State Game Lands Number 245
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
228 acres1.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Niteshift36 · CC BY-SA 3.0C−Outdoors
Outdoors in South Franklin Township
Few parks or trails are on the map in South Franklin Township
The biggest trail networks: State Game Lands Number 245 (1.7 mi). 12% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1.8 miles of mapped trail cross South Franklin Township, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 25% of U.S. towns · #973 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
258 acres · of 20.6 sq mi of land
Trails
1.8 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
35 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
12%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does South Franklin Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, South Franklin Township is ahead of 25% of U.S. towns, #973 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of South Franklin Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4CPark land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (35 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home12% 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 25%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 6%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so South Franklin Township’s 2% is ahead of 13% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 17% of them.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in South Franklin Township. 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 C− to C+. 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 245, with 1.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
South Franklin Park
Park
26 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
258 conserved acres
2% of South Franklin Township’s land. Who manages South Franklin Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife228 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government29 ac
Not recorded2 ac
State Resource Management Area · 228 acLocal Park · 31 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 4 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Game Land 245 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 228 | Open |
| South Franklin Township Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 27 | Open |
| Walker Lane Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 4 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in South Franklin Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in South Franklin Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
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
7Baseball
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in South Franklin Township: April, July 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) | 37 | 41 | 50 | 63 | 73 | 80 | 83 | 82 | 76 | 64 | 52 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.7 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 3.3 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.3 inches fall in May, the wettest month. The climate in South Franklin Township →
Next door
South Franklin Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Morris Township3.0 miGreen Hills2.6 miSouth Franklin Township1.8 miNorth Franklin Township1.2 miEast Finley Township0.8 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Franklin Township | 2% | 0.1 | 12 | 12% | C− |
| East Finley Township | 8% | under 0.1 | 25 | 1% | C |
| Green Hills | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Morris Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| North Franklin Township | 1% | 0.2 | 11 | 55% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in South Franklin Township
Where can I hike in South Franklin Township?
The longest trail networks: State Game Lands Number 245, 1.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of South Franklin Township is conserved land?
2% 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 South Franklin Township’s trails?
State Game Lands Number 245 and South Franklin Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near South Franklin Township?
15,113 acres of parks and open public land lie inside South Franklin Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 266 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does South Franklin Township have?
Ahead of 25% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #973 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 South Franklin 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 →