William H. Kain County Park
Park
956 acres14.8 mi of trail
North Shore TrailPumphouse TrailHeadwater Trail83 Link Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in York Township
11% of York Township’s land is conserved: 1,843 acres
1,213 acres are parks and preserves, 40 per 1,000 residents. 21 miles of mapped trail cross York Township, 0.8 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: William H. Kain County Park (14.8 mi), York Township Park (2.1 mi), Stump Memorial Park (0.8 mi).
Ahead of 83% of U.S. towns · #260 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
11%
1,843 acres · of 25.3 sq mi of land
Trails
21 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,213 ac
40 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
68%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.6 mi
1.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is York Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does York Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, York Township is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns, #260 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 York Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land11% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (21 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land40 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,213 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home68% 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 83%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 75%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so York Township’s 11% is ahead of 61% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 71% 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 William H. Kain County Park, with 14.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Stump Memorial Park
Park
19 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 6 parks & preserves
William H. Kain County Park956 acres · 14.8 mi of trail
DirectionsYork Township Park66 acres · 2.1 mi of trail
DirectionsStump Memorial Park19 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsSnyder Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsDallastown Lions Club Community Park12 acres
DirectionsYoe Borough Park3 acres
Who protects it
1,843 conserved acres
11% of York Township’s land. Who manages York Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits2,250 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government1,127 ac
County530 ac
Town or city22 ac
Not recorded238 ac
Local Park · 1,350 acConservation Easement · 869 acAgricultural Easement · 869 acForest Stewardship Easement · 806 acUnknown Easement · 185 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 704 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| William H. Kain Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 976 | Open |
| William H. Kain County Park Local Park | Not recorded | 233 | Open |
| York Township Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 51 | Open |
| Markey Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 39 | Open |
| Days Mill Road Park Acquisition Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 19 | Open |
| Stump Memorial Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 16 | Open |
| York Township Community Center Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 10 | Open |
| Mill Creek Preserve Local Conservation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 8 | Open |
| Snyder Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 8 | Open |
| Fitz Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 6 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
11 places to go in York Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in York Township
York Township Park PlaygroundIn York Township Park
DirectionsPlus 8 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in York Township
2 dog parks without a name on the map.
Trails & water
12 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 13.5 miHorses · 12.0 miUnpaved · 15.0 mi
North Shore Trail2.3 mi
Pumphouse Trail1.9 mi
Headwater Trail1.7 mi
83 Link Trail1.6 mi
Spartan Trail1.4 mi
2A1.1 mi
2C0.7 mi
7A0.6 mi
2B0.5 mi
1A0.3 mi
2 more trails
2VM
0.2 mi6A
0.2 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
23Tennis
15Baseball
14Soccer
11Basketball
4Football
3Beach volleyball
1Golf
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). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in York 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 | 63 | 73 | 81 | 85 | 83 | 76 | 65 | 53 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.6 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 4.9 | 4.0 | 3.2 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.9 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in York Township →
Next door
York Township and its neighbors
York Township has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Springfield Township33 miYork Township21 miSpring Garden Township9.8 miNorth Hopewell Township9.0 miWindsor Township5.4 miNorth Codorus Township2.9 miRed Lion0.6 miTyler Run0.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| York Township | 11% | 0.8 | 40 | 68% | A− |
| Springfield Township | 29% | 1.3 | 213 | 65% | A |
| North Hopewell Township | 13% | 0.5 | 160 | 10% | B+ |
| North Codorus Township | 19% | 0.1 | 14 | 21% | B− |
| Red Lion | 2% | 0.5 | 3 | 95% | B− |
| Spring Garden Township | 2% | 1.5 | 7 | 88% | B+ |
| Windsor Township | 4% | 0.2 | 3 | 36% | C |
| Tyler Run | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in York Township
Where can I hike in York Township?
The longest trail networks: William H. Kain County Park, 14.8 miles; York Township Park, 2.1 miles; Stump Memorial Park, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of York 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 York Township’s trails?
William H. Kain County Park and York Township Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in York Township?
1.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near York Township?
10,698 acres of parks and open public land lie inside York Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,213 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does York Township have?
Ahead of 83% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #260 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 York 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 →