Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
541 acres2.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Nicholas · CC BY 2.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Ross Township
20% of Ross Township’s land is conserved: 2,867 acres
The biggest trail networks: Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge (2.1 mi), State Game Lands Number 168 (1.7 mi), Ross Township Park (0.7 mi). 12% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 76 acres are parks and preserves, 14 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 53% of U.S. towns · #711 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
20%
2,867 acres · of 22.9 sq mi of land
Trails
6.9 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
76 ac
14 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
12%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Ross Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ross Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ross Township is ahead of 53% of U.S. towns, #711 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ross Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land20% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land14 acres of park per 1,000 residents (76 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home12% 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 53%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 31%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Ross Township’s 20% is ahead of 79% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 40% 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 Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge, with 2.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
State Game Lands Number 168
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
763 acres1.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Ross Township Park
Managed by Ross Township
43 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Saylorsburg Playground
Park
9 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
2,867 conserved acres
20% of Ross Township’s land. Who manages Ross Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County3,472 ac
State fish & wildlife1,526 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service1,100 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)566 ac
National Park Service259 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government62 ac
Town or city10 ac
Agricultural Easement · 3,472 acState Resource Management Area · 1,526 acNational Wildlife Refuge · 1,100 acState Other or Unknown · 763 acConservation Easement · 580 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,230 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 168 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 1,526 | Open |
| Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 1,100 | Restricted |
| Sgl 168 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 763 | Open |
| Appalachian National Scenic Trail National Scenic or Historic Trail | National Park Service | 249 | Open |
| Anchorage Road Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 47 | Open |
| Feist Private Recreation or Education | Not recorded | 18 | Open |
| Saylorsburg Playground Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 14 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Ross Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Campgrounds in Ross Township
Leroy A. Smith Tenting Site
DirectionsPlus 1 campground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.9 mi
Appalachian Trail1.9 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
2Baseball
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).
Ross Common ManorDistrict · listed 1978
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Ross Township: April, May, July 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 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 36 | 39 | 47 | 60 | 71 | 78 | 83 | 81 | 74 | 63 | 51 | 40 |
| Rain (in) | 3.8 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 5.2 | 4.7 | 5.0 | 5.2 | 4.8 | 3.8 | 4.6 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.2 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Ross Township →
Next door
Ross Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Bushkill Township28 miChestnuthill Township26 miHamilton Township9.2 miEldred Township7.2 miRoss Township6.9 miPlainfield Township5.9 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ross Township | 20% | 0.3 | 14 | 12% | B− |
| Bushkill Township | 26% | 1.1 | 41 | 29% | A− |
| Hamilton Township | 25% | 0.2 | 40 | 25% | B+ |
| Eldred Township | 22% | 0.3 | 42 | 28% | B+ |
| Chestnuthill Township | 20% | 0.7 | 75 | 25% | A− |
| Plainfield Township | 30% | 0.2 | 45 | 56% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Ross Township
Where can I hike in Ross Township?
The longest trail networks: Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge, 2.1 miles; State Game Lands Number 168, 1.7 miles; Ross Township Park, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ross Township is conserved land?
20% 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 Ross Township’s trails?
Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge and State Game Lands Number 168 don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Ross Township?
27,568 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ross Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,088 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Ross Township have?
Ahead of 53% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #711 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 Ross 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 →