Tuscarora State Forest
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
4,511 acres15.8 mi of trail
Wire Fence Hollow TrailAnt Hill Trail NorthLicking Creek TrailWaterline Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Generic1139 · CC BY-SA 3.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Shirley Township
19% of Shirley Township’s land is conserved: 7,132 acres
The biggest trail networks: Tuscarora State Forest (15.8 mi), State Game Lands Number 71 (3.6 mi), Rothrock State Forest (0.7 mi). 21% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 21 miles of mapped trail cross Shirley Township, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 36% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
19%
7,132 acres · of 58.4 sq mi of land
Trails
21 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Near a park
21%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,066 ft
Lick Ridge
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Shirley Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Shirley Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Shirley Township is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Shirley Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land19% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (21 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land0.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (0 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13DParks close to home21% 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 36%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Shirley Township’s 19% is ahead of 78% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 44% 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 Tuscarora State Forest, with 15.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
State Game Lands Number 71
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
2,234 acres3.6 mi of trail
Standing Stone Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Rothrock State Forest
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
109 acres0.7 mi of trail
Standing Stone Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
State Game Lands Number 99
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
277 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
7,132 conserved acres
19% of Shirley Township’s land. Who manages Shirley Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources4,622 ac
State fish & wildlife2,510 ac
State Resource Management Area · 7,132 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuscarora State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 4,513 | Open |
| State Game Land 071 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 2,233 | Open |
| State Game Land 099 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 277 | Open |
| Rothrock State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 109 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Shirley Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Shirley Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Shirley Township
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Shirley Township
Lick Ridge1,066 ft elevation
DirectionsShirley Knobs1,014 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Shirley Township
Bell Furnace Picnic AreaIn Tuscarora State Forest
DirectionsTrails & water
5 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.3 miHorses · 10.2 miUnpaved · 6.4 mi
Standing Stone Trail5.0 mi
Wire Fence Hollow Trail3.0 mi
Ant Hill Trail North2.8 mi
Licking Creek Trail1.4 mi
Waterline Trail0.5 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Shirley Township: April 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 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 38 | 41 | 50 | 63 | 73 | 82 | 86 | 84 | 77 | 65 | 53 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 2.7 | 2.4 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 2.8 | 3.1 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.1 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Shirley Township →
Next door
Shirley Township and its neighbors
Shirley Township has the most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Shirley Township21 miWayne Township19 miCass Township17 miBrady Township14 miLack Township12 miCromwell Township9.7 miUnion Township8.6 miTell Township4.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shirley Township | 19% | 0.4 | under 1 | 21% | C+ |
| Cromwell Township | 9% | 0.2 | 5 | 3% | C |
| Wayne Township | 26% | 0.4 | under 1 | 9% | C+ |
| Tell Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Union Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Brady Township | 25% | 0.5 | 29 | 7% | B |
| Cass Township | 20% | 0.5 | 29 | under 1% | B |
| Lack 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 Shirley Township
Where can I hike in Shirley Township?
The longest trail networks: Tuscarora State Forest, 15.8 miles; State Game Lands Number 71, 3.6 miles; Rothrock State Forest, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Shirley Township is conserved land?
19% 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 Shirley Township’s trails?
Tuscarora State Forest and State Game Lands Number 71 don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Shirley Township?
94,369 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Shirley Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 7,177 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Shirley Township have?
Ahead of 36% 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 Shirley 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 →