McIntire Park
Managed by City of Charlottesville Parks and Recreation
117 acres4.7 mi of trail
greenyellowpinkcyan+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Charlottesville
Charlottesville has 23 miles of mapped trails, 2.3 for every square mile of land
98% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 10% of Charlottesville’s land is conserved, about 667 acres. The biggest trail networks: McIntire Park (4.7 mi), Pen Park (3.1 mi), Greenbrier Park (1.4 mi).
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns · #28 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it
Conserved land
10%
667 acres · of 10.2 sq mi of land
Trails
23 mi
2.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
681 ac
15 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
98%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
22 mi
18 mi lanes · 3.5 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Charlottesville?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Charlottesville have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Charlottesville is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #28 of 253 in Virginia. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Charlottesville’s overall grade.
Conserved land10% of the land · typical VA town 4% · U.S. 4%A−Trails2.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (23 mi) · VA 0.7 · U.S. 0.4APark land15 acres of park per 1,000 residents (681 acres) · VA 8 · U.S. 13BParks close to home98% of residents within a half mile of a park · VA 76% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 91%
LessMore
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 89%
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 McIntire Park, with 4.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Pen Park
Managed by City of Charlottesville
265 acres3.1 mi of trail
Rivanna Trail (River North)Rivanna Trail (River North spur)Rivanna Trail (RTF)
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Greenbrier Park
Park
30 acres1.4 mi of trail
Rivanna Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail sign
Meadow Creek Valley
Managed by City of Charlottesville
41 acres1.2 mi of trail
Rivanna Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Greenleaf Park
Managed by Charlottesville Parks and Recreation
16 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Azalea Park
Managed by City of Charlottesville Parks and Recreation
20 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Belmont Park
Park
4 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Meadow Creek Gardens and Disc Golf Course
Park
18 acres0.4 mi of trail
Rivanna Trail (RTF)
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 28 parks & preserves
McIntire Park117 acres · 4.7 mi of trail · City of Charlottesville Parks and Recreation
DirectionsPen Park265 acres · 3.1 mi of trail · City of Charlottesville
DirectionsGreenbrier Park30 acres · 1.4 mi of trail
DirectionsMeadow Creek Valley41 acres · 1.2 mi of trail · City of Charlottesville
DirectionsGreenleaf Park16 acres · 0.9 mi of trail · Charlottesville Parks and Recreation
DirectionsAzalea Park20 acres · 0.6 mi of trail · City of Charlottesville Parks and Recreation
DirectionsBelmont Park4 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
Meadow Creek Gardens and Disc Golf Course18 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsRiverview Park20 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Charlottesville
DirectionsWashington Park12 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsBenjamin Tonsler Park9 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsUnity Field6 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · City of Charlottesville
Northeast Park5 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Charlottesville Parks and Rec
Forest Hills Park9 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsQuarry Park7 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Charlottesville
DirectionsAzalea Park West5 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Charlottesville Parks and Recreation
DirectionsRives Park5 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsThe Field2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsJordan Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Charlottesville Parks and Recreation
DirectionsMcGuffey Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsCourt Square Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsFrys Spring Park7 acres
DirectionsMeade Park6 acres
DirectionsSchenk's Greenway4 acres
DirectionsLongwood Park2 acres · City of Charlottesville Parks and Recreation
DirectionsIX Art Park2 acres
DirectionsMarket Street Park1 acres
DirectionsStarr Hill Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
667 conserved acres
10% of Charlottesville’s land. Who manages Charlottesville’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city668 ac
Other state land271 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits189 ac
Not recorded642 ac
Local Park · 1,311 acUnknown Easement · 264 acConservation Easement · 192 acHistoric or Cultural Easement · 3 acLocal Conservation Area · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 10 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 87 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pen Park Local Park | Town or city | 543 | Open |
| McIntire Park Local Park | Town or city | 260 | Open |
| Meadow Creek Valley Local Park | Not recorded | 79 | Open |
| Greenbrier Park Local Park | Town or city | 60 | Open |
| Riverview Park Local Park | Not recorded | 43 | Open |
| Azalea Park Local Park | Town or city | 41 | Open |
| Meadowcreek Gardens & Disc Golf Local Park | Not recorded | 36 | Open |
| Tonsler Park Local Park | Town or city | 27 | Open |
| Greenleaf Park Local Park | Town or city | 26 | Open |
| Quarry Park Local Park | Town or city | 24 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
60 places to go in Charlottesville
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Charlottesville
1 public pool without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Charlottesville
Northeast Park PlaygroundIn Northeast Park
DirectionsWater ParkIn Forest Hills Park
Directions54 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Dog parks in Charlottesville
2 dog parks without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Charlottesville
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Disc golf in Charlottesville
Meadow Creek Gardens Disc Golf CourseIn Meadow Creek Gardens and Disc Golf Course · Blue Ridge Disc Golf Club
DirectionsCommunity gardens in Charlottesville
1 community garden without a name on the map.
Trails & water
12 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.5 miUnpaved · 18.2 mi
Rivanna Trail (RTF)3.1 mi
Rivanna Trail1.4 mi
Rivanna Trail (River North)1.3 mi
Rivanna Trail (RTF spur)0.7 mi
Rivanna Trail (River North spur)0.6 mi
Fifeville Community Trail0.4 mi
green0.3 mi
yellow0.2 mi
RTF spur0.2 mi
pink0.2 mi
2 more trails
cyan
0.2 mired
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
22 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
18 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
3.5 mi
off-road bike paths
0.6 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
26Basketball
18Baseball
16Tennis
15Golf
6Soccer
4Football
3Skate park
2Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →71 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 10 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Albemarle County Courthouse Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1972
About itOak LawnBuilding · listed 1973
About itCharlottesville and Albemarle County Courthouse Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1982
About itAnderson Brothers BuildingBuilding · listed 1982
About itArmstrong Knitting FactoryBuilding · listed 1982
About itBarringer MansionBuilding · listed 1982
About itBelmontBuilding · listed 1982
About itCarter-Gilmer HouseBuilding · listed 1982
About itDelevan Baptist ChurchBuilding · listed 1982
About itEnderlyBuilding · listed 1982
About itFicklin-Crawford CottageBuilding · listed 1982
About itFour AcresBuilding · listed 1982
About it59 more on the History page.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Charlottesville
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) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.1 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 46 | 50 | 58 | 69 | 77 | 84 | 88 | 86 | 80 | 69 | 59 | 49 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.7 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 4.6 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Charlottesville →
Next door
Charlottesville and its neighbors
Charlottesville has the most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlottesville | 10% | 2.3 | 15 | 98% | A |
| University of Virginia | 29% | 10.4 | 37 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Pantops | 9% | 4.4 | 28 | 69% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Charlottesville
Where can I hike in Charlottesville?
The longest trail networks: McIntire Park, 4.7 miles; Pen Park, 3.1 miles; Greenbrier Park, 1.4 miles; Meadow Creek Valley, 1.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Charlottesville is conserved land?
10% 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 Charlottesville’s trails?
McIntire Park and Pen Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Charlottesville?
22 miles of bike routes are on the map: 18 of painted or protected lanes, 3.5 of off-road paths and 0.6 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Charlottesville?
5,223 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Charlottesville or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 681 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Charlottesville have?
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #28 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 Charlottesville 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 →