West Reading Playground
Park
11 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Nimbesi · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in West Reading
6% of West Reading’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 1.6 miles of mapped trail cross West Reading, 2.7 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: West Reading Playground (0.6 mi).
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns · #253 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
22 acres · of 0.6 sq mi of land
Trails
1.6 mi
2.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
25 ac
5.4 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is West Reading?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does West Reading have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, West Reading is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #253 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of West Reading’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%BTrails2.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land5.4 acres of park per 1,000 residents (25 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13CParks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · PA 73% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 84%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 76%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so West Reading’s 6% is ahead of 40% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 96% 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 West Reading Playground, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Museum Arboretum
Park
6 acres0.3 mi of trail
Wyomissing Creek Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto 5th Avenue Garage
Who protects it
22 conserved acres
6% of West Reading’s land. Who manages West Reading’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government22 ac
Local Recreation Area · 14 acLocal Park · 7 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bicentennial House Park Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 14 | Open |
| Reading Public Museum Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 7 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in West Reading
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in West Reading
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Fishing spots in West Reading
Bertolet Fishing DockHours: (sunrise-00:30)-(sunset+00:30)
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Wyomissing Creek Trail0.1 mi
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
2Baseball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in West Reading: April and May
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 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 39 | 42 | 51 | 64 | 74 | 82 | 87 | 85 | 78 | 66 | 54 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.5 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 4.1 | 3.1 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (2.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.7 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in West Reading →
Next door
West Reading and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Reading | 6% | 2.7 | 5 | 99%+ | A− |
| Reading | 17% | 5.6 | 10 | 99%+ | A |
| Cumru Township | 10% | 5.0 | 14 | 69% | A− |
| Wyomissing | 9% | 3.7 | 24 | 98% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in West Reading
Where can I hike in West Reading?
The longest trail networks: West Reading Playground, 0.6 miles; Museum Arboretum, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of West Reading is conserved land?
6% 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 Reading’s trails?
West Reading Playground and Museum Arboretum don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near West Reading?
19,140 acres of parks and open public land lie inside West Reading or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 25 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does West Reading have?
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #253 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 Reading 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 →