Photo: Shuvaev · CC BY-SA 3.0Summit Hill has 22 miles of mapped trails, 2.5 for every square mile of land
689 acres are parks and preserves, 220 per 1,000 residents. 20% of Summit Hill’s land is conserved, about 1,115 acres. 95% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns · #11 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Summit Hill?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Summit Hill have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Summit Hill is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #11 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Summit Hill’s 20% is ahead of 80% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 95% of them.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Trooper Melley Memorial Park
1,115 conserved acres
20% of Summit Hill’s land. Who manages Summit Hill’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mauch Chunk Lake State Other or Unknown | State fish & wildlife | 867 | Open |
| Mauch Chunk Lake Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 659 | Open |
| Ball Fields Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Ginter Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 7 | Open |
| Trooper Philip C. Melley Memorial Field Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 3 | Open |
| Memorial Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 2 | Open |
| Bill Black Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 2 | Open |
7 places to go in Summit Hill
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Plus 2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
10 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 4 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
The best walking months in Summit Hill: April, May 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) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 38 | 46 | 60 | 70 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 62 | 50 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 3.7 | 2.9 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 4.7 | 5.1 | 4.9 | 3.9 | 4.3 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 5.1 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Summit Hill →
Summit Hill and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summit Hill | 20% | 2.5 | 220 | 95% | A+ |
| Lansford | 2% | 2.7 | 5 | 98% | B+ |
| Nesquehoning | 28% | 4.6 | 131 | 72% | A+ |
| Mahoning Township | 3% | 0.1 | 3 | 13% | C− |
| Jim Thorpe | 23% | 1.9 | 433 | 96% | A+ |
| Tamaqua | 22% | 0.9 | 147 | 97% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Summit Hill
How much of Summit Hill is conserved land?
20% 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 Summit Hill’s trails?
Ludlow Park and Trooper Melley Memorial Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Summit Hill?
51,033 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Summit Hill or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,125 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Summit Hill have?
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #11 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 Summit Hill neighbors.
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 →