Veterans Memorial Park
Park
28 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: J. Passepartout · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Shippensburg
10% of Shippensburg’s land is conserved, and 95% of residents live within a half mile of a park
10% of Shippensburg’s land is conserved, about 136 acres. 135 acres are parks and preserves, 24 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns · #606 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
10%
136 acres · of 2.0 sq mi of land
Trails
0.0 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
135 ac
24 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
95%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.1 mi
0.1 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Shippensburg?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Shippensburg have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Shippensburg is ahead of 62% of U.S. towns, #606 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Shippensburg’s overall grade.
Conserved land10% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4DPark land24 acres of park per 1,000 residents (135 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home95% 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 62%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 42%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Shippensburg’s 10% is ahead of 58% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 3% of them.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Shippensburg. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on 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.
Who protects it
136 conserved acres
10% of Shippensburg’s land. Who manages Shippensburg’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government121 ac
Town or city3 ac
County1 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits1 ac
Not recorded11 ac
Local Park · 121 acLocal Other or Unknown · 11 acLocal Recreation Area · 3 acAgricultural Easement · 1 acPrivate Conservation · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dykeman Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 86 | Open |
| Shippensburg Memorial Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 32 | Open |
| Municipal Land Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 11 | Open |
| Shippensburg Community Center Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Shippensburg Little League Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 3 | Open |
| Cumberland Valley Rail-Trail Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 1 | Open |
| Cumberland Valley Rails to Trails Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Shippensburg
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Shippensburg
Memorial Park PoolIn Veterans Memorial Park
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
5Baseball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Widow Piper's TavernBuilding · listed 1974
About itShippen HouseBuilding · listed 1975
About itShippensburg Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1984
About itDykeman's SpringBuilding · listed 1999
About itPeerless Furniture CompanyBuilding · listed 2021
About itLocust Grove CemeterySite · listed 2021
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Shippensburg: 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 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 38 | 42 | 51 | 64 | 73 | 82 | 86 | 84 | 77 | 65 | 53 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.6 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.5 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Shippensburg →
Next door
Shippensburg and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shippensburg | 10% | under 0.1 | 24 | 95% | B |
| Shippensburg Township | 12% | 0.3 | 17 | 89% | A− |
| Southampton Township | 21% | 0.5 | 25 | 21% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Shippensburg
How much of Shippensburg is conserved land?
10% 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 Shippensburg’s trails?
Veterans Memorial Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Shippensburg?
0.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Shippensburg?
51,601 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Shippensburg or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 135 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Shippensburg have?
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #606 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 Shippensburg 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 →