State Game Lands 217
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
1,598 acres1.4 mi of trail
Appalachian Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Shuvaev · CC BY-SA 4.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in West Penn Township
11% of West Penn Township’s land is conserved: 4,132 acres
The biggest trail networks: State Game Lands 217 (1.4 mi). 5% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 107 acres are parks and preserves, 24 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 45% of U.S. towns · #790 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
11%
4,132 acres · of 58.0 sq mi of land
Trails
7.4 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
107 ac
24 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
5%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,558 ft
Bears Rocks
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is West Penn Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does West Penn Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, West Penn Township is ahead of 45% of U.S. towns, #790 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of West Penn Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land11% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4CPark land24 acres of park per 1,000 residents (107 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home5% 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 45%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 24%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so West Penn Township’s 11% is ahead of 61% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 23% 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
The longest trail network is State Game Lands 217, with 1.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
State Game Lands Number 257
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
1,431 acres0.1 mi of trail
Lehigh and New England Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
State Game Lands Number 106
Managed by Pennsylvania Game Commission
55 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
4,132 conserved acres
11% of West Penn Township’s land. Who manages West Penn Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife6,302 ac
County2,155 ac
National Park Service308 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government61 ac
Town or city32 ac
Not recorded111 ac
State Resource Management Area · 3,194 acState Recreation Area · 3,109 acAgricultural Easement · 2,155 acNational Scenic or Historic Trail · 280 acState Other or Unknown · 111 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 560 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 27 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Game Land 217 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 1,684 | Open |
| Sgl 217 State Recreation Area | State fish & wildlife | 1,599 | Open |
| Sgl 257 State Recreation Area | State fish & wildlife | 1,455 | Open |
| State Game Land 257 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 1,455 | Open |
| Appalachian National Scenic Trail National Scenic or Historic Trail | National Park Service | 280 | Open |
| State Game Land #217 State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 111 | Unknown |
| State Game Land 106 State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 55 | Open |
| Sgl 106 State Recreation Area | State fish & wildlife | 55 | Open |
| West Penn Park East Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 42 | Open |
| West Penn Park Local Park | Town or city | 32 | Open |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
6 places to go in West Penn Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in West Penn Township
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in West Penn Township
Bears Rocks1,558 ft elevation · In State Game Lands 217
DirectionsMahoning Mountain1,142 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in West Penn Township
Laurel Lake Campsites
DirectionsNew Tripoli Campsite
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.9 mi
Appalachian Trail2.3 mi
Lehigh and New England Trail1.5 mi
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
3Basketball
1Tennis
1Baseball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in West Penn Township: April, May 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 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 36 | 40 | 48 | 61 | 72 | 80 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 63 | 51 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.7 | 2.9 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 4.8 | 5.1 | 4.7 | 3.7 | 4.3 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 5.1 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in West Penn Township →
Next door
West Penn Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Lynn Township21 miEast Penn Township17 miTamaqua8.9 miWest Penn Township7.4 miHeidelberg Township4.0 miEast Brunswick Township3.3 miMahoning Township2.6 miWalker Township1.7 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Penn Township | 11% | 0.1 | 24 | 5% | B− |
| Walker Township | 27% | 0.1 | 16 | 13% | B− |
| Lynn Township | 43% | 0.5 | 135 | 26% | A− |
| East Brunswick Township | 15% | 0.1 | 8 | 28% | C+ |
| East Penn Township | 25% | 0.7 | 318 | 29% | A− |
| Mahoning Township | 3% | 0.1 | 3 | 13% | C− |
| Tamaqua | 22% | 0.9 | 147 | 97% | A+ |
| Heidelberg Township | 35% | 0.2 | 22 | 26% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in West Penn Township
Where can I hike in West Penn Township?
The longest trail networks: State Game Lands 217, 1.4 miles; State Game Lands Number 257, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of West Penn Township is conserved land?
11% 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 Penn Township’s trails?
State Game Lands 217 and State Game Lands Number 257 don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near West Penn Township?
63,028 acres of parks and open public land lie inside West Penn Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,590 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does West Penn Township have?
Ahead of 45% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #790 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 Penn 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 →