Willingham Knolls Park
Managed by Charles Town Parks & Recreation Commission
62 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Charles Town
Charles Town has 86 acres of parks, 12 for every 1,000 residents
78% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1.1 miles of mapped trail cross Charles Town, 0.2 per square mile of land. 2% of Charles Town’s land is conserved, about 77 acres.
Ahead of 46% of U.S. towns · #32 of 61 in West Virginia. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
77 acres · of 5.9 sq mi of land
Trails
1.1 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
86 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
78%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.2 mi
What kind of outdoors town is Charles Town?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Charles Town have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Charles Town is ahead of 46% of U.S. towns, #32 of 61 in West Virginia. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Charles Town’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical WV town 2% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · WV 0.3 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (86 acres) · WV 10 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home78% 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 46%
LessMore
West Virginia towns of 2,500+ (61)Ahead of 48%
Few West Virginia towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Charles Town’s 2% is ahead of 47% of West Virginia towns, while its trails per square mile lead 30% 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Jefferson Memorial Park
Managed by City of Charles Town
13 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Evitts Run Park
Managed by Charles Town Parks & Recreation Commission
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
77 conserved acres
2% of Charles Town’s land. Who manages Charles Town’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city77 ac
Not recorded77 ac
Local Park · 153 acLocal Recreation Area · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Willingham Knolls Park Local Park | Not recorded | 125 | Open |
| Jefferson Memorial Park Local Park | Not recorded | 22 | Open |
| Evitts Run Park Local Park | Not recorded | 6 | Open |
| Charles Town Skate Park Local Park | Not recorded | 1 | Open |
Things to do
9 places to go in Charles Town
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Charles Town
Tot Lot
DirectionsPlus 8 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Biking & sports
0.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.2 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
6Tennis
3Basketball
2Soccer
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →20 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Charles Washington HouseBuilding · listed 1973
About itRobert Worthington HouseBuilding · listed 1973
About itClaymont CourtBuilding · listed 1973
About itCedar LawnBuilding · listed 1974
About itNew Opera HouseBuilding · listed 1978
About itBlakeleyBuilding · listed 1982
About itRion HallBuilding · listed 1982
About itGibson-Todd HouseBuilding · listed 1983
About itBelvedereBuilding · listed 1984
About itJacks-Manning FarmBuilding · listed 1984
About itHillsideBuilding · listed 1985
About it8 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Charles Town: 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 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 41 | 45 | 54 | 66 | 74 | 83 | 87 | 85 | 78 | 67 | 55 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 2.8 | 2.3 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 4.2 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 3.2 |
February is the driest month (2.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.2 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Charles Town →
Next door
Charles Town and its neighbors
Charles Town has the 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Town | 2% | 0.2 | 12 | 78% | B− |
| Ranson corporation | 1% | 0.1 | 6 | 77% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Charles Town
How much of Charles Town is conserved land?
2% 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 Charles Town’s trails?
Willingham Knolls Park and Jefferson Memorial Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Charles Town?
0.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.2 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Charles Town?
8,277 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Charles Town or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 86 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Charles Town have?
Ahead of 46% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #32 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 Charles Town 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 →