Hess Recreation Area
Managed by Montour Area Recreation Commission
15 acres0.6 mi of trail
Hess Loop TrailMahoning Flats Trail
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Valley Township
Few parks or trails are on the map in Valley Township
The biggest trail networks: Hess Recreation Area (0.6 mi). 14% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 45 acres are parks and preserves, 22 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 24% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
38 acres · of 16.2 sq mi of land
Trails
2.0 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
45 ac
22 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
14%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Valley Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Valley Township is ahead of 24% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Valley Township’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4CPark land22 acres of park per 1,000 residents (45 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home14% 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 24%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Valley Township’s under 1% is ahead of 3% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 22% of them.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Valley Township. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. 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 Hess Recreation Area, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Geisinger Stewardship Forest
Park
4 acres0.2 mi of trail
CPR
Dogs on leash
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
38 conserved acres
under 1% of Valley Township’s land. Who manages Valley Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government38 ac
Local Conservation Area · 16 acLocal Recreation Area · 13 acLocal Park · 9 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geisinger Stewardship Forest and Trails Local Conservation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 16 | Open |
| Hess Recreation Forest / Robbins Trail Park Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 13 | Open |
| Sunnybrook Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 9 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Valley Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Picnic areas in Valley Township
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.6 miUnpaved · 0.8 mi
Hess Loop Trail0.4 mi
Mahoning Flats Trail0.1 mi
CPR0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Valley 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) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 35 | 38 | 47 | 61 | 71 | 79 | 84 | 81 | 74 | 63 | 50 | 39 |
| Rain (in) | 2.9 | 2.3 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 2.9 | 3.2 |
February is the driest month (2.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.5 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Valley Township →
Next door
Valley 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valley Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 22 | 14% | C− |
| Mahoning Township | 14% | 3.2 | 159 | 87% | A+ |
| Derry Township | 2% | 0.1 | 2 | 28% | C− |
| Liberty Township | 6% | 0.5 | under 1 | under 1% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Valley Township
Where can I hike in Valley Township?
The longest trail networks: Hess Recreation Area, 0.6 miles; Geisinger Stewardship Forest, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Valley Township is conserved land?
under 1% 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 Valley Township’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Hess Recreation Area (on leash) and Geisinger Stewardship Forest (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Valley Township?
12,070 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Valley Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 45 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Valley Township have?
Ahead of 24% 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 Valley 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 →