Photo: JOHN LLOYD on Flickr · CC BY 2.019% of Union Township’s land is conserved: 2,123 acres
8% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 11 acres are parks and preserves, 3.7 per 1,000 residents. 1.8 miles of mapped trail cross Union Township, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 32% of U.S. towns · #922 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Union Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Union Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Union Township is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns, #922 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Union Township’s 19% is ahead of 78% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 20% 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.
2,123 conserved acres
19% of Union Township’s land. Who manages Union Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2,111 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long Arm Dam Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 12 | Open |
1 places to go in Union Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
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.
The best walking months in Union Township: April to June 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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.0 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 43 | 51 | 64 | 73 | 82 | 86 | 84 | 77 | 66 | 54 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.6 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 4.7 | 3.8 | 3.1 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.7 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Union Township →
Union Township 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union Township | 19% | 0.1 | 4 | 8% | C |
| Conewago Township | 16% | 0.3 | 15 | 54% | B |
| Littlestown | 6% | 0.5 | 14 | 91% | B+ |
| Mount Pleasant Township | 19% | 0.2 | 1 | 12% | C |
| West Manheim Township | 25% | 0.7 | 261 | 62% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Union Township
How much of Union Township is conserved land?
19% 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.
Is there public land near Union Township?
6,696 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Union Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 11 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Union Township have?
Ahead of 32% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #922 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 Union Township 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 →