New River Gorge National Preserve
Managed by National Park Service
257 acres4.4 mi of trail
Southside TrailRend Trail
Dogs usually limited
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Oak Hill
Oak Hill has 12 miles of mapped trails, 1.2 for every square mile of land
346 acres are parks and preserves, 44 per 1,000 residents. 10% of Oak Hill’s land is conserved, about 607 acres. The biggest trail networks: New River Gorge National Preserve (4.4 mi), Needleseye Park (1.2 mi).
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns · #6 of 61 in West Virginia. What drives it
Conserved land
10%
607 acres · of 9.7 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
346 ac
44 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
78%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.3 mi
0.3 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Oak Hill?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Oak Hill have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Oak Hill is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #6 of 61 in West Virginia. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Oak Hill’s overall grade.
Conserved land10% of the land · typical WV town 2% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · WV 0.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land44 acres of park per 1,000 residents (346 acres) · WV 10 · U.S. 13A−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 88%
LessMore
West Virginia towns of 2,500+ (61)Ahead of 92%
Few West Virginia towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Oak Hill’s 10% is ahead of 90% of West Virginia towns, while its trails per square mile lead 85% of them.
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 New River Gorge National Preserve, with 4.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Needleseye Park
Managed by City of Oak Hill
284 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
New River Gorge National Park and Preserve
Managed by National Park Service
257 acres
Dogs usually limited
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Collins Park
Managed by City of Oak Hill
35 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 9 parks & preserves
New River Gorge National Preserve257 acres · 4.4 mi of trail · National Park Service
Needleseye Park284 acres · 1.2 mi of trail · City of Oak Hill
Oak Hill City Park14 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · City of Oak Hill
DirectionsCollins Park35 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Oak Hill
Historic Lewis House1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsNew River Gorge National Park and Preserve257 acres · National Park Service
Russell Mathews Park7 acres · City of Oak Hill
Old Collins Middle4 acres
New River Birding & Nature Festival1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
607 conserved acres
10% of Oak Hill’s land. Who manages Oak Hill’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city340 ac
Private owners250 ac
National Park Service15 ac
Not recorded347 ac
Local Park · 659 acPrivate Conservation · 250 acLocal Recreation Area · 21 acConservation Area · 15 acUnknown · 7 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 11 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Needleseye Park Local Park | Town or city | 568 | Open |
| Private Land Owner 1 Private Conservation | Private owners | 250 | Closed |
| Collins Park Local Park | Town or city | 69 | Open |
| Oak Hill City Park Local Park | Not recorded | 29 | Open |
| New River Gorge National Park and Preserve Conservation Area | National Park Service | 15 | Open |
| Russell Mathews Park Local Park | Not recorded | 14 | Open |
| Unk1 Unknown | Not recorded | 7 | Unknown |
Things to do
5 places to go in Oak Hill
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Oak Hill
Oak Hill swim club
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Oak Hill
City Park PlaygroundIn Oak Hill City Park
DirectionsCollins Park PlaygroundIn Collins Park
DirectionsCollins Park PlaygroundIn Collins Park
DirectionsScenic views in Oak Hill
Concho OverlookIn New River Gorge National Preserve
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails
Named trails
Rend Trail1.2 mi
Southside Trail0.6 mi
Biking & sports
0.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
5Baseball
4Soccer
4Tennis
2Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
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.
When to get out
The best walking months in Oak Hill: 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 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.1 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 41 | 45 | 54 | 66 | 73 | 79 | 82 | 81 | 76 | 66 | 54 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.2 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 5.4 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.7 |
November is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 5.4 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Oak Hill →
Next door
Oak Hill and its neighbors
Oak Hill 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oak Hill | 10% | 1.2 | 44 | 78% | A |
| Fayetteville | 17% | 0.8 | 8 | 49% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Oak Hill
Where can I hike in Oak Hill?
The longest trail networks: New River Gorge National Preserve, 4.4 miles; Needleseye Park, 1.2 miles; Collins Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Oak Hill is conserved land?
10% 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 Oak Hill’s trails?
New River Gorge National Preserve and Needleseye Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Oak Hill?
0.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Oak Hill?
52,770 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Oak Hill or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 361 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Oak Hill have?
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #6 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 Oak Hill 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 →