Bald Eagle State Forest
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
5,471 acres13.8 mi of trail
Bull Hollow TrailUlsh Gap TrailKreb Gap TrailThick Mountain Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in West Beaver Township
West Beaver Township has 605 acres of parks, 559 for every 1,000 residents
32% of West Beaver Township’s land is conserved, about 5,552 acres. The biggest trail networks: Bald Eagle State Forest (13.8 mi), Tall Timbers Natural Area (1.6 mi), Snyder-Middleswarth Natural Area (0.8 mi). 21 miles of mapped trail cross West Beaver Township, 0.7 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
32%
5,552 acres · of 27.5 sq mi of land
Trails
21 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
605 ac
559 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,060 ft
Buck Mountain
What kind of outdoors town is West Beaver Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does West Beaver Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, West Beaver Township is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns. 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 West Beaver Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land32% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (21 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land559 acres of park per 1,000 residents (605 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home0% 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 76%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so West Beaver Township’s 32% is ahead of 92% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 69% 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 Bald Eagle State Forest, with 13.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Tall Timbers Natural Area
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
529 acres1.6 mi of trail
Thick Mountain TrailSwift Run TrailWolf Gap TrailKreb Gap Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Snyder-Middleswarth Natural Area
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
74 acres0.8 mi of trail
Kreb Gap TrailSwift Run TrailThick Mountain Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
5,552 conserved acres
32% of West Beaver Township’s land. Who manages West Beaver Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources5,472 ac
County107 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)47 ac
Other or Unknown Federal Land2 ac
Not recorded54 ac
State Resource Management Area · 4,870 acState Conservation Area · 602 acAgricultural Easement · 161 acConservation Easement · 49 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 80 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 9 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bald Eagle State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 4,870 | Open |
| Tall Timbers Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 528 | Open |
| Snyder Middleswarth Natural Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 74 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in West Beaver Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Scenic views in West Beaver Township
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in West Beaver Township
Buck Mountain2,060 ft elevation · In Tall Timbers Natural Area
DirectionsLittle Mountain2,031 ft elevation · In Bald Eagle State Forest
DirectionsCampgrounds in West Beaver Township
063 Hoofnagle RoadIn Bald Eagle State Forest · PA DCNR
DirectionsTrails & water
12 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 6.1 miHorses · 13.5 miUnpaved · 8.0 mi
Thick Mountain Trail2.4 mi
Bull Hollow Trail1.8 mi
Kreb Gap Trail1.6 mi
Ulsh Gap Trail1.6 mi
Little Mountain Trail0.9 mi
County Line Trail0.8 mi
Swift Run Trail0.5 mi
Buck Notch Trail0.4 mi
Wolf Gap Trail0.3 mi
Shade Mountain Loop Trail0.2 mi
2 more trails
OHM Trail
0.2 miBooney Hollow Trail
0.1 miWhen to get out
The best walking months in West Beaver 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 | 9.8 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 34 | 38 | 47 | 60 | 70 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 73 | 62 | 49 | 38 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.5 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 3.6 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.7 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in West Beaver Township →
Next door
West Beaver Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Armagh Township87 miSpring Township40 miFayette Township24 miWest Beaver Township21 miWest Perry Township20 miMcClure0.6 miDecatur Township0.3 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Beaver Township | 32% | 0.7 | 559 | under 1% | A− |
| McClure | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Spring Township | 43% | 1.1 | 812 | 48% | A |
| Decatur Township | 10% | under 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | D |
| Fayette Township | 8% | 0.6 | 14 | 20% | B− |
| West Perry Township | 31% | 0.7 | 34 | 14% | B+ |
| Armagh Township | 54% | 0.9 | 60 | 42% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in West Beaver Township
Where can I hike in West Beaver Township?
The longest trail networks: Bald Eagle State Forest, 13.8 miles; Tall Timbers Natural Area, 1.6 miles; Snyder-Middleswarth Natural Area, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of West Beaver Township is conserved land?
32% 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 West Beaver Township’s trails?
Bald Eagle State Forest and Tall Timbers Natural Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near West Beaver Township?
114,668 acres of parks and open public land lie inside West Beaver Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 5,494 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does West Beaver Township have?
Ahead of 76% 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 West Beaver 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 →