Woods Hill · Photo: Kingrichard4867 · CC BY-SA 3.06% of Franklin’s land is conserved: 336 acres
18 acres are parks and preserves, 2.2 per 1,000 residents. 47% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2.2 miles of mapped trail cross Franklin, 0.3 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 38% of U.S. towns · #190 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it
How much outdoors does Franklin have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Franklin is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns, #190 of 253 in Virginia. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
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.
336 conserved acres
6% of Franklin’s land. Who manages Franklin’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 322 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 10 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Armory Drive Recreation Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Bruce Street Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| College Drive Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
3 places to go in Franklin
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
1 lakes & rivers
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.
4 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 Franklin: April and May
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 | 14.1 | 14.7 | 14.4 | 13.5 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.2 | 9.7 |
| High (°F) | 51 | 54 | 62 | 72 | 79 | 86 | 90 | 88 | 82 | 73 | 62 | 54 |
| Rain (in) | 3.7 | 2.9 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 5.4 | 5.3 | 5.5 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 5.5 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Franklin →
Franklin and its neighbors
Franklin has the second most mapped trails of the 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin | 6% | 0.3 | 2 | 47% | C+ |
| Camptown | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Franklin
How much of Franklin is conserved land?
6% 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 Franklin’s trails?
Barret’s Landing doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Franklin?
1,772 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Franklin or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 18 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Franklin have?
Ahead of 38% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #190 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 Franklin 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 →