James C. Nelson Wild Area
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
1,537 acres4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Dincher · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Walker Township
12% of Walker Township’s land is conserved: 2,161 acres
The biggest trail networks: James C. Nelson Wild Area (4 mi), Walker Township Park (0.5 mi). 82 acres are parks and preserves, 30 per 1,000 residents. 20% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 55% of U.S. towns · #682 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
12%
2,161 acres · of 28.8 sq mi of land
Trails
6.1 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
82 ac
30 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
20%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.1 mi
0.1 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Walker Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Walker Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Walker Township is ahead of 55% of U.S. towns, #682 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Walker Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land30 acres of park per 1,000 residents (82 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home20% 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 55%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 34%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Walker Township’s 12% is ahead of 63% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 33% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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 James C. Nelson Wild Area, with 4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Tuscarora State Forest
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
1,537 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
2,161 conserved acres
12% of Walker Township’s land. Who manages Walker Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources1,536 ac
County1,212 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)367 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits52 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government38 ac
State fish & wildlife35 ac
Not recorded62 ac
State Wilderness · 1,536 acAgricultural Easement · 1,212 acConservation Easement · 367 acPrivate Conservation · 103 acLocal Park · 35 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 504 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| James C. Nelson Wild Area State Wilderness | State natural resources | 1,536 | Open |
| Greg's Woods Private Conservation | Not recorded | 75 | Open |
| Port Royal Wetlands Private Conservation | Not recorded | 28 | Open |
| Walker Township Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 23 | Open |
| Van Dyke Fish Research Station State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 22 | Open |
| Cedar Springs Road Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 12 | Open |
| Supplee Borthers Farm, Llc Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 11 | Closed |
| Muskrat Springs Access State Other or Unknown | State fish & wildlife | 9 | Open |
| Walker Access (Mexico) State Other or Unknown | State fish & wildlife | 4 | Open |
| Walker Township Ballfield Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 3 | Open |
Things to do
8 places to go in Walker Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Walker Township
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Walker Township
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Walker Township
Muskrat Springs Boat Launch
DirectionsCampgrounds in Walker Township
Buttonwood CampgroundFee
DirectionsIsland Grove Campground
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
3Baseball
1Basketball
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Walker 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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 37 | 40 | 50 | 63 | 73 | 81 | 85 | 83 | 76 | 64 | 52 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 3.1 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.4 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Walker Township →
Next door
Walker Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Fayette Township24 miFermanagh Township21 miMilford Township18 miWalker Township6.1 miDelaware Township4.9 miTurbett Township2.2 miTuscarora Township0.3 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walker Township | 12% | 0.2 | 30 | 20% | B |
| Turbett Township | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Milford Township | 21% | 0.5 | 147 | 17% | B+ |
| Tuscarora Township | 17% | under 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | C− |
| Fayette Township | 8% | 0.6 | 14 | 20% | B− |
| Fermanagh Township | 20% | 0.7 | 17 | 32% | B+ |
| Delaware Township | 8% | 0.2 | under 1 | 9% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Walker Township
Where can I hike in Walker Township?
The longest trail networks: James C. Nelson Wild Area, 4 miles; Walker Township Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Walker Township is conserved land?
12% 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 Walker Township’s trails?
James C. Nelson Wild Area and Walker Township Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Walker Township?
0.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Walker Township?
35,054 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Walker Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,650 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Walker Township have?
Ahead of 55% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #682 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 Walker 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 →