Woodman Park
Park
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Jjmusgrove · CC BY-SA 3.0DOutdoors
Outdoors in Laurel
Few parks or trails are on the map in Laurel
5 acres are parks and preserves, 0.3 per 1,000 residents. 0.3 miles of mapped trail cross Laurel, 0.1 per square mile of land. 26% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 9% of U.S. towns · #249 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
5 acres · of 5.4 sq mi of land
Trails
0.3 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
5 ac
0.3 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
26%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.1 mi
3.1 mi lanes
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Laurel have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Laurel is ahead of 9% of U.S. towns, #249 of 253 in Virginia. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park comes closest.
D
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Laurel’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical VA town 4% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · VA 0.7 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land0.3 acres of park per 1,000 residents (5 acres) · VA 8 · U.S. 13DParks close to home26% 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 9%
LessMore
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 2%
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Laurel. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be D. 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
5 conserved acres
under 1% of Laurel’s land. Who manages Laurel’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County5 ac
Not recorded5 ac
Local Park · 10 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodman Park Local Park | Not recorded | 10 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Laurel
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Laurel
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
3.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
12Tennis
9Baseball
3Soccer
2Football
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Laurel: 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) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.7 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 48 | 52 | 60 | 70 | 77 | 85 | 89 | 87 | 81 | 71 | 60 | 51 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.8 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 4.5 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Laurel →
Next door
Laurel 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laurel | under 1% | 0.1 | under 1 | 26% | D |
| Lakeside | 10% | 2.6 | 21 | 86% | A |
| Glen Allen | 6% | 0.2 | 20 | 65% | B |
| Dumbarton | under 1% | 0.1 | under 1 | 57% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Laurel
How much of Laurel is conserved land?
under 1% 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 Laurel’s trails?
Woodman Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Laurel?
3.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.1 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Laurel?
6,528 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Laurel or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 5 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Laurel have?
Ahead of 9% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #249 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 Laurel 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 →