Photo: Jarek Tuszyński · CC BY-SA 3.0Covington has 6.5 miles of mapped trails, 1.2 for every square mile of land
14% of Covington’s land is conserved, about 510 acres. 81% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 67 acres are parks and preserves, 12 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns · #69 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Covington?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Covington have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Covington is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #69 of 253 in Virginia. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
510 conserved acres
14% of Covington’s land. Who manages Covington’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 436 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson River Sports Complex Local Park | Town or city | 47 | Open |
| George Washington National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 12 | Open |
| Conrad Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| High Acres Village Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Main Street Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
13 places to go in Covington
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
13 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
2 named trails
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
7 places 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.
The best walking months in Covington: 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) | 44 | 48 | 57 | 69 | 76 | 83 | 86 | 85 | 79 | 68 | 57 | 47 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.7 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 3.2 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 4.4 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Covington →
Questions about parks and trails in Covington
How much of Covington is conserved land?
14% 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 Covington’s trails?
Covington City Park & Pool and Reservoir Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Covington?
97,851 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Covington or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 67 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Covington have?
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #69 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 Covington neighbors.
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 →