Owl Creek Recreation Area
Park
675 acres2.6 mi of trail
Tenderfoot Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Hshuvaeva · CC BY-SA 3.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Tamaqua
22% of Tamaqua’s land is conserved: 1,323 acres
1,020 acres are parks and preserves, 147 per 1,000 residents. 97% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 8.9 miles of mapped trail cross Tamaqua, 0.9 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns · #34 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
22%
1,323 acres · of 9.6 sq mi of land
Trails
8.9 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,020 ac
147 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
97%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
3
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Tamaqua?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Tamaqua have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Tamaqua is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns, #34 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Tamaqua’s overall grade.
Conserved land22% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land147 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,020 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13AParks close to home97% of residents within a half mile of a park · PA 73% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 97%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 97%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Tamaqua’s 22% is ahead of 83% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 74% 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 Owl Creek Recreation Area, with 2.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
State Game Lands Number 257
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
303 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
State Game Lands Number 227
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
12 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Owl Creek Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 8 parks & preserves
Owl Creek Recreation Area675 acres · 2.6 mi of trail
DirectionsState Game Lands Number 22712 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Pennsylvania Game Commission
State Game Lands Number 257303 acres · Pennsylvania Game Commission
Owl Creek Park1 acres
Willing Memorial Park1 acres
DirectionsKellner's Dam1 acres
DirectionsEast End Park1 acres
North and Middle Ward Playground1 acres
Who protects it
1,323 conserved acres
22% of Tamaqua’s land. Who manages Tamaqua’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government1,009 ac
State fish & wildlife623 ac
Not recorded685 ac
Local Recreation Area · 984 acLocal Other or Unknown · 675 acState Recreation Area · 311 acState Resource Management Area · 311 acLocal Park · 35 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owl Creek Recreation Area Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 973 | Open |
| Owl Creek Dams Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 675 | Open |
| Sgl 257 State Recreation Area | State fish & wildlife | 297 | Open |
| State Game Land 257 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 297 | Open |
| Tamaqua Area Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 18 | Open |
| State Game Land 227 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 14 | Open |
| Sgl 227 State Recreation Area | State fish & wildlife | 14 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Not recorded | 10 | Open |
| Dutch Hill Little League Field Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 9 | Open |
| Dutch Hill Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 3 | Open |
3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
9 places to go in Tamaqua
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Tamaqua
Dutch Hill Playground
DirectionsPlus 7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Tamaqua
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.7 mi
Lehigh and New England Trail1.2 mi
Tenderfoot Trail0.6 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.
Courts & fields
4Basketball
1Skate park
1Soccer
1Multi-sport
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places 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.
When to get out
The best walking months in Tamaqua: 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 | 59 | 69 | 77 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 62 | 49 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 3.7 | 2.9 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 5.0 | 5.2 | 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). 5.2 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Tamaqua →
Next door
Tamaqua and its neighbors
Tamaqua has the second most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Summit Hill22 miTamaqua8.9 miWest Penn Township7.4 miSchuylkill Township5.3 miWalker Township1.7 miCoaldale0.6 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tamaqua | 22% | 0.9 | 147 | 97% | A+ |
| Walker Township | 27% | 0.1 | 16 | 13% | B− |
| Schuylkill Township | 5% | 0.5 | 267 | 62% | A− |
| Coaldale | 1% | 0.3 | 6 | 85% | C+ |
| West Penn Township | 11% | 0.1 | 24 | 5% | B− |
| Summit Hill | 20% | 2.5 | 220 | 95% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Tamaqua
Where can I hike in Tamaqua?
The longest trail networks: Owl Creek Recreation Area, 2.6 miles; State Game Lands Number 227, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Tamaqua is conserved land?
22% 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 Tamaqua’s trails?
Owl Creek Recreation Area and State Game Lands Number 257 don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Tamaqua?
46,824 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Tamaqua or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,334 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Tamaqua have?
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #34 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 Tamaqua 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 →