McDonough Wildlife Refuge
Nature preserve
262 acres5.6 mi of trail
Main Trail LoopZig-Zag TrailMarsh Run TrailBuckeye Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Snoopywv · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Vienna
Vienna has 6.2 miles of mapped trails, 1.6 for every square mile of land
16% of Vienna’s land is conserved, about 407 acres. 417 acres are parks and preserves, 40 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: McDonough Wildlife Refuge (5.6 mi), Jackson Memorial Park (0.5 mi).
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns · #5 of 61 in West Virginia. What drives it
Conserved land
16%
407 acres · of 4.0 sq mi of land
Trails
6.2 mi
1.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
417 ac
40 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
79%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Vienna?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Vienna have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Vienna is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #5 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 Vienna’s overall grade.
Conserved land16% of the land · typical WV town 2% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · WV 0.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land40 acres of park per 1,000 residents (417 acres) · WV 10 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home79% 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 92%
LessMore
West Virginia towns of 2,500+ (61)Ahead of 93%
Few West Virginia towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Vienna’s 16% is ahead of 95% of West Virginia towns, while its trails per square mile lead 90% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 McDonough Wildlife Refuge, with 5.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Jackson Memorial Park
Managed by Vienna Parks and Recreation
138 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Spencer's Landing
Managed by City of Vienna
13 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 5 parks & preserves
McDonough Wildlife Refuge262 acres · 5.6 mi of trail
DirectionsJackson Memorial Park138 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Vienna Parks and Recreation
DirectionsSpencer's Landing13 acres · City of Vienna
Directions12th Street Park5 acres · City of Vienna
DirectionsSpencer Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
407 conserved acres
16% of Vienna’s land. Who manages Vienna’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city407 ac
Not recorded391 ac
Local Park · 798 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| McDonough Wildlife Refuge Local Park | Not recorded | 524 | Open |
| Jackson Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 256 | Open |
| Spencer's Landing Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Maplewood Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Spencers Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Vienna
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Vienna
Spencer Park PlaygroundIn Spencer Park
DirectionsPlus 2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Vienna
McDonough Shelter AIn McDonough Wildlife Refuge
DirectionsMcDonough Shelter BIn McDonough Wildlife Refuge
DirectionsTrails & water
6 named trails
Named trails
Main Trail Loop1.9 mi
Zig-Zag Trail1.3 mi
Marsh Run Trail0.6 mi
Buckeye Trail0.4 mi
White-tail Trail0.3 mi
Piney Point Trail0.1 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
6Tennis
6Baseball
4Soccer
3Basketball
1Pickleball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Vienna: 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 | 54 | 67 | 75 | 82 | 85 | 85 | 79 | 67 | 55 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.2 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 3.5 |
November is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Vienna →
Next door
Vienna and its neighbors
Vienna has the most mapped trails of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vienna | 16% | 1.6 | 40 | 79% | A |
| Parkersburg | 4% | 0.2 | 9 | 54% | C+ |
| North Hills | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Vienna
Where can I hike in Vienna?
The longest trail networks: McDonough Wildlife Refuge, 5.6 miles; Jackson Memorial Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Vienna is conserved land?
16% 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 Vienna’s trails?
McDonough Wildlife Refuge and Jackson Memorial Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Vienna?
1,984 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Vienna or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 417 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Vienna have?
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #5 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 Vienna 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 →