Bald Eagle State Forest
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
9,189 acres32.7 mi of trail
Lower Shade Tram TrailOHM trailLittle Mountain TrailShawyerville Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Gross Bridge · Photo: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Spring Township
43% of Spring Township’s land is conserved: 10,272 acres
1,258 acres are parks and preserves, 812 per 1,000 residents. 40 miles of mapped trail cross Spring Township, 1.1 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Bald Eagle State Forest (32.7 mi), Snyder-Middleswarth Natural Area (3.2 mi).
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
43%
10,272 acres · of 37.1 sq mi of land
Trails
40 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,258 ac
812 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
48%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,093 ft
Hightop
Lakes & rivers
4
What kind of outdoors town is Spring Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Spring Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Spring Township is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Spring Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land43% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A+Trails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (40 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land812 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,258 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home48% 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 92%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Spring Township’s 43% is ahead of 97% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 79% 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 Bald Eagle State Forest, with 32.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Snyder-Middleswarth Natural Area
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
533 acres3.2 mi of trail
Swift Run TrailThick Mountain TrailTower Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
10,272 conserved acres
43% of Spring Township’s land. Who manages Spring Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources9,188 ac
County1,354 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government724 ac
Not recorded121 ac
State Resource Management Area · 8,655 acAgricultural Easement · 1,354 acLocal Park · 837 acState Conservation Area · 533 acLocal Recreation Area · 8 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 360 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bald Eagle State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 8,655 | Open |
| Faylor Lake Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 834 | Open |
| Snyder Middleswarth Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 533 | Open |
| Beaver Township Open Space Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 8 | Closed |
| Elm Street Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 3 | Open |
Things to do
11 places to go in Spring Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Waterfalls in Spring Township
1 waterfall without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Spring Township
Hightop2,093 ft elevation · In Bald Eagle State Forest
DirectionsPine Ridge1,982 ft elevation · In Bald Eagle State Forest
DirectionsShort Knob1,870 ft elevation · In Bald Eagle State Forest
DirectionsGrass Mountain1,795 ft elevation · In Bald Eagle State Forest
DirectionsShort Mountain1,696 ft elevation · In Bald Eagle State Forest
DirectionsPicnic areas in Spring Township
Rock Springs Picnic AreaIn Snyder-Middleswarth Natural Area
DirectionsSnyder-Middleswarth Picnic AreaIn Snyder-Middleswarth Natural Area
DirectionsCampgrounds in Spring Township
064 Tower RoadIn Bald Eagle State Forest · PA DCNR
Directions065 Swift Run RoadIn Bald Eagle State Forest · PA DCNR
Directions066 Swift Run RoadIn Bald Eagle State Forest · PA DCNR
DirectionsTrails & water
21 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 9.0 miHorses · 19.3 miUnpaved · 8.3 mi
Lower Shade Tram Trail2.7 mi
OHM trail2.6 mi
Little Mountain Trail2.5 mi
Shawyerville Trail2.0 mi
High Top Trail1.7 mi
Swift Run Trail1.7 mi
Cold Spring Trail1.6 mi
Thick Mountain Trail1.5 mi
Tram Trail1.5 mi
Diamond Trail1.1 mi
11 more trails
Pine Ridge Trail
1.1 miMitchell Trail
1.1 miWest Boyer Trail
0.7 miMiddle Ridge Trail
0.7 miSpring Trail
0.7 miPardee's Tram Trail
0.6 miBreininger Gap Trail
0.5 miTower Trail
0.5 miKreb Gap Trail
0.5 miKaiser Trail
0.2 miHenstep 4X4 Drivable Trail
0.1 miLakes & 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
1Equestrian
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Gross BridgeStructure · listed 1977
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Spring 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 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 36 | 40 | 49 | 62 | 72 | 80 | 85 | 83 | 75 | 64 | 51 | 40 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.4 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.6 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Spring Township →
Next door
Spring Township and its neighbors
Spring Township has the most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Spring Township40 miAdams Township22 miWest Beaver Township21 miWest Perry Township20 miBeaver Township5.7 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring Township | 43% | 1.1 | 812 | 48% | A |
| Adams Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| West Beaver Township | 32% | 0.7 | 559 | under 1% | A− |
| West Perry Township | 31% | 0.7 | 34 | 14% | B+ |
| Beaver 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 Spring Township
Where can I hike in Spring Township?
The longest trail networks: Bald Eagle State Forest, 32.7 miles; Snyder-Middleswarth Natural Area, 3.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Spring Township is conserved land?
43% 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 Spring Township’s trails?
Bald Eagle State Forest and Snyder-Middleswarth Natural Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Spring Township?
116,993 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Spring Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 9,959 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Spring Township have?
Ahead of 92% 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 Spring 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 →