Chickies Rock County Park
Managed by Lancaster County
336 acres4.6 mi of trail
Clayton B Shenk TrailChickies Rock Overlook TrailHeritage TrailColombia to Merietta Line+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: (c)2006 Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man) (from U.S. Census Bureau source) · CC BY-SA 2.5A−Outdoors
Outdoors in West Hempfield Township
27% of West Hempfield Township’s land is conserved: 3,203 acres
The biggest trail networks: Chickies Rock County Park (4.6 mi), Lake Grubb Nature Park (1.3 mi). 81% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 7.8 miles of mapped trail cross West Hempfield Township, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 75% of U.S. towns · #386 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
27%
3,203 acres · of 18.5 sq mi of land
Trails
7.8 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
180 ac
10 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
81%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.3 mi
1.3 mi paths
Highest peak
584 ft
Chestnut Hill
Lakes & rivers
2
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is West Hempfield Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does West Hempfield Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, West Hempfield Township is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns, #386 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of West Hempfield Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land27% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land10 acres of park per 1,000 residents (180 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home81% of residents within a half mile of a park · PA 73% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 75%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 63%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so West Hempfield Township’s 27% is ahead of 87% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 49% of them.
Water is 12% of West Hempfield Township’s area (3 of 21 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 24%.
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 Chickies Rock County Park, with 4.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lake Grubb Nature Park
Park
52 acres1.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Fairview Park
Park
16 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 11 parks & preserves
Chickies Rock County Park336 acres · 4.6 mi of trail · Lancaster County
DirectionsLake Grubb Nature Park52 acres · 1.3 mi of trail
DirectionsMurray Ridge Park8 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsFairview Park16 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsSilver Spring Park9 acres
DirectionsGlatfelter Memorial Field5 acres
DirectionsIronville Park4 acres
DirectionsChickies Rock County Park Chickies Creek Day Use Area3 acres
Mountville Borough Park2 acres
DirectionsEagle View Park2 acres
Froelich Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
3,203 conserved acres
27% of West Hempfield Township’s land. Water is left out: West Hempfield Township has 18.5 square miles of land and 2.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages West Hempfield Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County8,139 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits2,091 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government506 ac
Joint397 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)296 ac
Not recorded188 ac
Agricultural Easement · 9,659 acForest Stewardship Easement · 813 acLocal Park · 503 acConservation Easement · 440 acPrivate Agricultural · 188 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2,508 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chickies Rock County Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 339 | Open |
| 1993-009-1 Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 72 | Closed |
| Fairview Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 62 | Open |
| 2005-021 Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 54 | Closed |
| Grubb Lake Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 51 | Open |
| Heisey Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 48 | Closed |
| 1991-003 Private Agricultural | Not recorded | 11 | Closed |
| Silver Spring Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 11 | Open |
| Murrary Ridge Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 9 | Open |
| Ironville Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 9 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
13 places to go in West Hempfield Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in West Hempfield Township
8 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in West Hempfield Township
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in West Hempfield Township
Breezyview OverlookIn Chickies Rock County Park
DirectionsChickies Rock OverlookIn Chickies Rock County Park
DirectionsPlus 1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Peaks in West Hempfield Township
Chestnut Hill584 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
5 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Horses · 0.6 miUnpaved · 1.3 mi
Clayton B Shenk Trail1.0 mi
Chickies Rock Overlook Trail1.0 mi
Heritage Trail0.3 mi
Colombia to Merietta Line0.2 mi
Clayton B. Shenk Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
8Baseball
7Basketball
4Tennis
2Beach volleyball
2Soccer
1Hockey rinks
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 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 West Hempfield 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 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 4.1 | 3.1 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.6 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in West Hempfield Township →
Next door
West Hempfield Township and its neighbors
West Hempfield Township has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Hellam Township33 miWest Hempfield Township7.8 miEast Hempfield Township7.7 miEast Donegal Township4.5 miRapho Township1.4 miColumbia1.4 miMountville1.4 miWrightsville1.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Hempfield Township | 27% | 0.4 | 10 | 81% | A− |
| Rapho Township | 31% | under 0.1 | 4 | 37% | C+ |
| Columbia | 3% | 0.6 | 4 | 97% | B |
| Hellam Township | 22% | 1.2 | 375 | 49% | A |
| East Hempfield Township | 13% | 0.4 | 12 | 71% | B+ |
| Mountville | 8% | 1.6 | 14 | 99%+ | A |
| Wrightsville | 14% | 1.7 | 13 | 99%+ | A |
| East Donegal Township | 57% | 0.2 | 47 | 59% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in West Hempfield Township
Where can I hike in West Hempfield Township?
The longest trail networks: Chickies Rock County Park, 4.6 miles; Lake Grubb Nature Park, 1.3 miles; Murray Ridge Park, 0.3 miles; Fairview Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of West Hempfield Township is conserved land?
27% 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 Hempfield Township’s trails?
Chickies Rock County Park and Lake Grubb Nature Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in West Hempfield Township?
1.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near West Hempfield Township?
17,247 acres of parks and open public land lie inside West Hempfield Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 517 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does West Hempfield Township have?
Ahead of 75% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #386 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 West Hempfield 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 →