Photo: KJPurscell · CC BY-SA 3.0Big Stone Gap has 131 acres of parks, 25 for every 1,000 residents
2.5 miles of mapped trail cross Big Stone Gap, 0.5 per square mile of land. 4% of Big Stone Gap’s land is conserved, about 113 acres. 60% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns · #125 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Big Stone Gap?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Big Stone Gap have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Big Stone Gap is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns, #125 of 253 in Virginia. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Frog Level Park
All 8 parks & preserves
113 conserved acres
4% of Big Stone Gap’s land. Who manages Big Stone Gap’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ossie Park Local Park | Not recorded | 175 | Open |
| Bullit Park Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| Ak Fraley Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Jefferson National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 3 | Open |
| Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park State Park | State conservation | 1 | Open |
1 places to go in Big Stone Gap
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
4.1 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.
8 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.
The best walking months in Big Stone Gap: 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) | 9.9 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 14.1 | 14.7 | 14.4 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 44 | 49 | 57 | 68 | 75 | 81 | 84 | 83 | 79 | 68 | 57 | 47 |
| Rain (in) | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 5.2 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 5.1 |
October is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 5.2 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Big Stone Gap →
Questions about parks and trails in Big Stone Gap
How much of Big Stone Gap 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 Big Stone Gap’s trails?
Bullitt Park and Frog Level Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Big Stone Gap?
4.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Big Stone Gap?
51,717 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Big Stone Gap or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 134 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Big Stone Gap have?
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #125 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 Big Stone Gap 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 →