State Game Lands Number 42
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
8,001 acres30.3 mi of trail
Laurel Highlands Hiking TrailSugar Run
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Jet Lowe · Public domainAOutdoors
Outdoors in St. Clair Township
More than half of St. Clair Township’s land is conserved: 58%
58% of St. Clair Township’s land is conserved, about 10,684 acres. 2,528 acres are parks and preserves, 2,027 per 1,000 residents. 44 miles of mapped trail cross St. Clair Township, 1.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
58%
10,684 acres · of 28.6 sq mi of land
Trails
44 mi
1.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,528 ac
2,027 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
48%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,421 ft
Squirrel Hill
Lakes & rivers
4
What kind of outdoors town is St. Clair Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does St. Clair Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, St. Clair Township is ahead of 94% 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 St. Clair Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land58% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A+Trails1.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (44 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4APark land2,027 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,528 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 94%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so St. Clair Township’s 58% is ahead of 99% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 88% 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 State Game Lands Number 42, with 30.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Laurel Ridge State Park
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks
2,543 acres10.5 mi of trail
Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail ParkingWebsite ↗
Who protects it
10,684 conserved acres
58% of St. Clair Township’s land. Who manages St. Clair Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife8,000 ac
State parks2,556 ac
County213 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits56 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government4 ac
Not recorded107 ac
State Resource Management Area · 8,000 acState Park · 2,556 acAgricultural Easement · 213 acPrivate Conservation · 106 acConservation Easement · 45 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 68 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 12 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Game Land 042 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 8,000 | Open |
| Laurel Ridge State Park State Park | State parks | 2,556 | Open |
| Cvc Property Private Conservation | Not recorded | 103 | Closed |
| Borough Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 4 | Open |
| Estep Private Conservation | Not recorded | 2 | Unknown |
| Ballfield Local Park | Not recorded | 1 | Unknown |
Things to do
1 places to go in St. Clair Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in St. Clair Township
Squirrel Hill1,421 ft elevation · In State Game Lands Number 42
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.4 miHorses · 13.1 miUnpaved · 11.3 mi
Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail4.9 mi
Sugar Run1.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Laurel Hill FurnaceStructure · listed 1975
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in St. Clair Township: May, 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 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 36 | 44 | 57 | 67 | 74 | 77 | 76 | 70 | 59 | 47 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 4.3 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 5.2 | 5.0 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 4.3 |
February is the driest month (3.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 5.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in St. Clair Township →
Next door
St. Clair Township and its neighbors
St. Clair Township has the most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
St. Clair Township44 miLower Yoder Township42 miFairfield Township40 miEast Wheatfield Township6.8 miWest Wheatfield Township5.8 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Clair Township | 58% | 1.5 | 2,027 | 48% | A |
| East Wheatfield Township | 15% | 0.3 | 324 | 13% | B+ |
| West Wheatfield Township | 9% | 0.2 | 28 | 37% | B |
| Lower Yoder Township | 59% | 3.2 | 1,478 | 84% | A+ |
| Fairfield Township | 11% | 0.7 | 438 | 8% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in St. Clair Township
Where can I hike in St. Clair Township?
The longest trail networks: State Game Lands Number 42, 30.3 miles; Laurel Ridge State Park, 10.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of St. Clair Township is conserved land?
58% 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 St. Clair Township’s trails?
State Game Lands Number 42 and Laurel Ridge State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near St. Clair Township?
54,431 acres of parks and open public land lie inside St. Clair Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 10,531 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does St. Clair Township have?
Ahead of 94% 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 St. Clair 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 →