Amberleigh Park
Managed by Fairfax County Park Authority
18 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: The original uploader was Ser Amantio di Nicolao at English Wikipedia. · CC BY 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Franconia
Franconia has 7.0 miles of mapped trails, 2.0 for every square mile of land
99% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Amberleigh Park (0.7 mi). 9% of Franconia’s land is conserved, about 189 acres.
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns · #45 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
189 acres · of 3.5 sq mi of land
Trails
7.0 mi
2.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
193 ac
11 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
13 mi
7.1 mi lanes · 5.8 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Franconia?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Franconia have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Franconia is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #45 of 253 in Virginia. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Franconia’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical VA town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails2.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · VA 0.7 · U.S. 0.4APark land11 acres of park per 1,000 residents (193 acres) · VA 8 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home99% 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 88%
LessMore
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 83%
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 Amberleigh Park, with 0.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Island Creek Park
Managed by Fairfax County Park Authority
97 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Manchester Lakes Park
Managed by Fairfax County Park Authority
20 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Indian Run Stream Valley Park
Managed by Fairfax County Park Authority
12 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 6 parks & preserves
Amberleigh Park18 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · Fairfax County Park Authority
Island Creek Park97 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Fairfax County Park Authority
Indian Run Stream Valley Park12 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Fairfax County Park Authority
Manchester Lakes Park20 acres · Fairfax County Park Authority
DirectionsFranconia Forest Park7 acres · Fairfax County Park Authority
Levelle W. Dupell Park1 acres
Who protects it
189 conserved acres
9% of Franconia’s land. Who manages Franconia’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County189 ac
Not recorded67 ac
Local Park · 256 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Island Creek Park Local Park | County | 95 | Open |
| Loisdale Local Park | County | 37 | Open |
| Loisdale City Park Local Park | Not recorded | 37 | Open |
| Amberleigh Park Local Park | Not recorded | 35 | Open |
| Indian Run Stream Valley Park Local Park | Not recorded | 24 | Open |
| Manchester Lakes Park Local Park | County | 20 | Open |
| Franconia Forest Park Local Park | County | 7 | Open |
| Levelle W. Dupell Local Park | Not recorded | 1 | Open |
Things to do
25 places to go in Franconia
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Franconia
21 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 5.3 mi
Fraconia Trail0.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
13 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
7.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
5.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
11Tennis
7Basketball
2Multi-sport
2Soccer
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Franconia: April to 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) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 44 | 47 | 56 | 67 | 75 | 84 | 88 | 86 | 79 | 68 | 57 | 48 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.7 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.6 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 3.0 | 3.6 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 4.6 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Franconia →
Next door
Franconia and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franconia | 9% | 2.0 | 11 | 99% | A |
| Kingstowne | 6% | 2.4 | 7 | 99%+ | A− |
| Springfield | 9% | 1.3 | 15 | 94% | A |
| Lincolnia | 13% | 0.9 | 21 | 99%+ | A |
| Rose Hill | 13% | 1.5 | 22 | 91% | A |
| Newington | 10% | 0.4 | 22 | 99%+ | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Franconia
Where can I hike in Franconia?
The longest trail networks: Amberleigh Park, 0.7 miles; Island Creek Park, 0.4 miles; Indian Run Stream Valley Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Franconia is conserved land?
9% 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 Franconia’s trails?
Amberleigh Park and Island Creek Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Franconia?
13 miles of bike routes are on the map: 7.1 of painted or protected lanes and 5.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Franconia?
30,657 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Franconia or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 193 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Franconia have?
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #45 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 Franconia 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 →