Boyce Park
Managed by Allegheny County
921 acres25.6 mi of trail
White / Red DotBlue / Red Dot TrailBlue TrailWhite Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Lee Paxton · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Plum
Plum has 40 miles of mapped trails, 1.4 for every square mile of land
1,268 acres are parks and preserves, 47 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Boyce Park (25.6 mi), Barking Slopes (2.5 mi). 7% of Plum’s land is conserved, about 1,217 acres.
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns · #284 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
1,217 acres · of 28.6 sq mi of land
Trails
40 mi
1.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,268 ac
47 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
58%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
5
What kind of outdoors town is Plum?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Plum have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Plum is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #284 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Plum’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (40 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4APark land47 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,268 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home58% 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 82%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 73%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Plum’s 7% is ahead of 44% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 86% 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 Boyce Park, with 25.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Barking Slopes
Managed by Allegheny Land Trust
162 acres2.5 mi of trail
Uplands TrailRiverside Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Plum Municipal Ball Fields
Managed by Borough of Plum
23 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Dark Hollow Woods Park
Managed by Borough of Oakmont Recreation Board
21 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 8 parks & preserves
Boyce Park921 acres · 25.6 mi of trail · Allegheny County
DirectionsBarking Slopes162 acres · 2.5 mi of trail · Allegheny Land Trust
DirectionsPlum Municipal Ball Fields23 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Borough of Plum
DirectionsDark Hollow Woods Park21 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Borough of Oakmont Recreation Board
DirectionsLarry Mills Park21 acres
Penn Hills Community Park1 acres · Municipality of Penn Hills
DirectionsRoyal Highlands1 acres
DirectionsLogans Ferry Park1 acres · Borough of Plum - Public Works Dept
Who protects it
1,217 conserved acres
7% of Plum’s land. Who manages Plum’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government1,053 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits155 ac
Not recorded232 ac
Local Park · 1,036 acPrivate Conservation · 378 acLocal Recreation Area · 25 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 17 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boyce Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 942 | Open |
| Barking Slopes Private Conservation | Not recorded | 378 | Open |
| Larry Mills Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 56 | Open |
| Plum Borough Athletic Fields Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 25 | Open |
| Temple Sinai Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 12 | Open |
| Renton Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 11 | Open |
| Penn Hills Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 6 | Open |
| Penn Hills Community Park Local Park | Not recorded | 5 | Unknown |
| Ballfield Local Park | Not recorded | 3 | Unknown |
| Logans Ferry Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 1 | Open |
Things to do
11 places to go in Plum
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Plum
Holiday Park Playground
DirectionsPlus 4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Plum
Boyce Dog Park 1In Boyce Park
DirectionsBoyce Dog Park 2In Boyce Park
DirectionsPlus 1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in Plum
Barking Slopes Overlook
DirectionsPeaks in Plum
McCracken Hill
DirectionsMcKelvey Hill
DirectionsTrails & water
25 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 21.4 miHorses · 13.5 miUnpaved · 25.1 mi
White / Red Dot1.8 mi
Blue / Red Dot Trail1.7 mi
Blue Trail1.4 mi
White Trail1.3 mi
Green Trail1.3 mi
Blue / Yellow Dot Trail1.2 mi
Uplands Trail0.9 mi
Yellow / Black Dot Trail0.8 mi
White / Blue Dot Trail0.8 mi
Yellow / Red Dot Trail0.7 mi
15 more trails
Yellow Trail
0.7 miRiverside Trail
0.6 miBarking Slopes Access Easement
0.5 miCucumber Trail - red blaze
0.5 miBlue / Black Dot Trail
0.5 miGreen / Red Dot Trail
0.5 miGreen Trail Loop
0.5 miOrange / White Dot Trail
0.4 miWhite / Black Dot Trail
0.4 miOrange / Brown Dot Trail
0.4 miOrange / Black Dot Trail
0.4 miWhite Trail (Green Trail Loop)
0.3 miYellow / Blue Dot Trail
0.3 miOld Green / Black Dot Trail
0.2 miSensory Trail
0.2 miLakes & 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
22Golf
11Baseball
10Tennis
3Soccer
1Basketball
1Equestrian
1Multi-sport
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Plum: 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 | 40 | 49 | 63 | 72 | 80 | 83 | 82 | 76 | 64 | 52 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.6 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 3.3 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Plum →
Next door
Plum and its neighbors
Plum has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Murrysville42 miPlum40 miMonroeville19 miPenn Hills14 miLower Burrell5.2 miOakmont2.5 miSpringdale1.3 miUpper Burrell Township0.5 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plum | 7% | 1.4 | 47 | 58% | A− |
| Penn Hills | 3% | 0.7 | 9 | 68% | B |
| Monroeville | 8% | 0.9 | 37 | 88% | A |
| Lower Burrell | 2% | 0.5 | 18 | 58% | B− |
| Oakmont | 6% | 1.6 | 11 | 99%+ | A |
| Upper Burrell Township | under 1% | under 0.1 | 8 | 11% | D |
| Murrysville | 8% | 1.1 | 94 | 77% | A |
| Springdale | 4% | 1.4 | 8 | 99%+ | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Plum
Where can I hike in Plum?
The longest trail networks: Boyce Park, 25.6 miles; Barking Slopes, 2.5 miles; Plum Municipal Ball Fields, 0.3 miles; Dark Hollow Woods Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Plum 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 Plum’s trails?
Boyce Park and Barking Slopes don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Plum?
18,815 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Plum or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,268 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Plum have?
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #284 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 Plum 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 →