McKaig Nature Education Center
Park
95 acres3.6 mi of trail
Cadet Trail - WhiteLaurel Trail - BlueOld Wood Trail - OrangeNancy Lang Trail - Yellow+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Montgomery County Planning Commission · CC BY-SA 2.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Upper Merion Township
17% of Upper Merion Township’s land is conserved: 1,868 acres
21 miles of mapped trail cross Upper Merion Township, 1.2 per square mile of land. 96% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: McKaig Nature Education Center (3.6 mi), Upper Merion Township Park (0.6 mi).
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns · #120 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
17%
1,868 acres · of 17.0 sq mi of land
Trails
21 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
543 ac
16 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
96%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
19 mi
1.7 mi lanes · 17 mi paths
Highest peak
259 ft
Mount Joy
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Upper Merion Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Upper Merion Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Upper Merion Township is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #120 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Upper Merion Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land17% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (21 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4APark land16 acres of park per 1,000 residents (543 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13BParks close to home96% 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 91%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 89%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Upper Merion Township’s 17% is ahead of 75% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 83% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 McKaig Nature Education Center, with 3.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Upper Merion Township Park
Park
19 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Belmont Park
Park
3 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 17 parks & preserves
McKaig Nature Education Center95 acres · 3.6 mi of trail
DirectionsUpper Merion Township Park19 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsBelmont Park3 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Executive Estates Park9 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Heuser Park30 acres
DirectionsUpper Merion Community Center/Volpi Commons29 acres
DirectionsSweetbriar Park25 acres · Upper Merion Township
Walker Field Park20 acres
DirectionsNorview Farm Park9 acres
DirectionsSwedeland Park8 acres
DirectionsBaxter Park6 acres
Bob Holland Park6 acres · Upper Merion Township
DirectionsWhitegate Park5 acres
Bob Case Park4 acres
Hughes Park2 acres
Valley Forge Acres Park2 acres
Justus Barber Meadow1 acres
Who protects it
1,868 conserved acres
17% of Upper Merion Township’s land. Who manages Upper Merion Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
National Park Service1,359 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government476 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits14 ac
County2 ac
Town or city1 ac
Not recorded86 ac
Historic or Cultural Area · 1,358 acLocal Park · 500 acLocal Recreation Area · 41 acLocal Other or Unknown · 22 acConservation Easement · 7 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 9 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 42 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valley Forge National Historical Park Historic or Cultural Area | National Park Service | 1,358 | Restricted |
| Sweetbriar Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 112 | Open |
| Heuser Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 110 | Open |
| McKaig Nature Center Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 89 | Open |
| Walker Field Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 31 | Open |
| Municipal Land Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 22 | Open |
| Bob Case Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 21 | Open |
| Bob White Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 19 | Open |
| Bob Holland Memorial Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 17 | Open |
| Upper Merion Township Building Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 16 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
18 places to go in Upper Merion Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Upper Merion Township
Upper Merion Township PoolIn Upper Merion Community Center/Volpi Commons
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Upper Merion Township
Bob White Park
DirectionsPlus 12 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Upper Merion Township
Mount Joy259 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Upper Merion Township
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Community gardens in Upper Merion Township
Upper Merion Community Garden at Sunny Hill Farm
DirectionsTrails & water
15 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.8 miHorses · 8.5 miUnpaved · 11.9 mi
Chapel Trail2.3 mi
Mt. Joy Trail1.5 mi
Cadet Trail - White0.5 mi
Laurel Trail - Blue0.5 mi
Nancy Lang Trail - Yellow0.5 mi
Old Wood Trail - Orange0.5 mi
Petty Trail - Brown0.3 mi
John Mason Trail - Green0.3 mi
Boxwood Hill Trail - Purple0.3 mi
East Laurel Trail - Gold0.2 mi
5 more trails
Walker Trail - Gray
0.1 miFire Road Trail - Red
0.1 miCadet Trail
0.1 miAccess Trail - Gray
0.1 miOld Wood Trail Bypass - Orange
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
19 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.7 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
17 mi
off-road bike paths
Chapel TrailBike route
2.3 miCourts & fields
37Tennis
17Basketball
7Soccer
6Baseball
4Softball
2Football
1Volleyball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →7 places on the National Register, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 40 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Upper Merion 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 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 43 | 51 | 64 | 74 | 82 | 87 | 85 | 78 | 66 | 55 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.8 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 4.3 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.7 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Upper Merion Township →
Next door
Upper Merion Township and its neighbors
Upper Merion Township has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Tredyffrin Township34 miUpper Merion Township21 miSchuylkill Township8.8 miWest Norriton Township7.9 miPlymouth Township7.4 miKing of Prussia2.4 miSwedeland1.1 miBridgeport0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Merion Township | 17% | 1.2 | 16 | 96% | A |
| King of Prussia | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Tredyffrin Township | 14% | 1.7 | 18 | 91% | A |
| West Norriton Township | 12% | 1.3 | 20 | 99% | A |
| Schuylkill Township | 12% | 1.0 | 6 | 72% | B+ |
| Bridgeport | 7% | under 0.1 | 6 | 99%+ | B− |
| Swedeland | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Plymouth Township | 5% | 0.9 | 10 | 93% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Upper Merion Township
Where can I hike in Upper Merion Township?
The longest trail networks: McKaig Nature Education Center, 3.6 miles; Upper Merion Township Park, 0.6 miles; Belmont Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Upper Merion Township is conserved land?
17% 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 Upper Merion Township’s trails?
McKaig Nature Education Center and Upper Merion Township Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Upper Merion Township?
19 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.7 of painted or protected lanes and 17 of off-road paths. Named routes: Chapel Trail.
Is there public land near Upper Merion Township?
33,347 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Upper Merion Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 543 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Upper Merion Township have?
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #120 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 Upper Merion 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 →