George Washington National Forest
Managed by United States Forest Service
5,367 acres15.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Ben Schumin · CC BY-SA 2.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Stuarts Draft
Stuarts Draft has 28 miles of mapped trails, 1.0 for every square mile of land
11% of Stuarts Draft’s land is conserved, about 1,964 acres. The biggest trail networks: George Washington National Forest (15.3 mi). 13% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 51% of U.S. towns · #156 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it
Conserved land
11%
1,964 acres · of 29.3 sq mi of land
Trails
28 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
66 ac
5.6 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
13%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,745 ft
Round Hill
What kind of outdoors town is Stuarts Draft?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Stuarts Draft have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Stuarts Draft is ahead of 51% of U.S. towns, #156 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 Stuarts Draft’s overall grade.
Conserved land11% of the land · typical VA town 4% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (28 mi) · VA 0.7 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land5.6 acres of park per 1,000 residents (66 acres) · VA 8 · U.S. 13CParks close to home13% 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 51%
LessMore
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 38%
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 George Washington National Forest, with 15.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Schneider Community Park
Park
13 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
1,964 conserved acres
11% of Stuarts Draft’s land. Who manages Stuarts Draft’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service1,555 ac
State conservation218 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits162 ac
Joint64 ac
County28 ac
Regional Water Districts10 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)5 ac
National Forest · 1,555 acState Conservation Area · 455 acPrivate Conservation · 99 acOther Easement · 74 acConservation Easement · 69 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 65 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| George Washington National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 1,555 | Open |
| Lyndhurst Ponds State Natural Area Preserve State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 154 | Restricted |
| Lyndhurst Ponds State Conservation Area | State conservation | 154 | Restricted |
| Cowbane Prairie State Natural Area Preserve State Conservation Area | State conservation | 147 | Restricted |
| VCLF Holding Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 84 | Closed |
| South River Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 15 | Restricted |
| Stuarts Draft Park Local Park | County | 13 | Open |
| Schneider Community Park Local Park | County | 11 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | County | 4 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Stuarts Draft
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Stuarts Draft
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Stuarts Draft
Round Hill1,745 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Stuarts Draft
Sun Retreats Shenandoah ValleyIn George Washington National Forest · Sun Outdoors
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Morningview Court0.2 mi
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
9Baseball
8Tennis
2Soccer
1Golf
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Stuarts Draft: 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) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.1 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 44 | 48 | 56 | 67 | 74 | 81 | 85 | 83 | 77 | 67 | 56 | 47 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.2 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 3.1 | 3.0 | 3.2 |
February is the driest month (2.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.5 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Stuarts Draft →
Next door
Stuarts Draft and its neighbors
Stuarts Draft has the most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Stuarts Draft
Where can I hike in Stuarts Draft?
The longest trail networks: George Washington National Forest, 15.3 miles; Schneider Community Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Stuarts Draft is conserved land?
11% 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 Stuarts Draft’s trails?
George Washington National Forest and Schneider Community Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Stuarts Draft?
29,184 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Stuarts Draft or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,633 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Stuarts Draft have?
Ahead of 51% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #156 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 Stuarts Draft 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 →