Okehocking Preserve
Nature preserve
175 acres6.9 mi of trail
BlueGreenBlue/Yellow/GreenYellow+1
No dogs
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Smallbones · Public domainAOutdoors
Outdoors in Willistown Township
35% of Willistown Township’s land is conserved: 4,067 acres
21 miles of mapped trail cross Willistown Township, 1.2 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Okehocking Preserve (6.9 mi), Kirkwood Preserve (4 mi), Willisbrook Preserve (2.6 mi). 246 acres are parks and preserves, 22 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns · #125 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
35%
4,067 acres · of 18.1 sq mi of land
Trails
21 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
246 ac
22 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
80%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Willistown Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Willistown Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Willistown Township is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #125 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Willistown Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land35% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A+Trails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (21 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land22 acres of park per 1,000 residents (246 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home80% 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 91%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 88%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Willistown Township’s 35% is ahead of 94% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 82% 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 Okehocking Preserve, with 6.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Kirkwood Preserve
Managed by Willistown Conservation Trust
101 acres4 mi of trail
Northside LoopMassey Run LoopMeadowlark LoopCreekside Loop+1
No dogs
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Willisbrook Preserve
Managed by Natural Lands
123 acres2.6 mi of trail
Red TrailYellow Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Rushton Woods Preserve
Managed by Willistown Conservation Trust
83 acres2.3 mi of trail
Woodland LoopFarm Meadow Loop
No dogs
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Serpentine Preserve
Managed by Willistown Township
48 acres1.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 10 parks & preserves
Okehocking Preserve175 acres · 6.9 mi of trail
DirectionsKirkwood Preserve101 acres · 4 mi of trail · Willistown Conservation Trust
DirectionsWillisbrook Preserve123 acres · 2.6 mi of trail · Natural Lands
DirectionsRushton Woods Preserve83 acres · 2.3 mi of trail · Willistown Conservation Trust
Serpentine Preserve48 acres · 1.5 mi of trail · Willistown Township
DirectionsGreentree Park6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Willistown Township
DirectionsMill Road Park19 acres · Willistown Township
DirectionsSugartown Preserve18 acres · Willistown Township
Garrett Mill Road Park18 acres · Willistown Township
DirectionsAirdrie Forest Preserve1 acres
Who protects it
4,067 conserved acres
35% of Willistown Township’s land. Who manages Willistown Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits15,653 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government300 ac
County244 ac
Joint146 ac
Not recorded501 ac
Conservation Easement · 8,996 acOther Easement · 3,223 acRecreation or Education Easement · 2,438 acPrivate Conservation · 882 acForest Stewardship Easement · 510 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 3,354 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 31 of 639 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Willisbrook Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 245 | Open |
| Rushton Woods Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 215 | Open |
| Kirkwood Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 174 | Open |
| Okehocking Preserve Local Conservation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 167 | Open |
| Summerhill Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 103 | Closed |
| Kirkwood Preserve Acquisition Private Conservation | Not recorded | 59 | Closed |
| Brandywine Conservancy Property Private Conservation | Not recorded | 50 | Open |
| Serpentine Preserve Local Conservation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 48 | Open |
| Woodpecker Woods Private Recreation or Education | Not recorded | 31 | Closed |
| WCT Property Open Space Private Recreation or Education | Land trusts & nonprofits | 31 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
11 places to go in Willistown Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Willistown Township
8 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Willistown Township
Leash Free AreaIn Okehocking Preserve
DirectionsScenic views in Willistown Township
Kirkwood TreeIn Kirkwood Preserve
DirectionsPlus 1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
14 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Horses · 10.7 miUnpaved · 5.1 mi
Blue1.6 mi
Northside Loop1.1 mi
Red Trail1.1 mi
Green1.1 mi
Woodland Loop0.8 mi
Massey Run Loop0.7 mi
Yellow Trail0.7 mi
Meadowlark Loop0.7 mi
Farm Meadow Loop0.6 mi
Creekside Loop0.6 mi
4 more trails
Blue/Yellow/Green
0.5 miYellow
0.4 miGrassland Spur Trail
0.1 miBlue/Yellow
0.1 miLakes & 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
52Tennis
8Baseball
8Soccer
5Equestrian
4Basketball
1Softball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Willistown 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) | 40 | 43 | 51 | 63 | 73 | 82 | 86 | 85 | 77 | 66 | 54 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 2.9 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 3.3 | 4.3 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.7 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Willistown Township →
Next door
Willistown Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Tredyffrin Township34 miEdgmont Township24 miWillistown Township21 miNewtown Township8.4 miMalvern3.9 miEasttown Township3.5 miPaoli3.2 miEast Goshen Township0.7 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willistown Township | 35% | 1.2 | 22 | 80% | A |
| Newtown Township | 6% | 0.8 | 16 | 94% | A− |
| East Goshen Township | 14% | 0.1 | 29 | 98% | A− |
| Malvern | 15% | 3.1 | 32 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Paoli | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Edgmont Township | 44% | 2.5 | 537 | 88% | A+ |
| Tredyffrin Township | 14% | 1.7 | 18 | 91% | A |
| Easttown Township | 16% | 0.4 | 6 | 71% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Willistown Township
Where can I hike in Willistown Township?
The longest trail networks: Okehocking Preserve, 6.9 miles; Kirkwood Preserve, 4 miles; Willisbrook Preserve, 2.6 miles; Rushton Woods Preserve, 2.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Willistown Township is conserved land?
35% 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 Willistown Township’s trails?
Okehocking Preserve and Kirkwood Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Willistown Township?
26,160 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Willistown Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,088 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Willistown Township have?
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #125 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 Willistown 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 →