Bald Eagle State Forest
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
16 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: Jakec · CC BY-SA 4.0DOutdoors
Outdoors in Washington Township
Few parks or trails are on the map in Washington Township
6% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1 acre is park or preserve, 0.7 per 1,000 residents. 1.2 miles of mapped trail cross Washington Township, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 12% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
376 acres · of 23.9 sq mi of land
Trails
1.2 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
1 ac
0.7 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
6%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,112 ft
Middle Creek Mountain
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Washington Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Washington Township is ahead of 12% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; conserved land comes closest.
D
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Washington Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land0.7 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1 acre) · PA 14 · U.S. 13DParks close to home6% of residents within a half mile of a park · PA 73% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 12%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Washington Township’s 3% is ahead of 17% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 13% of them.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Washington 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
State Game Lands Number 212
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
376 conserved acres
3% of Washington Township’s land. Who manages Washington Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County751 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits456 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)47 ac
State fish & wildlife28 ac
State natural resources16 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government1 ac
Not recorded8 ac
Agricultural Easement · 759 acForest Stewardship Easement · 342 acConservation Easement · 161 acState Other or Unknown · 24 acState Resource Management Area · 20 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 331 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middle Creek Lake (formerly Mussers Dam) State Other or Unknown | State fish & wildlife | 24 | Open |
| Bald Eagle State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 16 | Open |
| State Game Land 212 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 4 | Open |
| Freeburg Little League Baseball Field Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 1 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Washington Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in Washington Township
Middle Creek Mountain1,112 ft elevation
DirectionsWhite Top1,056 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Washington 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 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 35 | 39 | 48 | 61 | 72 | 79 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 63 | 50 | 40 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.6 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Washington Township →
Next door
Washington Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Perry Township4.8 miPenn Township4.0 miFranklin Township2.4 miMiddlecreek Township1.9 miChapman Township1.4 miWashington Township1.2 miUnion Township0.3 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Township | 3% | 0.1 | 1 | 6% | D |
| Penn Township | 7% | 0.2 | 10 | 35% | C+ |
| Union Township | 6% | under 0.1 | 12 | 28% | C |
| Perry Township | 12% | 0.2 | 4 | 20% | C+ |
| Middlecreek Township | 5% | 0.1 | 20 | 40% | B− |
| Franklin Township | 18% | 0.1 | 4 | 19% | C |
| Chapman Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 25 | 13% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Washington Township
How much of Washington Township is conserved land?
3% 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 Washington Township’s trails?
Bald Eagle State Forest and State Game Lands Number 212 don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Washington Township?
25,415 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Washington Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 46 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Washington Township have?
Ahead of 12% 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 Washington 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 →