Bellevue Memorial Park
Park
57 acres3.6 mi of trail
Deer TrailSquirrel TrailSalamander TrailFox Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Lee Paxton · CC BY-SA 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Ross Township
Ross Township has 13 miles of mapped trails, 0.9 for every square mile of land
92% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Bellevue Memorial Park (3.6 mi), Short Line Hollow - Ross Twp (0.7 mi), Evergreen Community Park (0.7 mi). 4% of Ross Township’s land is conserved, about 350 acres.
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns · #441 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
350 acres · of 14.5 sq mi of land
Trails
13 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
364 ac
11 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
92%
of residents within ½ mile
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 72% of U.S. towns, #441 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ross Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (13 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land11 acres of park per 1,000 residents (364 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home92% of residents within a half mile of a park · PA 73% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 72%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 58%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Ross Township’s 4% is ahead of 27% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 72% 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 Bellevue Memorial Park, with 3.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Short Line Hollow - Ross Twp
Nature preserve
31 acres0.7 mi of trail
Red TrailGreen Trail
Dogs allowed
Directionsto Short Line Hollow Trails parking
Evergreen Community Park
Park
23 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Lowries Run Conservation Area - ALT
Nature preserve
16 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Denny Park
Park
5 acres0.3 mi of trail
Denny Park Disc Golf Course Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 19 parks & preserves
Bellevue Memorial Park57 acres · 3.6 mi of trail
DirectionsShort Line Hollow - Ross Twp31 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsEvergreen Community Park23 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsLowries Run Conservation Area - ALT16 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsDenny Park5 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsTed Bartlett Park3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsOesterle Park18 acres
DirectionsReis Run Park16 acres
DirectionsBruno Sammartino Park12 acres
DirectionsRoss Municipal Center Park12 acres
DirectionsScharmyn Park6 acres
DirectionsWindhurst Park6 acres
DirectionsSeville Park4 acres
DirectionsTyler Park3 acres
DirectionsHerge Park2 acres
Mayer Park2 acres
DirectionsJohnhanna Park1 acres
DirectionsBradford Estates Peninsula Community Park1 acres
DirectionsQuail Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
350 conserved acres
4% of Ross Township’s land. Who manages Ross Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government309 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits16 ac
Not recorded41 ac
Local Park · 326 acPrivate Conservation · 32 acLocal Recreation Area · 7 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 23 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bellevue Memorial Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 71 | Open |
| Reis Run Road Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 56 | Open |
| Lowries Run Slopes Private Conservation | Not recorded | 32 | Open |
| Denny Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 31 | Open |
| Ross Municipal Center Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 26 | Open |
| Evergreen Community Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 24 | Open |
| Oesterle Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 22 | Open |
| Seville Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 20 | Open |
| Mayer Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 11 | Open |
| Thompson Dr Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 11 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
19 places to go in Ross Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Ross Township
Valley Brook Swim
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Ross Township
16 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Ross Township
2 dog parks without a name on the map.
Trails & water
18 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.5 miUnpaved · 7.4 mi
Denny Park Disc Golf Course Trail1.1 mi
Deer Trail0.6 mi
Squirrel Trail0.6 mi
Salamander Trail0.5 mi
Red Trail0.5 mi
Fox Trail0.5 mi
Yellowgreen Blaze0.5 mi
Herron Trail0.5 mi
Falcon Trail0.3 mi
Blue Blaze0.3 mi
8 more trails
Yellow Blaze
0.2 miNettle Trail
0.2 miFitness Trail
0.2 miYellowgreen & Red Blaze
0.2 miRabbit Trail
0.1 miWhite Blaze
0.1 miGreen Trail
0.1 miOld Yellowgreen Blaze
0.1 miBiking & 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
18Baseball
13Basketball
8Tennis
2Multi-sport
1Soccer
1Volleyball
1Pickleball
1Football
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).
Mount Saint Mary Convent and Saint Benedict Academy Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2025
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Ross Township: April 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 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 37 | 40 | 50 | 63 | 72 | 80 | 84 | 82 | 76 | 64 | 52 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.5 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 3.2 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.4 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Ross Township →
Next door
Ross Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Pittsburgh118 miMcCandless Township32 miRoss Township13 miOhio Township13 miReserve Township5.0 miShaler Township2.9 miBellevue0.4 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ross Township | 4% | 0.9 | 11 | 92% | B+ |
| Pittsburgh | 12% | 2.1 | 15 | 99% | A |
| Bellevue | 2% | 0.4 | 2 | 99%+ | B− |
| Reserve Township | 13% | 2.4 | 52 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Shaler Township | 4% | 0.3 | 11 | 84% | B |
| McCandless Township | 16% | 2.0 | 57 | 53% | A |
| Ohio Township | 8% | 1.8 | 48 | 45% | 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: Bellevue Memorial Park, 3.6 miles; Short Line Hollow - Ross Twp, 0.7 miles; Evergreen Community Park, 0.7 miles; Lowries Run Conservation Area - ALT, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ross Township is conserved land?
4% 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?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Short Line Hollow - Ross Twp. For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Ross Township?
23,499 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ross Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 364 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Ross Township have?
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #441 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 →