State Game Lands Number 312
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
1,083 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: S.MacMillen · Public domainC−Outdoors
Outdoors in Sterling Township
7% of Sterling Township’s land is conserved: 1,211 acres
3% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1.2 miles of mapped trail cross Sterling Township. 10 acres are parks and preserves, 7.1 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 25% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
1,211 acres · of 27.0 sq mi of land
Trails
1.2 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
10 ac
7.1 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
3%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
3
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Sterling Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sterling Township is ahead of 25% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Sterling Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land7.1 acres of park per 1,000 residents (10 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home3% of residents within a half mile of a park · PA 73% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 25%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Sterling Township’s 7% is ahead of 45% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 12% of them.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Sterling Township. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Pinchot State Forest
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
1,211 conserved acres
7% of Sterling Township’s land. Who manages Sterling Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife2,214 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits252 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government10 ac
State natural resources4 ac
Not recorded1,137 ac
State Resource Management Area · 2,221 acState Other or Unknown · 1,134 acAgricultural Easement · 252 acLocal Park · 10 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 63 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 13 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Game Land 312 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 1,149 | Open |
| State Game Land #312 State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1,117 | Unknown |
| Sgl 312 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 1,081 | Open |
| Spring Hill Foundation Acquisition Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 10 | Open |
| Pinchot State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 4 | Open |
| Elmhurst Tract State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 4 | Open |
Trails & water
3 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Sterling Township: 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 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.9 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 31 | 34 | 42 | 55 | 66 | 73 | 78 | 76 | 69 | 58 | 46 | 35 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.9 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 5.0 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 3.6 | 3.8 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 5.0 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Sterling Township →
Next door
Sterling Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Greene Township32 miMadison Township6.8 miLehigh Township5.2 miSalem Township2.8 miDreher Township2.2 miSterling Township1.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sterling Township | 7% | under 0.1 | 7 | 3% | C− |
| Salem Township | 4% | 0.1 | 23 | 17% | C+ |
| Greene Township | 18% | 0.5 | 628 | 16% | A− |
| Dreher Township | 4% | 0.1 | 252 | 15% | B− |
| Lehigh Township | 45% | 0.4 | 322 | 44% | A− |
| Madison Township | 16% | 0.4 | 3 | 3% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Sterling Township
How much of Sterling Township is conserved land?
7% 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 Sterling Township’s trails?
State Game Lands Number 312 and Pinchot State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Sterling Township?
84,198 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sterling Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,154 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Sterling Township have?
Ahead of 25% 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 Sterling 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 →