Memorial Park
Managed by Little Moe's Trolls
173 acres5.6 mi of trail
WVMBA Race
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Valerius Tygart · CC BY-SA 3.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Philippi
Philippi has 7.3 miles of mapped trails, 2.6 for every square mile of land
229 acres are parks and preserves, 80 per 1,000 residents. 13% of Philippi’s land is conserved, about 226 acres. 91% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns · #1 of 61 in West Virginia. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
226 acres · of 2.8 sq mi of land
Trails
7.3 mi
2.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
229 ac
80 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
91%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Philippi?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Philippi have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Philippi is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #1 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 Philippi’s overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical WV town 2% · U.S. 4%A−Trails2.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · WV 0.3 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land80 acres of park per 1,000 residents (229 acres) · WV 10 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home91% of residents within a half mile of a park · WV 71% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 96%
LessMore
West Virginia towns of 2,500+ (61)#1 of 61
Few West Virginia towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Philippi’s 13% is ahead of 93% of West Virginia towns, while its trails per square mile lead 97% 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 Memorial Park, with 5.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Philippi Recreation Area
Managed by City of Philippi
14 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Blue and Gray Park
Managed by Barbour County Parks and Recreation
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
226 conserved acres
13% of Philippi’s land. Who manages Philippi’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners173 ac
Town or city62 ac
County3 ac
Other state land2 ac
Not recorded221 ac
Local Park · 460 acLocal Other or Unknown · 2 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Memorial Park Local Park | Private owners | 347 | Open |
| Dayton Park Local Park | Not recorded | 60 | Open |
| Philippi Recreation Area Local Park | Not recorded | 29 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Blue And Gray Park Local Other or Unknown | Other state land | 8 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Philippi
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Philippi
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Philippi
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
WVMBA Race5.6 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
4Baseball
4Tracks
3Football
2Basketball
1Soccer
1Softball
1Multi-sport
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Philippi Covered BridgeStructure · listed 1972
About itBarbour County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itPeck-Crim-Chesser HouseBuilding · listed 1984
About itPhilippi B & O Railroad StationBuilding · listed 1986
About itWhitescarver HallBuilding · listed 1990
About itPhilippi Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1990
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Philippi: 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) | 40 | 44 | 52 | 65 | 73 | 80 | 83 | 82 | 76 | 66 | 54 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.8 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.3 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 3.9 |
November is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 5.3 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Philippi →
Questions about parks and trails in Philippi
Where can I hike in Philippi?
The longest trail networks: Memorial Park, 5.6 miles; Philippi Recreation Area, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Philippi is conserved land?
13% 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 Philippi’s trails?
Memorial Park and Philippi Recreation Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Philippi?
6,015 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Philippi or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 229 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Philippi have?
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #1 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 Philippi 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 →