Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve
Nature preserve
51 acres2 mi of trail
Meadow TrailTall Grass TrailPond TrailThicket Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
St. Vincent Archabbey Gristmill · Photo: Canadian2006 · CC BY-SA 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Unity Township
Unity Township has 496 acres of parks, 23 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve (2 mi), Twin Lakes Park (1.6 mi). 27% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5% of Unity Township’s land is conserved, about 2,261 acres.
Ahead of 54% of U.S. towns · #694 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
2,261 acres · of 67.4 sq mi of land
Trails
27 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
496 ac
23 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
27%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
8
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Unity Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Unity Township is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns, #694 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Unity Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (27 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land23 acres of park per 1,000 residents (496 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home27% of residents within a half mile of a park · PA 73% · U.S. 72%C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 54%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 33%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Unity Township’s 5% is ahead of 37% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 47% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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 Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve, with 2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Twin Lakes Park
Park
135 acres1.6 mi of trail
Tamarack Self-Guided Nature TrailLittle Crabtree Creek Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Rotory
Park
10 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Melvin Platz
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
2,261 conserved acres
5% of Unity Township’s land. Who manages Unity Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County5,092 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits1,474 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government399 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)176 ac
Not recorded371 ac
Agricultural Easement · 5,269 acForest Stewardship Easement · 1,006 acLocal Park · 400 acConservation Easement · 393 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 249 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,515 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 64 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loyalhanna Gorge Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 292 | Open |
| St. Xavier Property Acquisition Private Recreation or Education | Not recorded | 249 | Open |
| Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 100 | Open |
| Twin Lakes County Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 72 | Open |
| Latrobe Foundation Private Conservation | Not recorded | 48 | Open |
| Private Lands Local Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 46 | Closed |
| Unity Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 26 | Open |
| Central Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 5 | Open |
| Pleasant Unity Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 5 | Open |
| Crozier Private Conservation | Not recorded | 1 | Open |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
12 places to go in Unity Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Unity Township
Charter Oak Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Unity Township
Charter Oak Playground
DirectionsPlus 7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Fishing spots in Unity Township
1 fishing spot without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Picnic areas in Unity Township
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
9 named trails and 8 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.6 miHorses · 1.3 miUnpaved · 8.1 mi
Little Crabtree Creek Trail1.3 mi
Meadow Trail0.6 mi
Tamarack Self-Guided Nature Trail0.5 mi
Tall Grass Trail0.3 mi
Pond Trail0.2 mi
Thicket Trail0.1 mi
Garden Path0.1 mi
Deer Trail0.1 mi
Blockhouse Trail0.1 mi
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.
Little Crabtree Creek TrailBike route
1.3 miCourts & fields
104Golf
16Tennis
5Baseball
4Basketball
1Volleyball
1Football
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Unity Township: April 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 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 38 | 41 | 50 | 63 | 72 | 80 | 83 | 82 | 76 | 64 | 52 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 3.1 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.8 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Unity Township →
Next door
Unity Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Ligonier Township55 miDerry Township39 miUnity Township27 miHempfield Township14 miMount Pleasant Township8.7 miSalem Township7.9 miLatrobe4.1 miLawson Heights2.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unity Township | 5% | 0.4 | 23 | 27% | B− |
| Hempfield Township | 5% | 0.2 | 20 | 46% | B− |
| Derry Township | 6% | 0.4 | 105 | 54% | B+ |
| Latrobe | 6% | 1.8 | 11 | 99%+ | A |
| Salem Township | 9% | 0.2 | 44 | 15% | B− |
| Mount Pleasant Township | 5% | 0.2 | 75 | 28% | B− |
| Ligonier Township | 18% | 0.6 | 191 | 30% | A− |
| Lawson Heights | — 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 Unity Township
Where can I hike in Unity Township?
The longest trail networks: Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve, 2 miles; Twin Lakes Park, 1.6 miles; Rotory, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Unity Township is conserved land?
5% 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 Unity Township’s trails?
Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve and Twin Lakes Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Unity Township?
21,343 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Unity Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 497 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Unity Township have?
Ahead of 54% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #694 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 Unity 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 →