1
McKaig Nature Education Center
Park
95 acres3.6 mi of trail
Cadet Trail - WhiteLaurel Trail - BlueOld Wood Trail - OrangeNancy Lang Trail - YellowPetty Trail - Brown
Dog rules not recorded
Outdoors · Upper Merion
Upper Merion, PA parks, trails & bike paths
About 17% of Upper Merion is conserved land, roughly 1,868 acres. There are about 21 miles of mapped trails, and the biggest networks are in McKaig Nature Education Center (3.6 mi) and Upper Merion Township Park (0.6 mi).
Conserved land, trails, parks and bike routes in Upper Merion, measured from OpenStreetMap and USGS data.
At a glance
Upper Merion outdoors
Conserved land
17%
1,868 of 11,012 acres
Trails
21 mi
1.2 mi per sq mi · 17 on conserved land
Parks & preserves
17
53 conserved acres per 1,000 residents
Bike routes
18.7 mi
1.7 mi lanes · 17.0 mi off-road paths
Conserved land is a share of the whole town area. Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number or a place below to zoom in© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Parks & preserves with trails
Ranked by mapped trail miles. Directions go to the nearest marked trailhead or public parking.
2
Upper Merion Township Park
Park
19 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
3
Belmont Park
Park
3 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
4
Heuser Park
Park
30 acres
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
All 17 parks & preserves
Showing 1–10 of 17 parks & preserves
McKaig Nature Education Center95 acres · 3.6 mi of trail
Upper Merion Township Park19 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
Belmont Park3 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Executive Estates Park9 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Heuser Park30 acres
Upper Merion Community Center/Volpi Commons29 acres
Sweetbriar Park25 acres · Upper Merion Township
Walker Field Park20 acres
Norview Farm Park9 acres
Swedeland Park8 acres
Things to do
Beaches, playgrounds, falls & more
Pick a kind of place for the list, directions, or pins on the map above.
Playgrounds in Upper Merion
Showing 1–10 of 13 playgrounds
Bob White Park
Unnamed playground in Whitegate Park
Unnamed playground in Walker Field Park
Unnamed playground
Unnamed playground in Executive Estates Park
Unnamed playground in Swedeland Park
Unnamed playground
Unnamed playground in Sweetbriar Park
Unnamed playground
Unnamed playground in Upper Merion Township Park
Trails
Named trails
Open to bikes 3.8 miHorses 8.5 miUnpaved 11.9 mi
Showing 1–10 of 15 trails
- Chapel Trail2.3 mi
- Mt. Joy Trail1.5 mi
- Cadet Trail - White0.5 mi
- Laurel Trail - Blue0.5 mi
- Nancy Lang Trail - Yellow0.5 mi
- Old Wood Trail - Orange0.5 mi
- Petty Trail - Brown0.3 mi
- John Mason Trail - Green0.3 mi
- Boxwood Hill Trail - Purple0.3 mi
- East Laurel Trail - Gold0.2 mi
Water
Lakes & rivers
Tap a name for directions.
Who protects the land
1,868 conserved acres
Who manages it, from PAD-US. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn't always mean open to visitors. 9 acres are conservation easements, which are usually private land. Public access isn't recorded for 2 of 42 parcels. The places listed above are parks and preserves people visit.
Biking & sports
Bike routes, courts & fields
- Painted or protected bike lanes1.7 mi
- Off-road bike paths17.0 mi
- Shoulders & shared lanes0.0 mi
- Chapel Trail (bike route)2.3 mi
Courts & fields
- Tennis37
- Basketball17
- Soccer7
- Baseball6
- Softball4
- Football2
- Volleyball1
Counts include school and college facilities, which aren't always open to the public.
Public lands
The biggest protected places in Upper Merion
From USGS PAD-US: who manages each one and whether visitors are welcome.
Historic or Cultural Area 1,358 acLocal Park 500 acLocal Recreation Area 41 acLocal Other or Unknown 22 acConservation Easement 7 ac
Showing 1–10 of 15 places
| Place | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valley Forge National Historical ParkHistoric or Cultural Area | National Park Service | 1,358 | Restricted |
| Sweetbriar ParkLocal Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 112 | Open |
| Heuser ParkLocal Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 110 | Open |
| McKaig Nature CenterLocal Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 89 | Open |
| Walker FieldLocal Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 31 | Open |
| Municipal LandLocal Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 22 | Open |
| Bob Case ParkLocal Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 21 | Open |
| Bob White ParkLocal Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 19 | Open |
| Bob Holland Memorial ParkLocal Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 17 | Open |
| Upper Merion Township Building ParkLocal Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 16 | Open |
History
Historic places to visit
Showing 1–10 of 50 places
9-11 MemorialIn McKaig Nature Education Center · Memorial
Bishop White StatueMonument
Bodo Otto MemorialMonument
Constitution MemorialIn McKaig Nature Education Center · Memorial
Declaration of IndependencePlaque
Defenders' GateCastle
Delaware SoldiersMemorial
Free Mason MemorialMemorial
General ArmstrongMemorial
General Von Steuben StatueMemorial
Nearby
Upper Merion and its neighbors
Towns whose outdoors data has been built so far.
| Town | Conserved | Trails | Parks & preserves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Merion | 17% | 21.2 mi | 17 |
| Tredyffrin | 13.9% | 33.7 mi | 22 |
| West Norriton | 11.8% | 7.9 mi | 3 |
| Schuylkill | 11.5% | 8.8 mi | 2 |
| Bridgeport | 6.4% | 0.0 mi | 1 |
| Plymouth | 5.4% | 7.4 mi | 11 |
| West Conshohocken | 4.3% | 0.0 mi | 2 |
Trail talk
Conditions & tips from neighbors
No recent posts about Upper Merion's trails yet. Muddy, icy, a bridge out, where to park: a quick post helps the next person.
Sources: trails, parks, preserves, courts and bike lanes © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), map data as of 2026-09-28. Conserved land: USGS Gap Analysis Project, Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US). Measured against the Census town boundary.
How we measure
"Trails" are OpenStreetMap paths, bridleways, public tracks and unpaved footways, plus footways inside a park or preserve or on a named trail route. Sidewalks are left out. Areas are counted on a 20-meter grid, so overlapping parcels count once. "Conserved" includes conservation easements, which protect land from development but are usually private property. Trailheads are the nearest marked trailhead, public parking lot or information board within about 150 meters of a preserve. Dog rules come from OpenStreetMap when someone has tagged them; otherwise we show what's typical for the land manager, or say the rules aren't recorded.