Poplar Forest
Park
247 acres1.8 mi of trail
Hidden Lives Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Bellevue Rural Historic District (Additional Documentation) · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainB+Outdoors
Outdoors in Forest
Forest has 14 miles of mapped trails, 1.0 for every square mile of land
10% of Forest’s land is conserved, about 893 acres. The biggest trail networks: Poplar Forest (1.8 mi). 308 acres are parks and preserves, 23 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns · #100 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it
Conserved land
10%
893 acres · of 13.6 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
308 ac
23 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
39%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
4
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Forest?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Forest have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Forest is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns, #100 of 253 in Virginia. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Forest’s overall grade.
Conserved land10% of the land · typical VA town 4% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (14 mi) · VA 0.7 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land23 acres of park per 1,000 residents (308 acres) · VA 8 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home39% 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 73%
LessMore
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 61%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B 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 Poplar Forest, with 1.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
FYAA Forest Recreation Park
Park
45 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
893 conserved acres
10% of Forest’s land. Who manages Forest’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land807 ac
State conservation509 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits106 ac
Private owners49 ac
Other Easement · 782 acConservation Easement · 578 acLocal Recreation Area · 49 acAgricultural Easement · 46 acHistoric or Cultural Easement · 15 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 844 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Youth Athletic Association Local Recreation Area | Private owners | 49 | Open |
Things to do
10 places to go in Forest
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Forest
9 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Forest
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.9 miUnpaved · 1.9 mi
Hidden Lives Trail0.1 mi
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
8Tennis
7Baseball
6Soccer
6Pickleball
6Basketball
2Football
1Lacrosse
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 4 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Forest: April, June 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 | 14.2 | 14.7 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 46 | 50 | 58 | 69 | 76 | 83 | 87 | 85 | 79 | 69 | 58 | 49 |
| Rain (in) | 3.7 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 4.6 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.9 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.6 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Forest →
Next door
Forest and its neighbors
Forest has the second 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest | 10% | 1.0 | 23 | 39% | B+ |
| Lynchburg | 3% | 0.9 | 14 | 59% | B |
| Timberlake | 4% | 0.2 | 6 | 48% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Forest
Where can I hike in Forest?
The longest trail networks: Poplar Forest, 1.8 miles; FYAA Forest Recreation Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Forest 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 Forest’s trails?
Poplar Forest and FYAA Forest Recreation Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Forest?
4,132 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Forest or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 308 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Forest have?
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #100 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 Forest 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 →