Algonkian Regional Park
Managed by Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority
523 acres5.2 mi of trail
White TrailEast River Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Truejim (Uploads) · CC BY-SA 3.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Cascades
Cascades has 11 miles of mapped trails, 2.8 for every square mile of land
29% of Cascades’ land is conserved, about 690 acres. 686 acres are parks and preserves, 55 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Algonkian Regional Park (5.2 mi).
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns · #13 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it
Conserved land
29%
690 acres · of 3.7 sq mi of land
Trails
11 mi
2.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
686 ac
55 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
87%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.3 mi
0.3 mi lanes
Highest peak
328 ft
Nokes Hill
Lakes & rivers
1
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Cascades?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Cascades have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Cascades is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns, #13 of 253 in Virginia. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Cascades’ overall grade.
Conserved land29% of the land · typical VA town 4% · U.S. 4%ATrails2.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (11 mi) · VA 0.7 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land55 acres of park per 1,000 residents (686 acres) · VA 8 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home87% 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 97%
LessMore
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 95%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A 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 Algonkian Regional Park, with 5.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Potomack Lakes Sportsplex
Park
47 acres0.3 mi of trail
Potomac Heritage Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Sugarland Run Trail Park
Managed by Sugarland Run HoA
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail signWebsite ↗
Hedgerow Habitat Trail
Managed by Lutheran Community Church
2 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
690 conserved acres
29% of Cascades’ land. Who manages Cascades’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County690 ac
Not recorded180 ac
Local Park · 870 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Algonkian Regional Park Local Park | County | 776 | Open |
| Potomack Lakes Sportsplex Local Park | County | 94 | Open |
Things to do
32 places to go in Cascades
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Cascades
Chesterbrook Academy Playground
DirectionsNew Life Russian Church Playground Park
DirectionsPotomac Terrace Lake Playground
DirectionsPotomac Terrace Playground
DirectionsRiverwood Terrace Playground
DirectionsStanmoor Terrace Playground
DirectionsPlus 23 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Cascades
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Cascades
Nokes Hill328 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Cascades
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
6 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.5 miUnpaved · 9.1 mi
White Trail1.0 mi
Potomac Heritage Trail1.0 mi
East River Trail0.8 mi
Barred Owl Trail0.4 mi
Countryside Trail0.3 mi
Eagle Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.3 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
25Soccer
21Tennis
17Basketball
11Baseball
3Football
2Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Cascades: April 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) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 43 | 46 | 55 | 67 | 75 | 83 | 88 | 86 | 79 | 68 | 56 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.6 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 3.0 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 4.3 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Cascades →
Next door
Cascades and its neighbors
Cascades has the second most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Sterling13 miCascades11 miLowes Island8.8 miCountryside5.9 miSugarland Run2.1 miDulles Town Center0.8 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cascades | 29% | 2.8 | 55 | 87% | A+ |
| Countryside | under 1% | 2.3 | under 1 | 57% | C+ |
| Lowes Island | 15% | 2.9 | 26 | 84% | A |
| Sugarland Run | 1% | 1.0 | 6 | 96% | B |
| Dulles Town Center | under 1% | 0.3 | 2 | 99% | C |
| Sterling | 11% | 2.3 | 12 | 95% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Cascades
Where can I hike in Cascades?
The longest trail networks: Algonkian Regional Park, 5.2 miles; Potomack Lakes Sportsplex, 0.3 miles; Hedgerow Habitat Trail, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Cascades is conserved land?
29% 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 Cascades’ trails?
Algonkian Regional Park and Potomack Lakes Sportsplex don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Cascades?
0.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.3 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Cascades?
15,639 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Cascades or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 686 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Cascades have?
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #13 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 Cascades 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 →