State Game Lands Number 228
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
4,203 acres9.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Jet Lowe · Public domainB+Outdoors
Outdoors in Shade Township
Shade Township has 330 acres of parks, 151 for every 1,000 residents
12% of Shade Township’s land is conserved, about 5,278 acres. The biggest trail networks: State Game Lands Number 228 (9.3 mi). 13% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
12%
5,278 acres · of 68.7 sq mi of land
Trails
29 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
330 ac
151 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
13%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Shade Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Shade Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Shade Township is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Shade Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (29 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land151 acres of park per 1,000 residents (330 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13AParks close to home13% 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 68%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Shade Township’s 12% is ahead of 64% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 48% 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 State Game Lands Number 228, with 9.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
State Game Lands Number 93
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
665 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Flight 93 National Memorial
Managed by National Park Service
197 acres
Dogs usually limited
Directionsto the parking lot
Remember Me Rose Garden
Park
9 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
State Game Lands Number 2284,203 acres · 9.3 mi of trail · Pennsylvania Game Commission
DirectionsRemember Me Rose Garden9 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
State Game Lands Number 93665 acres · Pennsylvania Game Commission
DirectionsFlight 93 National Memorial197 acres · National Park Service
DirectionsCentral City Recreation Park1 acres
Who protects it
5,278 conserved acres
12% of Shade Township’s land. Who manages Shade Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife4,869 ac
Other state land305 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits76 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government14 ac
Not recorded90 ac
State Resource Management Area · 4,869 acState Historic or Cultural Area · 305 acPrivate Conservation · 156 acLocal Park · 14 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 10 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 10 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Game Land 228 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 4,203 | Open |
| State Game Land 093 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 665 | Open |
| Old Shade Furnace State Historic or Cultural Area | Other state land | 305 | Open |
| AMD Treatment Facility Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 58 | Closed |
| Hawk View (AMD Treatment) Private Conservation | Not recorded | 58 | Closed |
| Mountain View (AMD Treatment) Private Conservation | Not recorded | 18 | Closed |
| Oven Run AMD Treatment Facility Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 18 | Closed |
| Shade Township Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 14 | Open |
| Oaks Trail (AMD Treatment) Private Recreation or Education | Not recorded | 10 | Closed |
| Somerset County Conservancy Property Private Conservation | Not recorded | 3 | Unknown |
Things to do
3 places to go in Shade Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Shade Township
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
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
3Baseball
1Football
1Basketball
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). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Cairnbrook Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1994
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Shade Township: June to 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) | 33 | 36 | 45 | 58 | 68 | 75 | 79 | 77 | 71 | 60 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 3.0 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 3.4 |
November is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.4 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in Shade Township →
Next door
Shade Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Juniata Township86 miOgle Township67 miShade Township29 miQuemahoning Township28 miAllegheny Township12 miStonycreek Township10 miPaint Township5.2 miHooversville0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shade Township | 12% | 0.4 | 151 | 13% | B+ |
| Ogle Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Quemahoning Township | 9% | 0.8 | 1,183 | 13% | A− |
| Paint Township | 2% | 0.2 | 4 | 8% | C− |
| Allegheny Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Stonycreek Township | 5% | 0.2 | 11 | 2% | C |
| Hooversville | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Juniata Township | — 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 Shade Township
Where can I hike in Shade Township?
The longest trail networks: State Game Lands Number 228, 9.3 miles; Remember Me Rose Garden, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Shade 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 Shade Township’s trails?
State Game Lands Number 228 and State Game Lands Number 93 don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Shade Township?
38,801 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Shade Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 5,222 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Shade Township have?
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Shade 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 →