Fort Monroe
Managed by Virginia Fort Monroe Authority
293 acres2.6 mi of trail
Fort Perimeter Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Pejcharat · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Hampton
Hampton has 37 miles of mapped trails, 0.7 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Fort Monroe (2.6 mi), Buckroe Beach and Park (1.8 mi), Memorial Park (1 mi). 5% of Hampton’s land is conserved, about 1,731 acres. 52% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns · #129 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
1,731 acres · of 51.5 sq mi of land
Trails
37 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,947 ac
14 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
52%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
19 mi
14 mi lanes · 3.9 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
24
6 beaches · 11 boat launches
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hampton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hampton is ahead of 62% of U.S. towns, #129 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 Hampton’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical VA town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (37 mi) · VA 0.7 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land14 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,947 acres) · VA 8 · U.S. 13BParks close to home52% 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 62%
LessMore
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 49%
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Hampton ranks #316 on Outdoors.
Water is more than half of Hampton’s area (85 of 136 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 2%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. 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 Fort Monroe, with 2.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Buckroe Beach and Park
Managed by City of Hampton
42 acres1.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Fort Monroe National Monument
Park
239 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Y.H. Thomas Neighborhood Park
Park
12 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Grandview Natural Preserve
Managed by City of Hampton, VA
608 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 25 parks & preserves
Fort Monroe293 acres · 2.6 mi of trail · Virginia Fort Monroe Authority
DirectionsBuckroe Beach and Park42 acres · 1.8 mi of trail · City of Hampton
DirectionsMemorial Park11 acres · 1 mi of trail
DirectionsFort Monroe National Monument239 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
DirectionsY.H. Thomas Neighborhood Park12 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsGrandview Natural Preserve608 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · City of Hampton, VA
Armstrong Neighborhood Park5 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsAir Power Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsRiver Street Park2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsBluebird Gap Farm24 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsCarousel Park & Hampton Carousel1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsMill Point Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsGrundland Creek Park95 acres
Gosnold's Hope Park78 acres
DirectionsBethel Park46 acres
DirectionsBriarfield Park45 acres
DirectionsHampton Soccer Park12 acres
DirectionsEason Park12 acres
Old Hampton Community Park6 acres
DirectionsRobinson Park4 acres
Eagle Park3 acres
DirectionsRidgway Bark Park2 acres
DirectionsWestview park1 acres
Immaculate Conception Garden1 acres
DirectionsTown Square1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
1,731 conserved acres
5% of Hampton’s land. Water is left out: Hampton has 51.5 square miles of land and 84.8 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Hampton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city1,444 ac
National Park Service187 ac
Other or Unknown Federal Land96 ac
State conservation89 ac
Other state land84 ac
Regional agency12 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits1 ac
Local Park · 2,103 acConservation Easement · 211 acNational Monument · 124 acOther Easement · 81 acLocal Recreation Area · 75 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 113 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 44 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grandview Nature Preserve Local Park | Town or city | 1,104 | Open |
| Sandy Bottom Nature Park Local Park | Town or city | 457 | Open |
| Grundland Creek Park Local Park | Not recorded | 187 | Closed |
| Fort Monroe National Monument National Monument | National Park Service | 124 | Open |
| Gosnolds Hope Park Local Park | Town or city | 96 | Open |
| Waterwalk At Central Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 47 | Open |
| James M. Eason Park Local Park | Not recorded | 46 | Open |
| Blue Bird Gap Farm Local Park | Town or city | 45 | Open |
| Briarfield Park Local Park | Town or city | 45 | Open |
| Buckroe Park Local Park | Town or city | 41 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
98 places to go in Hampton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Hampton
Grandview Beach
DirectionsOutlook Beach
DirectionsPlus 4 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Public pools in Hampton
Willow oaks swimming pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Hampton
Westview PlaygroundIn Westview park
Directions63 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Dog parks in Hampton
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Hampton
Sunset Creek Boat Ramp
DirectionsPlus 10 boat launches without a name on the map.
Fishing spots in Hampton
Engineers Fishing Pier
DirectionsJames T Wilson Fishing PierIn Buckroe Beach and Park
DirectionsPlus 2 fishing spots without a name on the map.
Disc golf in Hampton
Hampton 9 Disc Golf Course
DirectionsCommunity gardens in Hampton
Buckroe Community Garden
DirectionsTrails & water
10 named trails and 24 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 6.6 miUnpaved · 9.0 mi
Trillium3.2 mi
Fort Perimeter Trail1.3 mi
Wetlands Trail1.0 mi
Otey Shelton0.6 mi
Wood Duck0.6 mi
Big Beech0.5 mi
Red Fox0.5 mi
Waterwalk at Central Park0.3 mi
Whispering Pines0.3 mi
Osprey Point0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Chrisman LakelakeColiseum LakelakeHampton LakeHawkins PondHydro Impact BasinLynnhaven LakesreservoirTide Mill PondpondBack RiverBrick Kiln CreekBrights CreekGrundland CreekHampton RiverHarris RiverHerberts CreekLong CreekMill CreekNewmarket CreekNorthwest Branch Back RiverSalt PondSouthwest Branch Back RiverSunset CreekTabbs CreekTide Mill CreekWallace Creek
Biking & sports
19 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
14 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
3.9 mi
off-road bike paths
0.5 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
91Tennis
63Baseball
30Soccer
28Basketball
10Football
9Beach volleyball
3Softball
2Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →31 places on the National Register, 7 of them National Historic Landmarks
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 27 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Fort WoolDistrict · listed 1969
About itSt. John's ChurchBuilding · listed 1970
About itHerbert HouseBuilding · listed 1972
About itOld Point Comfort LighthouseBuilding · listed 1973
About itWilliam H. Trusty HouseBuilding · listed 1979
About it19 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Hampton: April to June
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 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 49 | 52 | 59 | 69 | 77 | 84 | 89 | 86 | 81 | 71 | 61 | 53 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.9 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 5.3 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 3.9 | 3.1 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 5.3 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Hampton →
Next door
Hampton and its neighbors
Hampton has the second most mapped trails of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hampton | 5% | 0.7 | 14 | 52% | B |
| Newport News | 10% | 0.8 | 23 | 75% | A− |
| Poquoson | 32% | 0.1 | 4 | 32% | C+ |
| Norfolk | 8% | 0.6 | 7 | 86% | B+ |
| Portsmouth | 2% | 0.6 | 6 | 76% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Hampton
Where can I hike in Hampton?
The longest trail networks: Fort Monroe, 2.6 miles; Buckroe Beach and Park, 1.8 miles; Memorial Park, 1 miles; Fort Monroe National Monument, 0.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hampton is conserved land?
5% 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 Hampton’s trails?
Fort Monroe and Buckroe Beach and Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Hampton?
19 miles of bike routes are on the map: 14 of painted or protected lanes, 3.9 of off-road paths and 0.5 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Hampton?
13,905 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hampton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,947 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Hampton have?
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #129 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 Hampton 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 →