Long Branch Stream Valley Park
Managed by Fairfax County Park Authority
66 acres2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Long Branch
8% of Long Branch’s land is conserved, and 99% of residents live within a half mile of a park
4.0 miles of mapped trail cross Long Branch, 1.6 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Long Branch Stream Valley Park (2 mi). 8% of Long Branch’s land is conserved, about 129 acres.
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns · #29 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
129 acres · of 2.5 sq mi of land
Trails
4.0 mi
1.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
137 ac
19 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.6 mi
1.6 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Long Branch?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Long Branch have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Long Branch is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #29 of 253 in Virginia. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Long Branch’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical VA town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · VA 0.7 · U.S. 0.4APark land19 acres of park per 1,000 residents (137 acres) · VA 8 · U.S. 13BParks 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 91%
LessMore
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 89%
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 Long Branch Stream Valley Park, with 2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Rutherford Park
Managed by Fairfax County Park Authority
21 acres0.4 mi of trail
Grass-Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Stream Valley Park
George Mason Park
Managed by Fairfax County Park Authority
8 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Smokewood Park
Managed by Fairfax County Park Authority
18 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 7 parks & preserves
Long Branch Stream Valley Park66 acres · 2 mi of trail · Fairfax County Park Authority
DirectionsRutherford Park21 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Fairfax County Park Authority
DirectionsGeorge Mason Park8 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Fairfax County Park Authority
Smokewood Park18 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Fairfax County Park Authority
DirectionsSurrey Square Park9 acres · Fairfax County Park Authority
Olde Forge Park6 acres · Fairfax County Park Authority
Ashford East Park4 acres · Fairfax County Park Authority
Who protects it
129 conserved acres
8% of Long Branch’s land. Who manages Long Branch’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County129 ac
Not recorded71 ac
Local Park · 200 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long Branch Stream Valley Park Local Park | Not recorded | 135 | Open |
| Rutherford Park Local Park | County | 21 | Open |
| Smokewood Park Local Park | County | 13 | Open |
| Surrey Square Park Local Park | County | 9 | Open |
| George Mason Park Local Park | County | 8 | Open |
| Ashford East Local Park | Not recorded | 8 | Open |
| Olde Forge Park Local Park | County | 6 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Long Branch
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Long Branch
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Fishing spots in Long Branch
P 1 Stop
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.7 miUnpaved · 3.6 mi
Grass-Trail0.1 mi
Biking & sports
1.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
7Baseball
4Basketball
3Soccer
3Tennis
2Tracks
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Long Branch: 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 Long Branch →
Next door
Long Branch and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Wakefield13 miBurke13 miFairfax8.4 miGeorge Mason6.6 miKings Park West5.6 miLong Branch4.0 miMantua2.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Branch | 8% | 1.6 | 19 | 99% | A |
| Wakefield | 19% | 3.5 | 38 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Fairfax | 5% | 1.3 | 10 | 99%+ | A |
| George Mason | 4% | 2.6 | 7 | 98% | A− |
| Kings Park West | 13% | 1.9 | 19 | 98% | A |
| Burke | 12% | 1.5 | 15 | 98% | A |
| Mantua | 12% | 0.9 | 22 | 75% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Long Branch
Where can I hike in Long Branch?
The longest trail networks: Long Branch Stream Valley Park, 2 miles; Rutherford Park, 0.4 miles; George Mason Park, 0.4 miles; Smokewood Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Long Branch is conserved land?
8% 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 Long Branch’s trails?
Long Branch Stream Valley Park and Rutherford Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Long Branch?
1.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Long Branch?
28,758 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Long Branch or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 137 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Long Branch have?
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #29 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 Long Branch 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 →