Shannondale Springs Wildlife Management Area
Nature preserve
1,271 acres13.2 mi of trail
Foot Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Shannondale
35% of Shannondale’s land is conserved: 1,866 acres
1,375 acres are parks and preserves, 397 per 1,000 residents. 18 miles of mapped trail cross Shannondale, 2.1 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Shannondale Springs Wildlife Management Area (13.2 mi), Appalachian National Scenic Trail (0.9 mi).
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns · #3 of 61 in West Virginia. What drives it
Conserved land
35%
1,866 acres · of 8.4 sq mi of land
Trails
18 mi
2.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,375 ac
397 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
37%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
1 beach · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Shannondale?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Shannondale have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Shannondale is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #3 of 61 in West Virginia. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Shannondale’s overall grade.
Conserved land35% of the land · typical WV town 2% · U.S. 4%A+Trails2.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (18 mi) · WV 0.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land397 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,375 acres) · WV 10 · U.S. 13AParks close to home37% 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 92%
LessMore
West Virginia towns of 2,500+ (61)Ahead of 97%
Few West Virginia towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Shannondale’s 35% is ahead of 100% of West Virginia towns, while its trails per square mile lead 93% 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 Shannondale Springs WMA, with 13.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Appalachian National Scenic Trail
Managed by National Park Service
124 acres0.9 mi of trail
Appalachian Trail
Dogs usually limited
Directionsto the trailhead
Who protects it
1,866 conserved acres
35% of Shannondale’s land. Who manages Shannondale’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources1,364 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits475 ac
National Park Service264 ac
U.S. Forest Service12 ac
County3 ac
Not recorded3 ac
State Conservation Area · 1,364 acConservation Easement · 260 acNational Scenic or Historic Trail · 254 acOther Easement · 238 acLocal Park · 7 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 245 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 10 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shannondale Springs Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 1,364 | Open |
| Appalachian National Scenic Trail National Scenic or Historic Trail | National Park Service | 254 | Open |
| Mount Mission Park Local Park | County | 7 | Open |
Things to do
7 places to go in Shannondale
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Shannondale
Shenandoah Lake Beach
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Shannondale
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Shannondale
2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Shannondale
WeatherTop Knob & OverlookIn Appalachian National Scenic Trail
DirectionsPlus 2 scenic views without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 8.1 mi
Appalachian Trail1.8 mi
Foot Trail1.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Shannondale: 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) | 42 | 45 | 54 | 66 | 74 | 83 | 87 | 85 | 78 | 67 | 55 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 2.8 | 2.4 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 4.2 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 3.2 |
February is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.3 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Shannondale →
Questions about parks and trails in Shannondale
Where can I hike in Shannondale?
The longest trail networks: Shannondale Springs Wildlife Management Area, 13.2 miles; Appalachian National Scenic Trail, 0.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Shannondale is conserved land?
35% 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 Shannondale’s trails?
Shannondale Springs Wildlife Management Area and Appalachian National Scenic Trail don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Shannondale?
9,171 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Shannondale or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,649 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Shannondale have?
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #3 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 Shannondale 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 →