Alvord Park
Park
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Albert S. Heck Mansion · Photo: Coal town guy · CC BY-SA 4.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Spencer
Spencer has 7 acres of parks, 2.9 for every 1,000 residents
80% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.1 miles of mapped trail cross Spencer, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 25% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
6 acres · of 1.2 sq mi of land
Trails
0.1 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
7 ac
2.9 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
80%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
879 ft
College Hill
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Spencer?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Spencer have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Spencer is ahead of 25% of U.S. towns. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Spencer’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical WV town 2% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · WV 0.3 · U.S. 0.4CPark land2.9 acres of park per 1,000 residents (7 acres) · WV 10 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home80% 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 25%
LessMore
Few West Virginia towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Spencer’s 1% is ahead of 31% of West Virginia towns, while its trails per square mile lead 13% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. 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.
Washington Park
Park
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
6 conserved acres
1% of Spencer’s land. Who manages Spencer’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County3 ac
Town or city3 ac
Not recorded3 ac
Local Park · 6 acLocal Recreation Area · 3 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alford Park Local Park | Not recorded | 3 | Open |
| Washington Park Local Park | Not recorded | 3 | Open |
| Coinstar Ballpark Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 3 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Spencer
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in Spencer
College Hill879 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Ben's Run 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
2Tennis
2Baseball
1Pickleball
1Basketball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Albert S. Heck MansionBuilding · listed 1999
About itChrystal Water and Power Company-Spencer Water and Ice CompanyBuilding · listed 2007
About itSpencer Presbyterian ChurchBuilding · listed 2016
About itHonorable Joseph Marcellus McWhorter HouseBuilding · listed 2020
About itSpencer Commercial Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2025
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Spencer: 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 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 42 | 46 | 55 | 68 | 75 | 82 | 85 | 84 | 79 | 68 | 56 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.2 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 5.1 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.7 |
November is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 5.1 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Spencer →
Questions about parks and trails in Spencer
How much of Spencer is conserved land?
1% 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 Spencer’s trails?
Alvord Park and Washington Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Spencer?
4,057 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Spencer or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 7 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Spencer have?
Ahead of 25% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Spencer 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 →