State Game Lands Number 25
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
13,122 acres14.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Pubdog · Public domainA−Outdoors
Outdoors in St. Marys
30% of St. Marys’ land is conserved: 19,155 acres
99 miles of mapped trail cross St. Marys, 1.0 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: State Game Lands Number 25 (14.8 mi), State Game Lands Number 293 (14.8 mi), Benzinger Park (1.3 mi). 119 acres are parks and preserves, 9.5 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 77% of U.S. towns · #351 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
30%
19,155 acres · of 99.3 sq mi of land
Trails
99 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
119 ac
9.5 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
62%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,034 ft
Goetz Summit
Lakes & rivers
2
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is St. Marys?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does St. Marys have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, St. Marys is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns, #351 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 St. Marys’ overall grade.
Conserved land30% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (99 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land9.5 acres of park per 1,000 residents (119 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home62% 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 77%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 66%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so St. Marys’ 30% is ahead of 90% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 77% 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 State Game Lands Number 25, with 14.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
State Game Lands Number 293
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
4,211 acres14.8 mi of trail
West Creek Recreational Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
West Creek Wetlands Learning Center
Park
29 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 11 parks & preserves
State Game Lands Number 2513,122 acres · 14.8 mi of trail · Pennsylvania Game Commission
DirectionsState Game Lands Number 2934,211 acres · 14.8 mi of trail · Pennsylvania Game Commission
Benzinger Park38 acres · 1.3 mi of trail
DirectionsWest Creek Wetlands Learning Center29 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsKaulmont Park6 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsMemorial Park16 acres
DirectionsShawmut Park3 acres · Saint Marys, Pennsylvania
DirectionsLuhr Park2 acres
State Game Lands Number 141 acres · Pennsylvania Game Commission
Village Park1 acres
The Diamond1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
19,155 conserved acres
30% of St. Marys’ land. Who manages St. Marys’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife17,308 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits4,645 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government209 ac
Not recorded71 ac
State Resource Management Area · 17,308 acConservation Easement · 4,640 acLocal Recreation Area · 153 acLocal Park · 77 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 46 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,587 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 21 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Game Land 025 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 13,095 | Open |
| State Game Land 293 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 4,211 | Open |
| Bavarian Hills Golf Course Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 133 | Unknown |
| Elk Timberlands - Trout Run North Private Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 46 | Unknown |
| South Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 35 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Not recorded | 20 | Open |
| Thurisaz Field Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 17 | Open |
| Benzinger Memorial Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 14 | Open |
| Clarion Junction Forest Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 11 | Unknown |
| Kauchmont Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 4 | Open |
4 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
14 places to go in St. Marys
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in St. Marys
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in St. Marys
Averyville Rd Playground
DirectionsPlus 8 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in St. Marys
Goetz Summit2,034 ft elevation
DirectionsMarys
DirectionsPicnic areas in St. Marys
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 11.1 miHorses · 3.8 miUnpaved · 1.7 mi
West Creek Recreational Trail7.4 mi
Lakes & 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.
West Creek Recreational TrailBike route
7.4 miCourts & fields
13Baseball
10Tennis
5Basketball
3Football
3Soccer
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in St. Marys: May and July to September
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) | 9.5 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.2 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 35 | 45 | 58 | 69 | 77 | 80 | 79 | 72 | 60 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in St. Marys →
Next door
St. Marys and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Shippen Township219 miJones Township197 miSt. Marys99 miRidgway Township47 miJay Township38 miFox Township33 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Marys | 30% | 1.0 | 9 | 62% | A− |
| Ridgway Township | 68% | 0.5 | 46 | 13% | B+ |
| Fox Township | 26% | 0.5 | 27 | 24% | B+ |
| Jones Township | 63% | 1.4 | 2,202 | 30% | A |
| Jay Township | 39% | 0.6 | 676 | 55% | A |
| Shippen Township | 45% | 1.4 | 1 | 3% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in St. Marys
Where can I hike in St. Marys?
The longest trail networks: State Game Lands Number 25, 14.8 miles; State Game Lands Number 293, 14.8 miles; Benzinger Park, 1.3 miles; West Creek Wetlands Learning Center, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of St. Marys is conserved land?
30% 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. Marys’ trails?
State Game Lands Number 25 and State Game Lands Number 293 don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near St. Marys?
211,548 acres of parks and open public land lie inside St. Marys or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 17,535 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does St. Marys have?
Ahead of 77% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #351 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 St. Marys 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 →