Hawks Nest State Park
Park
28 acres0.3 mi of trail
G.S.Y.P. Canyon Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: Ken Thomas · Public domainB+Outdoors
Outdoors in Ansted
Ansted has 31 acres of parks, 27 for every 1,000 residents
1.7 miles of mapped trail cross Ansted, 1.0 per square mile of land. 52% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3% of Ansted’s land is conserved, about 31 acres.
Ahead of 66% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
31 acres · of 1.7 sq mi of land
Trails
1.7 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
31 ac
27 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
52%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Ansted?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ansted have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ansted is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ansted’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical WV town 2% · U.S. 4%B−Trails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · WV 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land27 acres of park per 1,000 residents (31 acres) · WV 10 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home52% of residents within a half mile of a park · WV 71% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 66%
LessMore
Few West Virginia towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Ansted’s 3% is ahead of 56% of West Virginia towns, while its trails per square mile lead 80% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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 Hawks Nest State Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Ansted Town Park
Managed by Town of Ansted
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
31 conserved acres
3% of Ansted’s land. Who manages Ansted’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources28 ac
Town or city3 ac
Not recorded3 ac
State Park · 28 acLocal Park · 3 acLocal Recreation Area · 3 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hawks Nest State Park State Park | State natural resources | 28 | Open |
| Ansted Town Park Local Park | Not recorded | 5 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Ansted
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Ansted
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Picnic areas in Ansted
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 named trails
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.1 mi
Hawks Nest Road;County Route 60/21.1 mi
Hawk's Nest Rail Trail0.2 mi
G.S.Y.P. Canyon Trail0.1 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
1Tennis
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 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 Ansted: 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 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 42 | 46 | 55 | 67 | 74 | 80 | 83 | 82 | 77 | 67 | 55 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.1 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 5.1 | 4.9 | 5.5 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.7 |
November is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Ansted →
Questions about parks and trails in Ansted
Where can I hike in Ansted?
The longest trail networks: Hawks Nest State Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ansted is conserved land?
3% of its land, against a typical 2% for a West Virginia town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Ansted’s trails?
Hawks Nest State Park and Ansted Town Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Ansted?
12,924 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ansted or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 31 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Ansted have?
Ahead of 66% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Ansted 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 →