Washington Lacy Park
Park
137 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Urbancam · Public domainB+Outdoors
Outdoors in Ashland
Ashland has 214 acres of parks, 28 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Washington Lacy Park (1.1 mi), DeJarnette Park (0.5 mi). 88% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3.5 miles of mapped trail cross Ashland, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 74% of U.S. towns · #97 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
178 acres · of 7.2 sq mi of land
Trails
3.5 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
214 ac
28 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
88%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.4 mi
3.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Ashland?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ashland have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ashland is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns, #97 of 253 in Virginia. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, conserved land lowest.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ashland’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical VA town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · VA 0.7 · U.S. 0.4BPark land28 acres of park per 1,000 residents (214 acres) · VA 8 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home88% of residents within a half mile of a park · VA 76% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 74%
LessMore
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 62%
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 Washington Lacy Park, with 1.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 8 parks & preserves
Washington Lacy Park137 acres · 1.1 mi of trail
DeJarnette Park20 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsCarter Park15 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsPufferbelly Park3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsBerkleytown Heritage Park6 acres
DirectionsSouth Taylor Street Park4 acres
Ashland Railside Park3 acres
DirectionsAshland Trolley Line2 acres
Who protects it
178 conserved acres
4% of Ashland’s land. Who manages Ashland’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County143 ac
Town or city34 ac
Not recorded177 ac
Local Park · 333 acLocal Recreation Area · 11 acLocal Other or Unknown · 11 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Lacy Park Local Park | County | 273 | Open |
| Carter Park Local Park | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| Ashland Open Space land Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| Dejarnette Park Local Park | Town or city | 18 | Open |
| Ashland Trolley Line Local Park | County | 13 | Open |
| Pufferbelly Park Local Park | Not recorded | 3 | Open |
| South Taylor St Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Railside Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
13 places to go in Ashland
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Ashland
Baby PoolIn Carter Park
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Ashland
12 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
3.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
12Tennis
6Baseball
1Basketball
1Soccer
1Softball
1Beach volleyball
1Football
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 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 Ashland: 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) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 48 | 51 | 60 | 70 | 77 | 85 | 89 | 87 | 81 | 71 | 60 | 51 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.8 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.6 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 4.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Ashland →
Questions about parks and trails in Ashland
Where can I hike in Ashland?
The longest trail networks: Washington Lacy Park, 1.1 miles; DeJarnette Park, 0.5 miles; Carter Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ashland is conserved land?
4% of its land, against a typical 4% for a Virginia town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Ashland’s trails?
Washington Lacy Park and DeJarnette Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Ashland?
3.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Ashland?
3,010 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ashland or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 214 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Ashland have?
Ahead of 74% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #97 of 253 in Virginia. 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 Ashland 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 →