Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.07% of York’s land is conserved, and 97% of residents live within a half mile of a park
4.6 miles of mapped trail cross York, 0.9 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Penn Park (1.4 mi), Farquhar Park (1 mi). 7% of York’s land is conserved, about 233 acres.
Ahead of 74% of U.S. towns · #408 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is York?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does York have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, York is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns, #408 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so York’s 7% is ahead of 44% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 73% of them.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Penn Park, with 1.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 17 parks & preserves
233 conserved acres
7% of York’s land. Who manages York’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veterans Memorial Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 74 | Open |
| Farquhar Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 35 | Open |
| 5th Avenue Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 30 | Open |
| York City Parks & Forestry Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Penn Common Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 15 | Open |
| Allen Field Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 13 | Open |
| Noonan Field Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 12 | Open |
| Bantz Park and Odeon Field Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 12 | Open |
| Heritage Rail Trail County Park Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 7 | Open |
| Lincoln Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 5 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
19 places to go in York
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Plus 18 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
3 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
8.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
17 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 12 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
5 more on the History page.
The best walking months in York: 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 | 52 | 64 | 74 | 82 | 86 | 84 | 77 | 66 | 54 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.5 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 3.9 | 3.1 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.5 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 York →
York and its neighbors
York has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| York | 7% | 0.9 | 5 | 97% | B+ |
| Spring Garden Township | 2% | 1.5 | 7 | 88% | B+ |
| West Manchester Township | 1% | 0.1 | 5 | 86% | C |
| Grantley | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| North York | 4% | 1.6 | 4 | 95% | B+ |
| Manchester Township | 9% | 0.1 | 9 | 74% | B− |
| Shiloh | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| West York | 3% | under 0.1 | 2 | 99%+ | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in York
Where can I hike in York?
The longest trail networks: Penn Park, 1.4 miles; Farquhar Park, 1 miles; Willis Run Park, 0.3 miles; Allen Field, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of York is conserved land?
7% 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’s trails?
Penn Park and Farquhar Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in York?
8.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.3 of painted or protected lanes, 3.0 of off-road paths and 1.3 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near York?
10,440 acres of parks and open public land lie inside York or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 243 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does York have?
Ahead of 74% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #408 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 neighbors.
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 →