Goat Hill Wild Plant Sanctuary
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
722 acres5.4 mi of trail
Rose TrailOctoraro TrailBlood TrailBlood Spur
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
AOutdoors
Outdoors in West Nottingham Township
37% of West Nottingham Township’s land is conserved: 3,300 acres
1,053 acres are parks and preserves, 373 per 1,000 residents. 18 miles of mapped trail cross West Nottingham Township, 1.3 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Goat Hill Wild Plant Sanctuary (5.4 mi), Glenroy Preserve (5 mi), Nottingham County Park (3.9 mi).
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns · #82 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
37%
3,300 acres · of 13.8 sq mi of land
Trails
18 mi
1.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,053 ac
373 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
52%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.2 mi
5.2 mi paths
Highest peak
443 ft
Goat Hill
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is West Nottingham Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does West Nottingham Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, West Nottingham Township is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns, #82 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of West Nottingham Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land37% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A+Trails1.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (18 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4APark land373 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,053 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13AParks close to home52% 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 93%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 92%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so West Nottingham Township’s 37% is ahead of 95% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 84% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A 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 Goat Hill Wild Plant Sanctuary, with 5.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Glenroy Preserve
Managed by Oxford Area Foundation
231 acres5 mi of trail
Lower Octoraro Loop TrailBlack Trail FourTurkey Roost TrailBlack Trail Three+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Nottingham County Park
Park
664 acres3.9 mi of trail
Fitness Trail (Purple)Firebreak #1Firebreak #4Firebreak #6+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
William Penn State Forest
Managed by Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
722 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Goat Hill Wild Plant Sanctuary722 acres · 5.4 mi of trail · Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
DirectionsGlenroy Preserve231 acres · 5 mi of trail · Oxford Area Foundation
DirectionsNottingham County Park664 acres · 3.9 mi of trail
DirectionsOctoraro Creek Nature Preserve51 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Lancaster Conservancy
DirectionsWilliam Penn State Forest722 acres · Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry
Who protects it
3,300 conserved acres
37% of West Nottingham Township’s land. Who manages West Nottingham Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County3,551 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits3,192 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government792 ac
State natural resources725 ac
Joint582 ac
Not recorded497 ac
Agricultural Easement · 4,358 acRecreation or Education Easement · 1,498 acConservation Easement · 974 acState Resource Management Area · 870 acPrivate Conservation · 846 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,541 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 14 of 98 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goat Hill Serpentine Barrens State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 887 | Open |
| Nottingham County Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 793 | Open |
| Glenroy Farm Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 450 | Open |
| William Penn State Forest State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 119 | Unknown |
| Octoraro Creek Nature Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 103 | Open |
| Nottingham Serpentine Barren Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 78 | Closed |
| Octorara Creek Acquisition Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 53 | Open |
| William Penn State Forest - Goat Hill Serpentine Barrens State Resource Management Area | Not recorded | 26 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in West Nottingham Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in West Nottingham Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in West Nottingham Township
Goat Hill443 ft elevation · In Goat Hill Wild Plant Sanctuary
DirectionsCampgrounds in West Nottingham Township
Camp Horseshoe at Horseshoe Scout ReservationBoy Scouts of America Chester County Council
DirectionsTrails & water
25 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.2 miHorses · 3.4 miUnpaved · 3.8 mi
Lower Octoraro Loop Trail1.9 mi
Rose Trail1.7 mi
Octoraro Trail0.9 mi
Fitness Trail (Purple)0.9 mi
Buck Trail0.7 mi
Turkey Roost Trail0.6 mi
Black Trail Four0.6 mi
Nature trail0.6 mi
Blood Trail0.6 mi
Firebreak #10.5 mi
15 more trails
Black Trail Three
0.5 miBlack Trail Five
0.4 miFirebreak #4
0.4 miFirebreak #6
0.3 miFirebreak #8
0.3 miFirebreak #5
0.3 miBlood Spur
0.3 miSecondary Firebreak
0.3 miFirebreak #2
0.2 miStockade Trail
0.2 miFirebreak #7
0.2 miFirebreak #10
0.2 miFirebreak #11
0.2 miTiger Trail
0.1 miFirebreak #3 (partial)
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
5.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
4Equestrian
1Basketball
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in West Nottingham 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 | 14.3 | 15.0 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 43 | 52 | 64 | 73 | 82 | 86 | 84 | 78 | 67 | 55 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.7 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.9 | 4.3 | 4.8 | 4.2 | 3.3 | 4.1 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.9 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in West Nottingham Township →
Next door
West Nottingham Township and its neighbors
West Nottingham Township has the most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
West Nottingham Township18 miFulton Township0.9 miEast Nottingham Township0.6 miLittle Britain Township0.1 miNottingham0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Nottingham Township | 37% | 1.3 | 373 | 52% | A |
| East Nottingham Township | 25% | under 0.1 | 7 | 18% | C+ |
| Little Britain Township | 26% | under 0.1 | 27 | 23% | B− |
| Nottingham | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Fulton Township | 39% | under 0.1 | 133 | 29% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in West Nottingham Township
Where can I hike in West Nottingham Township?
The longest trail networks: Goat Hill Wild Plant Sanctuary, 5.4 miles; Glenroy Preserve, 5 miles; Nottingham County Park, 3.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of West Nottingham Township is conserved land?
37% 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 Nottingham Township’s trails?
Goat Hill Wild Plant Sanctuary and Glenroy Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in West Nottingham Township?
5.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near West Nottingham Township?
7,810 acres of parks and open public land lie inside West Nottingham Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,653 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does West Nottingham Township have?
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #82 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 Nottingham 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 →