Towers Park
Managed by Fairfax County Park Authority
16 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Idawriter · CC BY-SA 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Merrifield
99% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Merrifield
46 acres are parks and preserves, 2.2 per 1,000 residents. 0.6 miles of mapped trail cross Merrifield, 0.2 per square mile of land. 3% of Merrifield’s land is conserved, about 43 acres.
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns · #167 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
43 acres · of 2.7 sq mi of land
Trails
0.6 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
46 ac
2.2 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
6.3 mi
2.3 mi lanes · 3.7 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Merrifield?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Merrifield have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Merrifield is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns, #167 of 253 in Virginia. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Merrifield’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical VA town 4% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · VA 0.7 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land2.2 acres of park per 1,000 residents (46 acres) · VA 8 · U.S. 13C−Parks 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 47%
LessMore
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 34%
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Armistead Park
Managed by Fairfax County Park Authority
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Hideaway Park
Managed by Fairfax County Park Authority
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Villa Lee Park
Managed by Fairfax County Park Authority
5 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 7 parks & preserves
Villa Lee Park5 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Fairfax County Park Authority
Merrifield Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Fairfax County Park Authority
DirectionsTowers Park16 acres · Fairfax County Park Authority
DirectionsArmistead Park10 acres · Fairfax County Park Authority
DirectionsHideaway Park6 acres · Fairfax County Park Authority
Briarwood Park4 acres · Fairfax County Park Authority
DirectionsMerrilee Park1 acres · Fairfax County Park Authority
Who protects it
43 conserved acres
3% of Merrifield’s land. Who manages Merrifield’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County42 ac
Not recorded30 ac
Local Park · 72 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Towers City Park Local Park | Not recorded | 33 | Open |
| Armistead Park Local Park | County | 21 | Open |
| Hideaway Park Local Park | County | 6 | Open |
| Villa Lee Park Local Park | County | 5 | Open |
| Briarwood Local Park | County | 4 | Open |
| Merrilee Local Park | County | 1 | Open |
| Hartland Green Park Local Park | County | 1 | Open |
Things to do
21 places to go in Merrifield
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Merrifield
19 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Merrifield
Mosaic Dog Park
DirectionsPicnic areas in Merrifield
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Biking & sports
6.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.3 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
3.7 mi
off-road bike paths
0.3 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
7Tennis
7Basketball
1Baseball
1Soccer
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Merrifield: 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 | 46 | 55 | 67 | 75 | 83 | 87 | 86 | 79 | 68 | 57 | 47 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.6 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 3.1 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Merrifield →
Next door
Merrifield and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Oakton18 miFairfax8.4 miWest Falls Church7.7 miIdylwood3.2 miWoodburn2.5 miMantua2.2 miMerrifield0.6 miDunn Loring0.5 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merrifield | 3% | 0.2 | 2 | 99% | B− |
| Oakton | 10% | 1.9 | 17 | 97% | A |
| Dunn Loring | 4% | 0.2 | 7 | 99%+ | B |
| Idylwood | 6% | 1.1 | 7 | 99%+ | A− |
| Woodburn | 16% | 0.9 | 30 | 94% | A |
| Mantua | 12% | 0.9 | 22 | 75% | A− |
| West Falls Church | 6% | 1.5 | 6 | 99%+ | A− |
| Fairfax | 5% | 1.3 | 10 | 99%+ | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Merrifield
Where can I hike in Merrifield?
The longest trail networks: Villa Lee Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Merrifield is conserved land?
3% 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 Merrifield’s trails?
Towers Park and Armistead Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Merrifield?
6.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.3 of painted or protected lanes, 3.7 of off-road paths and 0.3 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Merrifield?
23,507 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Merrifield or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 46 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Merrifield have?
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #167 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 Merrifield 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 →