Pickering Preserve
Managed by Schuylkill Township
24 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Smallbones · Public domainB+Outdoors
Outdoors in Schuylkill Township
Schuylkill Township has 8.8 miles of mapped trails, 1.0 for every square mile of land
12% of Schuylkill Township’s land is conserved, about 650 acres. 55 acres are parks and preserves, 6.2 per 1,000 residents. 72% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns · #461 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
12%
650 acres · of 8.5 sq mi of land
Trails
8.8 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
55 ac
6.2 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
72%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Schuylkill Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Schuylkill Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Schuylkill Township is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns, #461 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 Schuylkill Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land6.2 acres of park per 1,000 residents (55 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13CParks close to home72% 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 71%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 56%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Schuylkill Township’s 12% is ahead of 64% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 78% 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Valley Park
Managed by Schuykill Township
12 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
650 conserved acres
12% of Schuylkill Township’s land. Who manages Schuylkill Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits1,110 ac
National Park Service215 ac
Joint161 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government47 ac
Town or city40 ac
Not recorded26 ac
Conservation Easement · 776 acOther Easement · 242 acAgricultural Easement · 217 acHistoric or Cultural Area · 206 acLocal Park · 40 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 370 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valley Forge National Historical Park Historic or Cultural Area | National Park Service | 206 | Restricted |
| Pickering Preserve Park Local Conservation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 48 | Open |
| Andruss Island Private Conservation | Not recorded | 26 | Closed |
| Valley Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 16 | Open |
| Pasquale Property Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Schuylkill Building Open Space Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 7 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Schuylkill Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Schuylkill Township
Manavon Elementary School Playground
DirectionsPlus 4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.1 miHorses · 1.7 miUnpaved · 2.9 mi
Horse-Shoe Trail1.6 mi
Valley Creek Trail0.5 mi
Thompson Trail0.3 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.
Valley Creek TrailBike route
0.7 miCourts & fields
18Tennis
12Golf
8Baseball
3Multi-sport
2Pickleball
2Soccer
2Basketball
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 70 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Schuylkill 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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.0 | 14.8 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 43 | 52 | 64 | 74 | 83 | 88 | 86 | 78 | 66 | 55 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.8 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 3.2 | 4.1 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 4.7 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Schuylkill Township →
Next door
Schuylkill Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Tredyffrin Township34 miLower Providence Township23 miUpper Merion Township21 miUpper Providence Township17 miCharlestown Township15 miSchuylkill Township8.8 miPhoenixville6.7 miMont Clare2.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schuylkill Township | 12% | 1.0 | 6 | 72% | B+ |
| Phoenixville | 11% | 1.9 | 11 | 99%+ | A |
| Upper Providence Township | 13% | 1.0 | 46 | 96% | A |
| Charlestown Township | 31% | 1.2 | 44 | 83% | A |
| Upper Merion Township | 17% | 1.2 | 16 | 96% | A |
| Lower Providence Township | 25% | 1.5 | 63 | 99% | A+ |
| Tredyffrin Township | 14% | 1.7 | 18 | 91% | A |
| Mont Clare | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Schuylkill Township
Where can I hike in Schuylkill Township?
The longest trail networks: Valley Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Schuylkill Township is conserved land?
12% 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 Schuylkill Township’s trails?
Pickering Preserve and Valley Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Schuylkill Township?
23,882 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Schuylkill Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 55 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Schuylkill Township have?
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #461 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 Schuylkill 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 →