Tuscarora State Forest
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
5,384 acres13.5 mi of trail
Nook trailFoltz TrailBarn Run TrailSteltzer Path+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
COutdoors
Outdoors in Tuscarora Township
21% of Tuscarora Township’s land is conserved: 6,317 acres
The biggest trail networks: Tuscarora State Forest (13.5 mi), State Game Lands Number 88 (1.6 mi). 18 miles of mapped trail cross Tuscarora Township, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 31% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
21%
6,317 acres · of 47.2 sq mi of land
Trails
18 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,063 ft
Little Mountain
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Tuscarora Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Tuscarora Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Tuscarora Township is ahead of 31% 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 Tuscarora Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land21% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (18 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land0.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (0 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13DParks close to home0% 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 31%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Tuscarora Township’s 21% is ahead of 81% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 46% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B−. 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 Tuscarora State Forest, with 13.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
State Game Lands Number 88
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
632 acres1.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
State Game Lands Number 215
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
35 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
6,317 conserved acres
21% of Tuscarora Township’s land. Who manages Tuscarora Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources5,385 ac
County1,202 ac
State fish & wildlife653 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)121 ac
State Resource Management Area · 6,038 acAgricultural Easement · 1,322 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 278 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuscarora State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 5,385 | Open |
| State Game Land 088 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 614 | Open |
| State Game Land 215 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 39 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Tuscarora Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in Tuscarora Township
Little Mountain1,063 ft elevation
DirectionsScotland899 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Tuscarora Township
Tuscarora State Forest Campsite 026In Tuscarora State Forest · PA DCNR
DirectionsTrails & water
5 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 4.0 miHorses · 11.7 miUnpaved · 14.1 mi
Nook trail0.9 mi
Foltz Trail0.8 mi
Barn Run Trail0.7 mi
Steltzer Path0.3 mi
Whitsel trail0.1 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
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Tuscarora Township: April to 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) | 37 | 41 | 50 | 63 | 73 | 81 | 85 | 83 | 76 | 64 | 52 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 2.9 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 3.0 | 3.3 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.3 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Tuscarora Township →
Next door
Tuscarora Township and its neighbors
Tuscarora Township has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Toboyne Township81 miTuscarora Township18 miBratton Township18 miJackson Township16 miLack Township12 miNortheast Madison Township5.8 miSpruce Hill Township4.8 miBeale Township1.6 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuscarora Township | 21% | 0.4 | under 1 | under 1% | C |
| Jackson Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Northeast Madison Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Bratton Township | 45% | 0.5 | 4 | 14% | B− |
| Toboyne Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Lack Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Beale Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Spruce Hill Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Tuscarora Township
Where can I hike in Tuscarora Township?
The longest trail networks: Tuscarora State Forest, 13.5 miles; State Game Lands Number 88, 1.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Tuscarora Township is conserved land?
21% 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 Tuscarora Township’s trails?
Tuscarora State Forest and State Game Lands Number 88 don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Tuscarora Township?
91,552 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Tuscarora Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 6,056 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Tuscarora Township have?
Ahead of 31% 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 Tuscarora 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 →