Elk State Forest
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
23,367 acres28.5 mi of trail
Thunder Mountain TrailThunder Mountain Equestrian TrailWest Creek Recreational TrailWiley Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainB−Outdoors
Outdoors in Shippen Township
45% of Shippen Township’s land is conserved: 45,307 acres
219 miles of mapped trail cross Shippen Township, 1.4 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Elk State Forest (28.5 mi), State Game Lands Number 14 (19 mi), State Game Lands Number 293 (6.5 mi). 3% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 52% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
45%
45,307 acres · of 156.6 sq mi of land
Trails
219 mi
1.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
2 ac
0.9 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
3%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,241 ft
Whittimore Hill
Lakes & rivers
5
What kind of outdoors town is Shippen Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Shippen Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Shippen Township is ahead of 52% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Shippen Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land45% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A+Trails1.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (219 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4APark land0.9 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13DParks close to home3% of residents within a half mile of a park · PA 73% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 52%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Shippen Township’s 45% is ahead of 98% 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 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 Elk State Forest, with 28.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
State Game Lands Number 14
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
13,895 acres19 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
State Game Lands Number 293
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
1,102 acres6.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Bucktail State Park Natural Area
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
558 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 7 parks & preserves
Elk State Forest23,367 acres · 28.5 mi of trail · Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
State Game Lands Number 1413,895 acres · 19 mi of trail · Pennsylvania Game Commission
DirectionsState Game Lands Number 2931,102 acres · 6.5 mi of trail · Pennsylvania Game Commission
Bucktail State Park Natural Area558 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
State Game Lands Number 3016 acres · Pennsylvania Game Commission
Big Flag Memorial Park2 acres
The Look Out1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
45,307 conserved acres
45% of Shippen Township’s land. Who manages Shippen Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources30,288 ac
State fish & wildlife15,095 ac
State conservation13,506 ac
State parks558 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits108 ac
Not recorded1,683 ac
State Resource Management Area · 38,519 acForest Stewardship Easement · 13,615 acConservation Easement · 7,430 acState Park · 1,116 acState Conservation Area · 558 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 6,847 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elk State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 22,866 | Open |
| State Game Land 014 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 13,899 | Open |
| State Game Land 293 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 1,178 | Open |
| Bucktail State Park State Park | State parks | 1,116 | Open |
| East Hicks Run Conservation Easement | Not recorded | 567 | Open |
| Bucktail State Park Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 558 | Open |
| Elk State Forest - Bucktail State Park Natural Area State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 558 | Open |
| State Game Land 030 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 18 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Shippen Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Shippen Township
CCHS Playground
DirectionsProspect Park Playground
DirectionsPeaks in Shippen Township
Whittimore Hill2,241 ft elevation · In Elk State Forest
DirectionsBryan Hill2,133 ft elevation
DirectionsDoll Hill2,103 ft elevation · In Elk State Forest
DirectionsMoore Hill2,083 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
4 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 23.0 miHorses · 16.7 miUnpaved · 25.7 mi
West Creek Recreational Trail10.2 mi
Thunder Mountain Trail1.5 mi
Thunder Mountain Equestrian Trail1.1 mi
Wiley Trail0.8 mi
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.
West Creek Recreational TrailBike route
10.2 miCourts & fields
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Shippen Township: April, May, August and September
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 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 33 | 37 | 46 | 60 | 71 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 62 | 49 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.5 | 3.1 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.3 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Shippen Township →
Next door
Shippen Township and its neighbors
Shippen Township has the most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Shippen Township219 miJones Township197 miBenezette Township144 miNorwich Township139 miSt. Marys99 miGibson Township83 miLumber Township50 miPortage Township20 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shippen Township | 45% | 1.4 | 1 | 3% | B− |
| Portage Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Lumber Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Benezette Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Jones Township | 63% | 1.4 | 2,202 | 30% | A |
| St. Marys | 30% | 1.0 | 9 | 62% | A− |
| Norwich Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Gibson 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 Shippen Township
Where can I hike in Shippen Township?
The longest trail networks: Elk State Forest, 28.5 miles; State Game Lands Number 14, 19 miles; State Game Lands Number 293, 6.5 miles; Bucktail State Park Natural Area, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Shippen Township is conserved land?
45% 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 Shippen Township’s trails?
Elk State Forest and State Game Lands Number 14 don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Shippen Township?
299,968 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Shippen Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 38,692 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Shippen Township have?
Ahead of 52% 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 Shippen 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 →