Fairfax Villa Park
Managed by Fairfax County Park Authority
60 acres2.5 mi of trail
Rough TailRough Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Ser Amantio di Nicolao · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in George Mason
George Mason has 6.6 miles of mapped trails, 2.6 for every square mile of land
98% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Fairfax Villa Park (2.5 mi). 71 acres are parks and preserves, 7.1 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns · #79 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
70 acres · of 2.5 sq mi of land
Trails
6.6 mi
2.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
71 ac
7.1 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
98%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.2 mi
2.7 mi lanes · 2.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is George Mason?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does George Mason have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, George Mason is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #79 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 George Mason’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical VA town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails2.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · VA 0.7 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land7.1 acres of park per 1,000 residents (71 acres) · VA 8 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home98% 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 80%
LessMore
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 69%
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 Fairfax Villa Park, with 2.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
University Park
Managed by Fairfax County Park Authority
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
70 conserved acres
4% of George Mason’s land. Who manages George Mason’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County70 ac
Not recorded1 ac
Local Park · 71 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfax Villa Park Local Park | County | 59 | Open |
| University Park Local Park | County | 10 | Open |
| Fairfax Villa Local Park | County | 2 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in George Mason
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in George Mason
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in George Mason
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
4 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.5 miUnpaved · 2.9 mi
Overgrown0.2 mi
Gravel-Grass Trail0.2 mi
Rough Tail0.1 mi
Rough Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
5.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.7 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
2.3 mi
off-road bike paths
0.2 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
10Tennis
6Soccer
3Basketball
2Football
2Baseball
1Softball
1Cricket
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in George Mason: 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) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 43 | 47 | 55 | 67 | 75 | 83 | 87 | 85 | 79 | 68 | 57 | 47 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.6 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 3.1 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.4 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in George Mason →
Next door
George Mason 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Mason | 4% | 2.6 | 7 | 98% | A− |
| Fairfax | 5% | 1.3 | 10 | 99%+ | A |
| Braddock | 9% | 1.8 | 54 | 77% | A |
| Kings Park West | 13% | 1.9 | 19 | 98% | A |
| Long Branch | 8% | 1.6 | 19 | 99% | A |
| Fair Oaks | 4% | 0.6 | 4 | 99%+ | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in George Mason
Where can I hike in George Mason?
The longest trail networks: Fairfax Villa Park, 2.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of George Mason is conserved land?
4% 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 George Mason’s trails?
Fairfax Villa Park and University Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in George Mason?
5.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.7 of painted or protected lanes, 2.3 of off-road paths and 0.2 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near George Mason?
29,363 acres of parks and open public land lie inside George Mason or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 71 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does George Mason have?
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #79 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 George Mason 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 →