Bethlehem Community Park
Park
12 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Bethlehem
Bethlehem has 36 acres of parks, 14 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Bethlehem Community Park (0.5 mi). 83% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1% of Bethlehem’s land is conserved, about 34 acres.
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns · #29 of 61 in West Virginia. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
34 acres · of 3.6 sq mi of land
Trails
0.9 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
36 ac
14 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
83%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Bethlehem?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bethlehem have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bethlehem is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns, #29 of 61 in West Virginia. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Bethlehem’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical WV town 2% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · WV 0.3 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land14 acres of park per 1,000 residents (36 acres) · WV 10 · U.S. 13BParks close to home83% of residents within a half mile of a park · WV 71% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 50%
LessMore
West Virginia towns of 2,500+ (61)Ahead of 53%
Few West Virginia towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Bethlehem’s 1% is ahead of 40% of West Virginia towns, while its trails per square mile lead 40% of them.
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 Bethlehem Community Park, with 0.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
34 conserved acres
1% of Bethlehem’s land. Who manages Bethlehem’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city32 ac
County4 ac
Not recorded33 ac
Local Park · 69 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bethlehem Community Park Local Park | Not recorded | 56 | Open |
| Bethlehem Ballpark Local Park | County | 9 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| JB Chambers Youth Community Park Local Park | Not recorded | 1 | Open |
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
2Baseball
1Softball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Bethlehem: 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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.0 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 38 | 41 | 51 | 64 | 73 | 81 | 84 | 83 | 77 | 65 | 53 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 2.7 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 3.2 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Bethlehem →
Next door
Bethlehem and its neighbors
Bethlehem 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethlehem | 1% | 0.3 | 14 | 83% | B− |
| Wheeling | 5% | 0.2 | 18 | 82% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Bethlehem
Where can I hike in Bethlehem?
The longest trail networks: Bethlehem Community Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bethlehem is conserved land?
1% 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 Bethlehem’s trails?
Bethlehem Community Park and BOPP Playground don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Bethlehem?
3,266 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bethlehem or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 36 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Bethlehem have?
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #29 of 61 in West 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 Bethlehem 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 →