Memorial Park
Park
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Clifton Forge
95% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Clifton Forge
1.4 miles of mapped trail cross Clifton Forge, 0.5 per square mile of land. 27 acres are parks and preserves, 7.9 per 1,000 residents. 2% of Clifton Forge’s land is conserved, about 44 acres.
Ahead of 59% of U.S. towns · #138 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
44 acres · of 3.0 sq mi of land
Trails
1.4 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
27 ac
7.9 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
95%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Clifton Forge?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Clifton Forge have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Clifton Forge is ahead of 59% of U.S. towns, #138 of 253 in Virginia. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Clifton Forge’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical VA town 4% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · VA 0.7 · U.S. 0.4BPark land7.9 acres of park per 1,000 residents (27 acres) · VA 8 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home95% 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 59%
LessMore
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 46%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Ingleside Park
Park
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 7 parks & preserves
Masonic Amphitheatre1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsClifton Forge School of the Arts Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsMemorial Park6 acres
Ingleside Park5 acres
Smith Creek Hiking Trail5 acres
DirectionsLinden Park4 acres
DirectionsBooker T Washington Park2 acres
Who protects it
44 conserved acres
2% of Clifton Forge’s land. Who manages Clifton Forge’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service25 ac
Town or city18 ac
Other state land4 ac
National Forest · 25 acLocal Park · 18 acUnknown Easement · 4 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 6 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| George Washington National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 25 | Open |
| Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Linden Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Booker T Washington Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Matthews Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Clifton Forge
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Clifton Forge
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
3Baseball
2Basketball
2Tennis
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Clifton Forge: 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) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 45 | 49 | 58 | 69 | 77 | 83 | 87 | 85 | 79 | 69 | 57 | 48 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 3.3 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Clifton Forge →
Questions about parks and trails in Clifton Forge
How much of Clifton Forge is conserved land?
2% 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 Clifton Forge’s trails?
Memorial Park and Ingleside Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Clifton Forge?
78,943 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Clifton Forge or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 48 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Clifton Forge have?
Ahead of 59% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #138 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 Clifton Forge 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 →