State Game Lands Number 259
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
42 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainC+Outdoors
Outdoors in West Franklin Township
West Franklin Township has 74 acres of parks, 42 for every 1,000 residents
3.9 miles of mapped trail cross West Franklin Township, 0.1 per square mile of land. 30% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2% of West Franklin Township’s land is conserved, about 287 acres.
Ahead of 40% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
287 acres · of 26.1 sq mi of land
Trails
3.9 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
74 ac
42 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
30%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does West Franklin Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, West Franklin Township is ahead of 40% 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 West Franklin Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land42 acres of park per 1,000 residents (74 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home30% 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 40%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so West Franklin Township’s 2% is ahead of 11% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 26% 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
287 conserved acres
2% of West Franklin Township’s land. Who manages West Franklin Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County427 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits85 ac
State fish & wildlife42 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government4 ac
Not recorded99 ac
Agricultural Easement · 427 acPrivate Conservation · 178 acState Resource Management Area · 42 acLocal Recreation Area · 4 acLocal Park · 3 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 143 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 11 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minteer Limestone Spring Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 85 | Open |
| Minteer w/ Limestone Spring Private Conservation | Not recorded | 66 | Open |
| State Game Land 259 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 42 | Open |
| Armstrong County Conservancy Property Private Conservation | Not recorded | 27 | Unknown |
| West Franklin Ballfield Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 5 | Open |
| West Franklin Athletic Field Local Park | Not recorded | 5 | Unknown |
Things to do
1 places to go in West Franklin Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in West Franklin Township
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & 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
4Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in West Franklin Township: April, May, August and September
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 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 35 | 39 | 48 | 62 | 72 | 80 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 63 | 51 | 40 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.6 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.8 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in West Franklin Township →
Next door
West Franklin Township and its neighbors
West Franklin Township has the most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
West Franklin Township3.9 miEast Franklin Township2.9 miNorth Buffalo Township0.3 miClearfield Township0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Franklin Township | 2% | 0.1 | 42 | 30% | C+ |
| East Franklin Township | under 1% | 0.1 | 11 | 36% | C− |
| Clearfield Township | 6% | under 0.1 | 1 | 5% | D |
| North Buffalo Township | 4% | under 0.1 | 64 | 12% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in West Franklin Township
How much of West Franklin Township is conserved land?
2% 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 Franklin Township’s trails?
State Game Lands Number 259 doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near West Franklin Township?
10,633 acres of parks and open public land lie inside West Franklin Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 117 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does West Franklin Township have?
Ahead of 40% 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 Franklin 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 →