State Game Lands Number 243
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
195 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Henry and Elizabeth Berkheimer Farm · Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ, M.D. · CC BY-SA 4.0C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Washington Township
13% of Washington Township’s land is conserved: 2,301 acres
2% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 16% of U.S. towns · #1,013 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
2,301 acres · of 28.0 sq mi of land
Trails
0.0 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Near a park
2%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
561 ft
Pickett Hill
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Washington Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
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 16% of U.S. towns, #1,013 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Washington Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4DPark land0.1 acres of park per 1,000 residents (0 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13DParks close to home2% 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 16%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 2%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Washington Township’s 13% is ahead of 66% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 3% 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.
Who protects it
2,301 conserved acres
13% of Washington Township’s land. Who manages Washington Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County7,615 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits541 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)436 ac
Joint276 ac
State fish & wildlife194 ac
Agricultural Easement · 8,868 acState Resource Management Area · 194 acForest Stewardship Easement · 1 acConservation Easement · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2,106 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Game Land 243 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 194 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Washington Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in Washington Township
Pickett Hill561 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
2Equestrian
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
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 | 15.0 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 42 | 51 | 64 | 73 | 82 | 86 | 84 | 77 | 65 | 54 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.5 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 3.8 | 3.1 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.7 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Washington Township →
Next door
Washington Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Warrington Township31 miLatimore Township12 miFranklin Township4.0 miDover Township0.2 miWashington Township0.0 miReading Township0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Township | 13% | under 0.1 | under 1 | 2% | C− |
| Dover Township | 10% | under 0.1 | 4 | 53% | C |
| Warrington Township | 23% | 0.9 | 479 | 25% | A− |
| Latimore Township | 12% | 0.6 | 47 | 39% | B+ |
| Franklin Township | 9% | 0.2 | 17 | 34% | B− |
| Reading Township | 17% | under 0.1 | 1 | 25% | 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?
13% 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?
State Game Lands Number 243 doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Washington Township?
16,469 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Washington Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 195 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Washington Township have?
Ahead of 16% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #1,013 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 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 →