New River Gorge National Park
Managed by National Park Service
734 acres1.4 mi of trail
Park LoopFayetteville Trail
Dogs usually limited
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
New River Gorge Bridge · Photo: JaGa · CC BY-SA 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Fayetteville
17% of Fayetteville’s land is conserved: 618 acres
4.6 miles of mapped trail cross Fayetteville, 0.8 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: New River Gorge National Park (1.4 mi). 23 acres are parks and preserves, 8.1 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 66% of U.S. towns · #19 of 61 in West Virginia. What drives it
Conserved land
17%
618 acres · of 5.8 sq mi of land
Trails
4.6 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
23 ac
8.1 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
49%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Fayetteville?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Fayetteville have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Fayetteville is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns, #19 of 61 in West Virginia. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Fayetteville’s overall grade.
Conserved land17% of the land · typical WV town 2% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · WV 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land8.1 acres of park per 1,000 residents (23 acres) · WV 10 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home49% 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
West Virginia towns of 2,500+ (61)Ahead of 70%
Few West Virginia towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Fayetteville’s 17% is ahead of 97% of West Virginia towns, while its trails per square mile lead 75% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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 New River Gorge National Park, with 1.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
New River Gorge National Park and Preserve
Managed by National Park Service
741 acres
Dogs usually limited
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Fayetteville Town Park
Managed by Fayeteville Parks and Recreation
11 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
All 6 parks & preserves
New River Gorge National Park734 acres · 1.4 mi of trail · National Park Service
DirectionsFayetteville Town Park11 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Fayeteville Parks and Recreation
DirectionsNew River Gorge National Park and Preserve741 acres · National Park Service
Hawks Nest State Park8 acres
New River Gorge National Preserve7 acres · National Park Service
DirectionsJanutola Park1 acres · City of Fayetteville
Who protects it
618 conserved acres
17% of Fayetteville’s land. Who manages Fayetteville’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
National Park Service562 ac
Private owners37 ac
Town or city12 ac
State natural resources9 ac
Not recorded11 ac
Conservation Area · 562 acPrivate Conservation · 37 acLocal Park · 12 acLocal Recreation Area · 11 acState Park · 9 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| New River Gorge National Park and Preserve Conservation Area | National Park Service | 562 | Open |
| Private Land Owner 1 Private Conservation | Private owners | 37 | Closed |
| Fayetteville Town Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| Hawks Nest State Park State Park | State natural resources | 9 | Open |
| Janutola Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Fayetteville
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Fayetteville
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Fayetteville
Fayette River AccessHours: Mon–Sun 6 am – 6 pm · In New River Gorge National Park
DirectionsCampgrounds in Fayetteville
The Outpost New River GorgeFee · Ross Cherry
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Park Loop0.3 mi
Workman's Hollow Trail0.2 mi
Fayetteville Trail0.1 mi
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
3Tennis
3Baseball
2Basketball
1Volleyball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →8 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Fayette County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1978
About itAltamont HotelBuilding · listed 1979
About itE. B. Hawkins HouseDistrict · listed 1990
About itKay MoorDistrict · listed 1990
About itFayetteville Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1990
About itNew River Gorge BridgeStructure · listed 2013
About itSoldiers and Sailors Memorial BuildingBuilding · listed 2016
About itFayetteville Esso StationBuilding · listed 2018
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Fayetteville: 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) | 41 | 45 | 54 | 66 | 74 | 79 | 82 | 82 | 76 | 66 | 55 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.1 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 5.1 | 4.9 | 5.5 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.7 |
October is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 5.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Fayetteville →
Next door
Fayetteville and its neighbors
Fayetteville 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fayetteville | 17% | 0.8 | 8 | 49% | B+ |
| Oak Hill | 10% | 1.2 | 44 | 78% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Fayetteville
Where can I hike in Fayetteville?
The longest trail networks: New River Gorge National Park, 1.4 miles; Fayetteville Town Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Fayetteville is conserved land?
17% 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 Fayetteville’s trails?
New River Gorge National Park and New River Gorge National Park and Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Fayetteville?
39,939 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Fayetteville or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 592 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Fayetteville have?
Ahead of 66% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #19 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 Fayetteville 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 →