Gerald E. Seyfried Bear Swamp Park & Archery Complex
Managed by Northampton County
235 acres2.2 mi of trail
Bear Swamp Nature Trail (South)Bear Swamp Nature Trail (North)Bear Swamp Boardwalk Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Nicholas from Pennsylvania, USA · CC BY 2.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Upper Mount Bethel Township
Upper Mount Bethel Township has 2,611 acres of parks, 407 for every 1,000 residents
25% of Upper Mount Bethel Township’s land is conserved, about 6,807 acres. The biggest trail networks: Gerald E. Seyfried Bear Swamp Park & Archery Complex (2.2 mi), Minsi Lake Wilderness Area (2.1 mi), Columcille Megalith Park (0.8 mi). 42% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns · #317 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
25%
6,807 acres · of 42.5 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,611 ac
407 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
42%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,522 ft
Kittatinny Mountain
Lakes & rivers
10
3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Upper Mount Bethel Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Upper Mount Bethel Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Upper Mount Bethel Township is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns, #317 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Upper Mount Bethel Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land25% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (14 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land407 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,611 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13AParks close to home42% 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 79%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 69%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Upper Mount Bethel Township’s 25% is ahead of 85% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 42% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B 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 Gerald E. Seyfried Bear Swamp Park & Archery Complex, with 2.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Minsi Lake Wilderness Area
Park
252 acres2.1 mi of trail
Minsi Lake Nature Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto West Parking Lot
Columcille Megalith Park
Park
10 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Upper Mount Bethel Community Park
Managed by Upper Mount Bethel Township
57 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 10 parks & preserves
Gerald E. Seyfried Bear Swamp Park & Archery Complex235 acres · 2.2 mi of trail · Northampton County
DirectionsMinsi Lake Wilderness Area252 acres · 2.1 mi of trail
DirectionsColumcille Megalith Park10 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
Upper Mount Bethel Community Park57 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Upper Mount Bethel Township
Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge498 acres · United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Upper Mount Bethel Preserve162 acres
Twin Lakes121 acres
Slate Belt Little League Complex9 acres · Slater Baseball Association
Upper Mt. Bethel T-Ball/Trail Site6 acres
Echo Lake Park5 acres
Who protects it
6,807 conserved acres
25% of Upper Mount Bethel Township’s land. Who manages Upper Mount Bethel Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County7,685 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits2,757 ac
National Park Service1,619 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government1,079 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service995 ac
State fish & wildlife722 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)544 ac
Agricultural Easement · 8,391 acConservation Easement · 2,129 acLocal Park · 1,478 acNational Recreation Area · 1,173 acNational Wildlife Refuge · 995 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2,891 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 24 of 232 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area National Recreation Area | National Park Service | 1,173 | Open |
| Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 995 | Restricted |
| Minsi Lake Vernal Pool Preserve (Tott's Gap) Private Conservation | Not recorded | 707 | Restricted |
| Minsi Lake (Formerly East Branch Martins Creek) State Other or Unknown | State fish & wildlife | 600 | Open |
| Appalachian National Scenic Trail National Scenic or Historic Trail | National Park Service | 431 | Open |
| Twin Lakes (Northampton County Park) Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 408 | Open |
| Upper Mount Bethel Park Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 309 | Unknown |
| Twin Lakes Local Park | Not recorded | 242 | Open |
| Northampton County Park Local Park | Not recorded | 167 | Unknown |
| Bear Swamp Archery Complex Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 120 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
21 places to go in Upper Mount Bethel Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Upper Mount Bethel Township
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Upper Mount Bethel Township
Portland Generating Station Boat Ramp
DirectionsPlus 2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Waterfalls in Upper Mount Bethel Township
Lower Falls
DirectionsUpper Falls
DirectionsScenic views in Upper Mount Bethel Township
Plus 3 scenic views without a name on the map.
Peaks in Upper Mount Bethel Township
Kittatinny Mountain1,522 ft elevation
DirectionsMount Jack846 ft elevation
DirectionsOtt Hill823 ft elevation
DirectionsLaurel Hill801 ft elevation
DirectionsMount Airy738 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Upper Mount Bethel Township
Driftstone CampgroundFee
DirectionsHickory Lake CampgroundFee
DirectionsTrails & water
8 named trails and 10 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 7.5 mi
Appalachian Trail3.7 mi
Minsi Lake Nature Trail2.1 mi
Bear Swamp Nature Trail (South)1.1 mi
Arrow Island Trail1.0 mi
Bear Swamp Nature Trail (North)0.4 mi
Bear Swamp Boardwalk Trail0.3 mi
Kirkridge Shelter Trail0.1 mi
Lower Falls 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.
Courts & fields
7Tennis
5Baseball
2Basketball
1Soccer
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Upper Mount Bethel Township: April, May, July and September
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 | 13.3 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 36 | 40 | 48 | 61 | 71 | 79 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 63 | 52 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 2.8 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 3.4 | 4.1 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.8 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Upper Mount Bethel Township →
Next door
Upper Mount Bethel Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Stroud Township25 miKnowlton Township22 miUpper Mount Bethel Township14 miWhite Township10 miWashington Township1.1 miEast Bangor0.3 miPortland0.0 miBelvidere0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Mount Bethel Township | 25% | 0.3 | 407 | 42% | A− |
| East Bangor | 21% | 0.4 | 17 | 80% | A− |
| Portland | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Stroud Township | 16% | 0.8 | 60 | 61% | A |
| Washington Township | 12% | 0.1 | 14 | 26% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Upper Mount Bethel Township
Where can I hike in Upper Mount Bethel Township?
The longest trail networks: Gerald E. Seyfried Bear Swamp Park & Archery Complex, 2.2 miles; Minsi Lake Wilderness Area, 2.1 miles; Columcille Megalith Park, 0.8 miles; Upper Mount Bethel Community Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Upper Mount Bethel Township is conserved land?
25% 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 Mount Bethel Township’s trails?
Gerald E. Seyfried Bear Swamp Park & Archery Complex and Minsi Lake Wilderness Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Upper Mount Bethel Township?
59,698 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Upper Mount Bethel Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,159 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Upper Mount Bethel Township have?
Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #317 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 Mount Bethel 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 →