Forbes State Forest
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
2,412 acres8.5 mi of trail
Pine Knob TrailWhitetail Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Hopwood-Miller Tavern · Photo: Smallbones · CC0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in South Union Township
24% of South Union Township’s land is conserved: 2,526 acres
The biggest trail networks: Forbes State Forest (8.5 mi). 12 miles of mapped trail cross South Union Township, 0.7 per square mile of land. 64% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns · #373 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
24%
2,526 acres · of 16.8 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
119 ac
11 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
64%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.1 mi
3.1 mi paths
Highest peak
2,139 ft
Pine Knob
What kind of outdoors town is South Union Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does South Union Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, South Union Township is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns, #373 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of South Union Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land24% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land11 acres of park per 1,000 residents (119 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home64% 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 76%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 64%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so South Union Township’s 24% is ahead of 84% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 68% of 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
The longest trail network is Forbes State Forest, with 8.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hutchinson Park
Park
34 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Areford Park
Park
8 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
State Game Lands Number 138
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
7 acres0.2 mi of trail
Whitetail Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Forbes State Forest2,412 acres · 8.5 mi of trail · Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
DirectionsState Game Lands Number 1387 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Pennsylvania Game Commission
Hutchinson Park34 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Areford Park8 acres
Meadowbrook Park2 acres
DirectionsMickey's Park1 acres
Who protects it
2,526 conserved acres
24% of South Union Township’s land. Who manages South Union Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources2,411 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government100 ac
State fish & wildlife6 ac
County6 ac
Not recorded3 ac
State Resource Management Area · 2,417 acLocal Park · 106 acLocal Recreation Area · 3 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 15 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forbes State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 2,411 | Open |
| South Union Township Community Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 41 | Open |
| Brand Lane Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 23 | Open |
| Coddington Place Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 13 | Open |
| Oak Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 10 | Open |
| Areford Community Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 9 | Open |
| State Game Land 138 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 6 | Open |
| Revere Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 4 | Open |
| South Uniontown Ballfield #2 Local Park | County | 3 | Open |
| Meadowbrook Ballfield Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 2 | Open |
4 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
4 places to go in South Union Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in South Union Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Dog parks in South Union Township
Tails on the Trail dog park
DirectionsScenic views in South Union Township
Point LookoutIn Forbes State Forest
DirectionsPeaks in South Union Township
Pine Knob2,139 ft elevation · In Forbes State Forest
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.0 miHorses · 1.0 miUnpaved · 2.9 mi
Whitetail Trail1.9 mi
Pine Knob Trail1.9 mi
Biking & sports
3.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
6Baseball
4Tennis
3Basketball
3Pickleball
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 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in South Union 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 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 38 | 42 | 51 | 64 | 73 | 80 | 84 | 82 | 77 | 65 | 53 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 3.0 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.6 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in South Union Township →
Next door
South Union Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Wharton Township87 miNorth Union Township31 miGeorges Township31 miSouth Union Township12 miMenallen Township3.6 miGerman Township2.7 miUniontown0.4 miSouth Uniontown0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Union Township | 24% | 0.7 | 11 | 64% | A− |
| Uniontown | 1% | 0.2 | 2 | 90% | C+ |
| Georges Township | 14% | 0.6 | 5 | 14% | B− |
| Menallen Township | 3% | 0.2 | 76 | 27% | B− |
| North Union Township | 12% | 0.8 | 14 | 47% | B+ |
| Wharton Township | 31% | 0.9 | 337 | 25% | A |
| South Uniontown | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| German Township | 4% | 0.1 | 42 | 26% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in South Union Township
Where can I hike in South Union Township?
The longest trail networks: Forbes State Forest, 8.5 miles; Hutchinson Park, 0.1 miles; State Game Lands Number 138, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of South Union Township is conserved land?
24% 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 Union Township’s trails?
Forbes State Forest and Hutchinson Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in South Union Township?
3.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near South Union Township?
52,897 acres of parks and open public land lie inside South Union Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,546 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does South Union Township have?
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #373 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 Union 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 →