1.1 sq mi of land
Trails
2.9 mi
2.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
179 ac
65 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.1 mi
0.1 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Philipsburg?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Philipsburg have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Philipsburg is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #2 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Philipsburg’s overall grade.
Conserved land27% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%ATrails2.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land65 acres of park per 1,000 residents (179 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · PA 73% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Among the top 1%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)#2 of 1,037
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Philipsburg’s 27% is ahead of 88% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 96% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 Cold Stream Dam Recreation Area, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
178 conserved acres
27% of Philipsburg’s land. Who manages Philipsburg’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government178 ac
Local Park · 178 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cold Stream Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 155 | Open |
| Slab Town Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 23 | Open |
Things to do
8 places to go in Philipsburg
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Philipsburg
7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Philipsburg
Philipsburg Dog Park
DirectionsBiking & sports
0.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
3Tracks
3Softball
3Baseball
2Basketball
1Football
1Beach volleyball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 4 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Philipsburg: April, May and July to September
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 | 13.3 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 37 | 46 | 60 | 70 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 61 | 49 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.5 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 3.3 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Philipsburg →
Next door
Philipsburg and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philipsburg | 27% | 2.7 | 65 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Rush Township | 61% | 1.2 | 1,097 | 46% | A |
| South Philipsburg | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Decatur Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 1 | 12% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Philipsburg
Where can I hike in Philipsburg?
The longest trail networks: Cold Stream Dam Recreation Area, 0.1 miles; South Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Philipsburg is conserved land?
27% 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 Philipsburg’s trails?
Cold Stream Dam Recreation Area and South Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Philipsburg?
0.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Philipsburg?
54,048 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Philipsburg or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 179 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Philipsburg have?
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #2 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 Philipsburg 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 →