Garst Mill Park
Park
34 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Garst Mill Park Parking
Starkey School · Photo: Molly Cardenas · CC BY-SA 3.0C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Cave Spring
Few parks or trails are on the map in Cave Spring
47 acres are parks and preserves, 1.8 per 1,000 residents. 30% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1% of Cave Spring’s land is conserved, about 104 acres.
Ahead of 22% of U.S. towns · #235 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
104 acres · of 11.9 sq mi of land
Trails
3.1 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
47 ac
1.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
30%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.6 mi
2.1 mi lanes · 0.5 mi paths
Highest peak
1,729 ft
Sugarloaf Mountain
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Cave Spring have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Cave Spring is ahead of 22% of U.S. towns, #235 of 253 in Virginia. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; trail miles come closest.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Cave Spring’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical VA town 4% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · VA 0.7 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land1.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (47 acres) · VA 8 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home30% of residents within a half mile of a park · VA 76% · U.S. 72%C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 22%
LessMore
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 7%
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Cave Spring. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. 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 Garst Mill Park, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
104 conserved acres
1% of Cave Spring’s land. Who manages Cave Spring’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
National Park Service58 ac
County46 ac
Not recorded7 ac
Special Designation Area · 56 acLocal Park · 53 acUnknown Easement · 2 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Ridge Parkway Special Designation Area | National Park Service | 56 | Restricted |
| Garst Mill Park Greenway Local Park | County | 28 | Open |
| Oak Grove Park Local Park | Not recorded | 13 | Restricted |
| Darrell Shell Park Local Park | County | 12 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Cave Spring
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Cave Spring
Roanoke Athletic Club Swimming Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Cave Spring
Freedom Playground
DirectionsPlus 2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Cave Spring
Sugarloaf Mountain1,729 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
42Tennis
11Baseball
6Pickleball
2Soccer
1Tracks
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place 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.
Starkey SchoolBuilding · listed 2002
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Cave Spring: 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) | 9.9 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 14.1 | 14.7 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 46 | 50 | 58 | 69 | 77 | 83 | 87 | 85 | 79 | 69 | 58 | 49 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.9 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.3 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.8 inches fall in June, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Cave Spring →
Next door
Cave Spring and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Cave Spring
Where can I hike in Cave Spring?
The longest trail networks: Garst Mill Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Cave Spring is conserved land?
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.
Are dogs allowed on Cave Spring’s trails?
Garst Mill Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Cave Spring?
2.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.1 of painted or protected lanes and 0.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Cave Spring?
22,081 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Cave Spring or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 47 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Cave Spring have?
Ahead of 22% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #235 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 Cave Spring 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 →