Percival's Island Natural Area
Park
59 acres1 mi of trail
Seven Rails Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Carmenshields · CC BY 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Madison Heights
Madison Heights has 18 miles of mapped trails, 0.9 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Percival's Island Natural Area (1 mi). 283 acres are parks and preserves, 28 per 1,000 residents. 9% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 52% of U.S. towns · #152 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
298 acres · of 19.2 sq mi of land
Trails
18 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
283 ac
28 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
9%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.7 mi
2.7 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Madison Heights?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Madison Heights have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Madison Heights is ahead of 52% of U.S. towns, #152 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 Madison Heights’ overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical VA town 4% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (18 mi) · VA 0.7 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land28 acres of park per 1,000 residents (283 acres) · VA 8 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home9% of residents within a half mile of a park · VA 76% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 52%
LessMore
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 40%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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 Percival's Island Natural Area, with 1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
298 conserved acres
2% of Madison Heights’ land. Who manages Madison Heights’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city265 ac
County30 ac
Other state land3 ac
Not recorded98 ac
Local Park · 333 acState Other or Unknown · 61 acUnknown Easement · 3 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 3 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 6 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Civitan Park Local Park | Town or city | 197 | Open |
| Precivals Island Natural Area Local Park | Not recorded | 136 | Open |
| Smiley Property State Other or Unknown | County | 61 | Unknown |
Things to do
9 places to go in Madison Heights
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Madison Heights
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Madison Heights
4 boat launches without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Madison Heights
James River Overlook
DirectionsPicnic areas in Madison Heights
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.9 miUnpaved · 1.1 mi
Seven Rails Trail0.5 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.7 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
7Baseball
3Softball
2Tennis
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →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.
When to get out
The best walking months in Madison Heights: April, June 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) | 9.8 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.7 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 46 | 50 | 58 | 69 | 76 | 83 | 87 | 85 | 78 | 69 | 58 | 49 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.8 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.7 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.5 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Madison Heights →
Next door
Madison Heights and its neighbors
Madison Heights 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madison Heights | 2% | 0.9 | 28 | 9% | B− |
| Lynchburg | 3% | 0.9 | 14 | 59% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Madison Heights
Where can I hike in Madison Heights?
The longest trail networks: Percival's Island Natural Area, 1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Madison Heights is conserved land?
2% 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 Madison Heights’ trails?
Percival's Island Natural Area and Riveredge Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Madison Heights?
2.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.7 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Madison Heights?
1,869 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Madison Heights or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 303 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Madison Heights have?
Ahead of 52% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #152 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 Madison Heights 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 →