Sugar Hollow Park
Park
367 acres14.3 mi of trail
Ridge TrailRacoon RunSalamander TrailTurkey Traipse+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: AppalachianCentrist · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Bristol
Bristol has 20 miles of mapped trails, 1.6 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Sugar Hollow Park (14.3 mi). 468 acres are parks and preserves, 28 per 1,000 residents. 6% of Bristol’s land is conserved, about 457 acres.
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns · #85 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
457 acres · of 12.9 sq mi of land
Trails
20 mi
1.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
468 ac
28 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
60%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.9 mi
0.9 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Bristol?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bristol have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bristol is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #85 of 253 in Virginia. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Bristol’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical VA town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails1.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (20 mi) · VA 0.7 · U.S. 0.4APark land28 acres of park per 1,000 residents (468 acres) · VA 8 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home60% 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 78%
LessMore
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 67%
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 Sugar Hollow Park, with 14.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Mumpower Park
Park
8 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Belle Meadows Park
Park
7 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Sugar Hollow Park367 acres · 14.3 mi of trail
DirectionsRandolph Park18 acres
DirectionsMumpower Park8 acres
Belle Meadows Park7 acres
Eastern Park4 acres
Cumberland Square Park3 acres
Who protects it
457 conserved acres
6% of Bristol’s land. Who manages Bristol’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city455 ac
Other state land2 ac
Not recorded418 ac
Local Park · 856 acLocal Recreation Area · 17 acUnknown Easement · 2 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 10 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sugar Hollow Park Local Park | Not recorded | 797 | Open |
| Suncrest Park Local Park | Not recorded | 39 | Open |
| Randolph Baseball Fields Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Mumpower Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Montrose Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Eastern Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Cumberland Square Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
Things to do
7 places to go in Bristol
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Bristol
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Disc golf in Bristol
2 disc golf without a name on the map.
Trails & water
5 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.7 mi
Ridge Trail0.8 mi
Racoon Run0.8 mi
Turkey Traipse0.8 mi
Salamander Trail0.7 mi
Rocky Top0.6 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.9 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
7Baseball
7Tennis
3Soccer
1Basketball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →13 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.
Bristol Railroad StationBuilding · listed 1980
About itVirginia Intermont CollegeBuilding · listed 1984
About itKing-Lancaster-McCoy-Mitchell HouseBuilding · listed 1994
About itVirginia High SchoolBuilding · listed 1997
About itSolar Hill Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2001
About itGrove, TheBuilding · listed 2002
About itVirginia Hill Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2002
About itWalnut GroveBuilding · listed 2004
About itDouglass SchoolBuilding · listed 2005
About itEuclid Avenue Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2006
About itBristol Warehouse Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2012
About itFirst Baptist ChurchBuilding · listed 2015
About it1 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Bristol: 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 | 14.6 | 14.4 | 13.5 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.2 | 9.7 |
| High (°F) | 46 | 50 | 59 | 69 | 76 | 83 | 85 | 85 | 80 | 69 | 58 | 49 |
| Rain (in) | 3.7 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.7 | 4.0 | 3.1 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.9 |
October is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.7 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Bristol →
Questions about parks and trails in Bristol
Where can I hike in Bristol?
The longest trail networks: Sugar Hollow Park, 14.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bristol is conserved land?
6% 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 Bristol’s trails?
Sugar Hollow Park and Randolph Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Bristol?
0.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.9 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Bristol?
4,828 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bristol or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 468 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Bristol have?
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #85 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 Bristol 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 →