Pohick Creek Stream Valley Park
Nature preserve
109 acres4.2 mi of trail
Green TrailNice Downhill TrailYellow TrailBlue Trail Rooty+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
A+Outdoors
Outdoors in West Springfield
16% of West Springfield’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 10 miles of mapped trail cross West Springfield, 2.1 per square mile of land. 16% of West Springfield’s land is conserved, about 505 acres.
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns · #13 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it
Conserved land
16%
505 acres · of 4.8 sq mi of land
Trails
10 mi
2.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
512 ac
23 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
6.5 mi
0.9 mi lanes · 5.6 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is West Springfield?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does West Springfield have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, West Springfield is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns, #13 of 253 in Virginia. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of West Springfield’s overall grade.
Conserved land16% of the land · typical VA town 4% · U.S. 4%ATrails2.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (10 mi) · VA 0.7 · U.S. 0.4APark land23 acres of park per 1,000 residents (512 acres) · VA 8 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · VA 76% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 97%
LessMore
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 95%
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 Pohick Creek Stream Valley Park, with 4.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hunter Village Park
Managed by Fairfax County Park Authority
19 acres1.1 mi of trail
PipeLineTrail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Hidden Pond Park
Managed by Fairfax County Park Authority
25 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Pohick Stream Valley Park
Managed by Fairfax County Park Authority
37 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Carrleigh Parkway Park
Managed by Fairfax County Park Authority
10 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Accotink Stream Valley Park
Managed by Fairfax County Park Authority
242 acres0.4 mi of trail
Park Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
West Springfield Park
Managed by Fairfax County Park Authority
8 acres0.3 mi of trail
Park Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 11 parks & preserves
Pohick Creek Stream Valley Park109 acres · 4.2 mi of trail
DirectionsHunter Village Park19 acres · 1.1 mi of trail · Fairfax County Park Authority
DirectionsHidden Pond Park25 acres · 0.8 mi of trail · Fairfax County Park Authority
DirectionsPohick Stream Valley Park37 acres · 0.6 mi of trail · Fairfax County Park Authority
DirectionsCarrleigh Parkway Park10 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Fairfax County Park Authority
Accotink Stream Valley Park242 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Fairfax County Park Authority
DirectionsWest Springfield Park8 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Fairfax County Park Authority
Cardinal Forest Park15 acres · Fairfax County Park Authority
DirectionsRoyal Ridge Park12 acres · Fairfax County Park Authority
DirectionsWest Springfield Village Park10 acres
DirectionsRolling Forest Park4 acres · Fairfax County Park Authority
DirectionsWho protects it
505 conserved acres
16% of West Springfield’s land. Who manages West Springfield’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County513 ac
Not recorded464 ac
Local Park · 976 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accotink Stream Valley Park Local Park | Not recorded | 485 | Open |
| Pohick Stream Valley Park Local Park | Not recorded | 307 | Open |
| Hunter Village City Park Local Park | County | 38 | Open |
| Cardinal Forest Local Park | County | 30 | Open |
| Hidden Pond Park Local Park | County | 25 | Open |
| Royal Ridge Park Local Park | Not recorded | 25 | Open |
| West Springfield Village Local Park | Not recorded | 21 | Open |
| West Springfield Local Park | County | 16 | Open |
| Fairfax Park Local Park | County | 13 | Open |
| Carrleigh Parkway Park Local Park | County | 10 | Open |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
16 places to go in West Springfield
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in West Springfield
Rolling Forest Pool
DirectionsPlus 2 public pools without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in West Springfield
Kirkwood Playground
DirectionsPark PlaygroundIn West Springfield Park
DirectionsWest Springfield Elementrary Playground
DirectionsPlus 8 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in West Springfield
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Community gardens in West Springfield
1 community garden without a name on the map.
Trails & water
11 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.6 miUnpaved · 6.2 mi
Green Trail1.2 mi
Nice Downhill Trail0.6 mi
Yellow Trail0.5 mi
PipeLineTrail0.4 mi
Blue Trail Rooty0.3 mi
Blue Trail0.2 mi
old legacy trail not used0.2 mi
Park Trail0.2 mi
Park Trail #20.1 mi
Orange Trail0.1 mi
1 more trails
Rough UnMaintained Trail
0.1 miBiking & sports
6.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.9 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
5.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
24Tennis
20Golf
12Baseball
11Basketball
1Football
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in West Springfield: April to 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) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 44 | 47 | 56 | 67 | 75 | 83 | 88 | 86 | 79 | 68 | 57 | 48 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.6 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 3.0 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 4.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in West Springfield →
Next door
West Springfield and its neighbors
West Springfield has the second most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Burke13 miWest Springfield10 miSpringfield10 miKings Park9.6 miNewington1.8 miNorth Springfield1.2 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Springfield | 16% | 2.1 | 23 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Burke | 12% | 1.5 | 15 | 98% | A |
| Springfield | 9% | 1.3 | 15 | 94% | A |
| Newington | 10% | 0.4 | 22 | 99%+ | A |
| Kings Park | 30% | 7.4 | 60 | 99%+ | A+ |
| North Springfield | 6% | 0.8 | 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 West Springfield
Where can I hike in West Springfield?
The longest trail networks: Pohick Creek Stream Valley Park, 4.2 miles; Hunter Village Park, 1.1 miles; Hidden Pond Park, 0.8 miles; Pohick Stream Valley Park, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of West Springfield is conserved land?
16% 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 West Springfield’s trails?
Pohick Creek Stream Valley Park and Hunter Village Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in West Springfield?
6.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.9 of painted or protected lanes and 5.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near West Springfield?
30,136 acres of parks and open public land lie inside West Springfield or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 512 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does West Springfield have?
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #13 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 West Springfield 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 →