Photo: self · CC BY 3.0Blackstone has 7 acres of parks, 2.2 for every 1,000 residents
3.0 miles of mapped trail cross Blackstone, 0.7 per square mile of land. 76% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 36% of U.S. towns · #199 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it
How much outdoors does Blackstone have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Blackstone is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns, #199 of 253 in Virginia. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land 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.
7 conserved acres
under 1% of Blackstone’s land. Who manages Blackstone’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Ball Field Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 1 | Open |
0.0 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.
2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
The best walking months in Blackstone: April to June
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 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 49 | 52 | 60 | 70 | 77 | 85 | 89 | 87 | 81 | 71 | 60 | 52 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 2.9 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.6 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 4.6 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Blackstone →
Questions about parks and trails in Blackstone
How much of Blackstone is conserved land?
under 1% 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.
Is there public land near Blackstone?
647 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Blackstone or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 7 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Blackstone have?
Ahead of 36% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #199 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 Blackstone 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 →