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Countryside in York County PAPhoto: Skabat169 · CC BY-SA 3.0
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Springfield Township

29% of Springfield Township’s land is conserved: 4,949 acres

1,297 acres are parks and preserves, 213 per 1,000 residents. 33 miles of mapped trail cross Springfield Township, 1.3 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: William H. Kain County Park (10.6 mi), Spring Valley County Park (6.1 mi), Richard M. Nixon County Park (5 mi).

Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns · #71 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it

Conserved land
29%
4,949 acres · of 26.4 sq mi of land
Trails
33 mi
1.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,297 ac
213 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
65%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.4 mi
0.2 mi lanes · 1.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
1 boat launch

What kind of outdoors town is Springfield Township?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

Land that stays wild29% of the land is conserved; a typical Pennsylvania town, 8%.Room to roam213 acres of park per 1,000 residents; the typical U.S. town has 13.A trail town1.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 85% of U.S. towns.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Springfield Township have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Springfield Township is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #71 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.

A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Springfield Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land29% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (33 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4APark land213 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,297 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13AParks close to home65% 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 94%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 93%

Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Springfield Township’s 29% is ahead of 89% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 83% 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.

1234
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 William H. Kain County Park, with 10.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

William H. Kain County Park

Park
692 acres10.6 mi of trail
South Shore TrailHeadwater TrailBoathouse Trail3A+1
No dogs
Directionsto the parking lot

Spring Valley County Park

Managed by York County Department of Parks and Recreation
346 acres6.1 mi of trail
65M66B+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗

Richard M. Nixon County Park

Nature preserve
152 acres5 mi of trail
Old FieldBird HollowQuiet WalkGeology+1
No dogs
Directionsto the parking lot

Lake Redman Activity Area

Park
11 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 6 parks & preserves
William H. Kain County Park692 acres · 10.6 mi of trail
Directions
Spring Valley County Park346 acres · 6.1 mi of trail · York County Department of Parks and Recreation
Directions
Richard M. Nixon County Park152 acres · 5 mi of trail
Directions
Lake Redman Activity Area11 acres
Directions
Springfield Township Park6 acres
Goodling Park3 acres
Directions
Who protects it

4,949 conserved acres

29% of Springfield Township’s land. Who manages Springfield Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

County7,108 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits6,140 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government1,227 ac
Other state land207 ac
Not recorded311 ac
Agricultural Easement · 8,550 acConservation Easement · 2,559 acForest Stewardship Easement · 1,736 acLocal Park · 1,416 acOther Easement · 457 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 3,704 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 162 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
William H. Kain Park
Local Park
Other or Unknown Local Government691Open
Spring Valley Park
Local Park
Other or Unknown Local Government342Open
William H. Kain County Park
Local Park
Not recorded199Open
Richard M. Nixon Park
Local Park
Other or Unknown Local Government181Open
Hollow Creek Greenway
Local Other or Unknown
Not recorded21Open
Nixon County Park Expansion
Local Recreation Area
County11Open
Springfield Recreation Park
Local Recreation Area
Other or Unknown Local Government10Open
Heritage Rail Trail County Park
Local Other or Unknown
Not recorded6Open
George A. Gooding Park
Local Park
Other or Unknown Local Government3Open
Things to do

15 places to go in Springfield Township

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Playgrounds in Springfield Township
Exploration ForestIn Richard M. Nixon County Park
Directions

Plus 12 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.

Trails & water

25 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Open to bikes · 15.2 miHorses · 14.1 miUnpaved · 26.8 mi
South Shore Trail2.8 mi
Headwater Trail2.6 mi
Hollow Creek Greenway1.6 mi
Old Field1.3 mi
61.1 mi
Boathouse Trail1.0 mi
50.9 mi
Bird Hollow0.7 mi
M60.7 mi
5A0.7 mi
15 more trails
6B
0.6 mi
4C
0.6 mi
Quiet Walk
0.6 mi
Geology
0.5 mi
Hardwood
0.4 mi
4B
0.4 mi
3A
0.4 mi
5B
0.3 mi
M5
0.3 mi
4
0.3 mi
4A
0.3 mi
Springhouse Hollow
0.3 mi
M1
0.3 mi
Hollow Creek Greenway Trail
0.2 mi
Pumphouse Trail
0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Lake RedmanreservoirEast Branch Codorus CreekSouth Branch Codorus Creek
Biking & sports

1.4 miles of bike routes

Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.

0.2 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
1.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
7Basketball
6Equestrian
5Tennis
4Baseball
1Golf
1Soccer
1Beach volleyball

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

1 place on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).

History →
South Road Bridge, Northern Central RailwayStructure · listed 1995
About it
When to get out

The best walking months in Springfield Township: April to June 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.610.611.813.214.415.014.713.712.411.19.99.4
High (°F)394251637381858376655343
Rain (in)3.22.74.03.64.04.14.73.94.94.13.23.6

February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.9 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Springfield Township →

Next door

Springfield Township and its neighbors

Springfield Township has the most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Springfield Township33 miYork Township21 miNorth Hopewell Township9.0 miShrewsbury Township5.6 miNorth Codorus Township2.9 miCodorus Township1.9 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Springfield Township29%1.321365%A
North Hopewell Township13%0.516010%B+
North Codorus Township19%0.11421%B−
York Township11%0.84068%A−
Codorus Township14%0.11920%C+
Shrewsbury Township20%0.22659%B+

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in Springfield Township

Where can I hike in Springfield Township?

The longest trail networks: William H. Kain County Park, 10.6 miles; Spring Valley County Park, 6.1 miles; Richard M. Nixon County Park, 5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Springfield Township is conserved land?

29% 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 Springfield Township’s trails?

William H. Kain County Park and Spring Valley County Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Where can I bike in Springfield Township?

1.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.2 of painted or protected lanes and 1.2 of off-road paths.

Is there public land near Springfield Township?

9,840 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Springfield Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,297 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Springfield Township have?

Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #71 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 Springfield Township neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →