South Park
Managed by Allegheny County
1,354 acres22.4 mi of trail
Buffalo Ridge East Trail [White]Sleepy Hollow TrailPolice Station Extension TrailBuffalo Ridge West Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Lee Paxton · CC BY-SA 4.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in South Park Township
South Park Township has 32 miles of mapped trails, 3.5 for every square mile of land
26% of South Park Township’s land is conserved, about 1,534 acres. 1,498 acres are parks and preserves, 109 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: South Park (22.4 mi).
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns · #36 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
26%
1,534 acres · of 9.3 sq mi of land
Trails
32 mi
3.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,498 ac
109 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
79%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
10 mi
1.2 mi lanes · 8.8 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is South Park Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does South Park Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, South Park Township is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns, #36 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of South Park Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land26% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%ATrails3.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (32 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land109 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,498 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13AParks close to home79% of residents within a half mile of a park · PA 73% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 97%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 97%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so South Park Township’s 26% is ahead of 86% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 98% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A 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 South Park, with 22.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Buffalo Preserve
Nature preserve
15 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Sunny Slopes
Park
15 acres0.1 mi of trail
Police Station Extension Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 11 parks & preserves
South Park1,354 acres · 22.4 mi of trail · Allegheny County
DirectionsBuffalo Preserve15 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsSunny Slopes15 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsMaple Springs14 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsWooded Gap10 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsBuffalo Ridge7 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsWilson Park7 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsChildren's Playground2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsEvans Park37 acres
Exercise Trail8 acres
DirectionsHighland Park1 acres
Who protects it
1,534 conserved acres
26% of South Park Township’s land. Who manages South Park Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits1,533 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government1,262 ac
County1,162 ac
Not recorded42 ac
Local Park · 2,412 acConservation Easement · 1,436 acRecreation or Education Easement · 97 acLocal Recreation Area · 45 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 9 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 86 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 30 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 2,319 | Open |
| Evans Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 48 | Open |
| Montour Trail Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 45 | Open |
| Jefferson Memorial Park Local Park | Not recorded | 27 | Open |
| Wilson Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 10 | Open |
| Montour Run Private Recreation or Education | Not recorded | 9 | Open |
| Highland Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 7 | Open |
| Whitewood Park Local Park | Not recorded | 1 | Unknown |
Things to do
31 places to go in South Park Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in South Park Township
Black and Gold PlaygroundIn South Park
DirectionsCorrigan Drive PlaygroundIn South Park
DirectionsPlus 26 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in South Park Township
3 dog parks without a name on the map.
Trails & water
25 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 18.9 miUnpaved · 20.3 mi
Police Station Extension Trail1.7 mi
Buffalo Ridge East Trail [White]1.7 mi
Sleepy Hollow Trail1.6 mi
Buffalo Ridge West Trail1.0 mi
Fairgrounds Flow Trail [downhill] (Yellow Blaze)0.8 mi
Buffalo Ridge West Trail [Orange Loop Trail]0.7 mi
Sleepy Hollow Hill Trail0.6 mi
Brackenridge Trail0.6 mi
Fairgrounds Loop Trail [White / Red Dot]0.5 mi
Fairgrounds North Trail0.4 mi
15 more trails
Alice In Wonderland Trail [Orange Loop Trail]
0.4 miPony Ride Trail
0.4 miGolf Trail
0.4 miSleepy Hollow Cutoff Trail
0.3 miMcConkey Trail
0.3 miVale of Cashmere Trail
0.3 miGas Meter Trail
0.2 miThe Drain Trail
0.2 miOver The Top of Fairgrounds Trail [White / Red Dot]
0.2 miFairgrounds Flow Trail [uphill] (Yellow Blaze)
0.1 miBuffalo Ridge Fairgrounds Trail
0.1 miFairgrounds Connector [White / Red Dot]
0.1 miGolf East Trail
0.1 miBuffalo Ridge Access Trail [Duck Pond Trail]
0.1 miOld Fairgrounds Trail [White / Red Dot]
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
10 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.2 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
8.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
14Baseball
6Basketball
5Tennis
2Soccer
1Beach volleyball
1Equestrian
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 12 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in South Park Township: April 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 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 37 | 41 | 50 | 63 | 72 | 80 | 83 | 82 | 76 | 64 | 52 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 3.2 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in South Park Township →
Next door
South Park Township and its neighbors
South Park Township has the most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Park Township | 26% | 3.5 | 109 | 79% | A+ |
| Bethel Park | 12% | 1.5 | 25 | 92% | A |
| Jefferson Hills | 5% | 0.3 | 31 | 69% | B |
| Union Township | under 1% | 0.4 | 4 | 40% | C− |
| Baldwin | 5% | 1.7 | 9 | 98% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in South Park Township
Where can I hike in South Park Township?
The longest trail networks: South Park, 22.4 miles; Buffalo Preserve, 0.2 miles; Sunny Slopes, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of South Park Township is conserved land?
26% 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 Park Township’s trails?
South Park and Evans Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in South Park Township?
10 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.2 of painted or protected lanes and 8.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near South Park Township?
17,533 acres of parks and open public land lie inside South Park Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,544 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does South Park Township have?
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #36 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 Park 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 →