1
Glencarlyn Park
Nature preserve
134 acres3.6 mi of trail
Rough Woods TrailRough TrailSteep Needs Work
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
Outdoors · Arlington
Arlington, VA parks, trails & bike paths
About 11% of Arlington is conserved land, roughly 1,902 acres. There are about 36 miles of mapped trails, and the biggest networks are in Glencarlyn Park (3.6 mi), Potomac Overlook Regional Park (2.8 mi), and Upton Hill Regional Park (1.1 mi).
Conserved land, trails, parks and bike routes in Arlington, measured from OpenStreetMap and USGS data.
At a glance
Arlington outdoors
Conserved land
11%
1,902 of 16,623 acres
Trails
36 mi
1.4 mi per sq mi · 31 on conserved land
Parks & preserves
114
8 conserved acres per 1,000 residents
Bike routes
111.8 mi
55.7 mi lanes · 44.5 mi off-road paths
Conserved land is a share of the whole town area. Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number or a place below to zoom in© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Parks & preserves with trails
Ranked by mapped trail miles. Directions go to the nearest marked trailhead or public parking.
2
Potomac Overlook Regional Park
Managed by NOVA Parks
67 acres2.8 mi of trail
Heritage LoopDonaldson Run TrailPotomac Overlook TrailBeechwood BranchBrown Creeper Connector
Dog rules not recorded
3
Upton Hill Regional Park
Managed by NOVA Parks
24 acres1.1 mi of trail
Red TrailOrange TrailYellow TrailBlue Trail
Dog rules not recorded
4
Bluemont Park
Park
55 acres0.9 mi of trail
Rough Woods Trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
5
Gulf Branch Nature Center
Nature preserve
21 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
6
Windy Run Park
Nature preserve
32 acres0.8 mi of trail
Windy Run TrailPotomac Heritage Trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
7
Donaldson Run Park
Managed by Arlington County Department of Parks and Recreation
30 acres0.8 mi of trail
Donaldson Run TrailBrown Creeper Connector
Dogs on leashMapped in OpenStreetMap
8
Lubber Run Park
Nature preserve
30 acres0.8 mi of trail
Lubber Run Trail
Dog rules not recorded
All 114 parks & preserves
Showing 1–10 of 114 parks & preserves
Glencarlyn Park134 acres · 3.6 mi of trail
Potomac Overlook Regional Park67 acres · 2.8 mi of trail · NOVA Parks
Upton Hill Regional Park24 acres · 1.1 mi of trail · NOVA Parks
Bluemont Park55 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
Gulf Branch Nature Center21 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
Windy Run Park32 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
Donaldson Run Park30 acres · 0.8 mi of trail · Arlington County Department of Parks and Recreation
Lubber Run Park30 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
Zachary Taylor Park22 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · Arlington County Department of Parks and Recreation
Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial17 acres · 0.6 mi of trail · National Park Service
Things to do
Beaches, playgrounds, falls & more
Pick a kind of place for the list, directions, or pins on the map above.
3Public pools208Playgrounds19Dog parks3Boat launches14Scenic views4Peaks15Picnic areas5Community gardens
Playgrounds in Arlington
Showing 1–10 of 50 playgrounds
Arlington Traditional School Playground
Ashlawn Elementary School Playground
Bright Horizons
Carlin Hall PlaygroundHours: sunrise-sunset · In Carlin Hall Park
Cherrydale Park PlaygroundIn Cherrydale Park
Children's Garden
Children's Rain GardenIn Powhatan Springs Park
Dominion Hills PlaygroundIn Bon Air Park
Drew Park SpraygroundIn Drew Park
Fairlington Arbor Playground
158 more unnamed playgrounds are mapped in Arlington.
Trails
Named trails
Open to bikes 8.6 miUnpaved 24.9 mi
Showing 1–10 of 21 trails
- Potomac Heritage Trail4.1 mi
- Donaldson Run Trail0.9 mi
- Gulf Branch Trail0.5 mi
- Palisades Trail0.5 mi
- Windy Run Trail0.4 mi
- Red Trail0.3 mi
- Rough Woods Trail0.3 mi
- Heritage Loop0.3 mi
- BlueMount Junction Off-Road Connector0.3 mi
- Orange Trail0.2 mi
Water
Lakes & rivers
Tap a name for directions.
Who protects the land
1,902 conserved acres
Who manages it, from PAD-US. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn't always mean open to visitors. 25 acres are conservation easements, which are usually private land. Public access isn't recorded for 7 of 191 parcels. The places listed above are parks and preserves people visit.
Biking & sports
Bike routes, courts & fields
- Painted or protected bike lanes55.7 mi
- Off-road bike paths44.5 mi
- Shoulders & shared lanes11.6 mi
Courts & fields
- Tennis159
- Basketball79
- Baseball47
- Pickleball42
- Golf42
- Soccer31
- Beach volleyball11
Counts include school and college facilities, which aren't always open to the public.
Public lands
The biggest protected places in Arlington
From USGS PAD-US: who manages each one and whether visitors are welcome.
Local Park 1,539 acNational Park 681 acSpecial Designation Area 611 acRecreation or Education Easement 47 acConservation Easement 20 ac
Showing 1–10 of 15 places
| Place | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| George Washington Memorial ParkwaySpecial Designation Area | National Park Service | 1,293 | Restricted |
| Washington and Old Dominion TrailLocal Park | Not recorded | 361 | Open |
| Glencarlyn ParkLocal Park | County | 87 | Open |
| Gulf Branch Nature CenterLocal Park | County | 85 | Open |
| Potomac Overlook Regional ParkLocal Park | County | 80 | Open |
| Barcroft ParkLocal Park | County | 63 | Open |
| Bluemont ParkLocal Park | County | 51 | Open |
| Upton Hill ParkLocal Park | Not recorded | 47 | Open |
| Bluemont Junction ParkLocal Park | Not recorded | 39 | Open |
| Long Bridge ParkLocal Park | County | 36 | Open |
History
Historic places to visit
Showing 1–10 of 94 places
101st Airborne DivisionWar memorial
11th Airborne DivisionPlaque
2nd InfantryPlaque
325th Glider RegimentPlaque
4th Infantry DivisionWar memorial
82nd AirbornePlaque
83rd InfantryPlaque
9/11 GirderMemorial
ARPANETPlaque
Abner DoubledayTomb
Nearby
Arlington and its neighbors
Towns whose outdoors data has been built so far.
| Town | Conserved | Trails | Parks & preserves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arlington | 11.4% | 36.1 mi | 114 |
| Washington | 17.4% | 117.6 mi | 237 |
| Alexandria | 10.5% | 26.1 mi | 61 |
| Bailey's Crossroads | 5% | 1.4 mi | 7 |
| McLean | 14.8% | 43.2 mi | 42 |
| Falls Church | 4.6% | 2.1 mi | 12 |
Trail talk
Conditions & tips from neighbors
No recent posts about Arlington's trails yet. Muddy, icy, a bridge out, where to park: a quick post helps the next person.
Sources: trails, parks, preserves, courts and bike lanes © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), map data as of 2026-09-28. Conserved land: USGS Gap Analysis Project, Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US). Measured against the Census town boundary.
How we measure
"Trails" are OpenStreetMap paths, bridleways, public tracks and unpaved footways, plus footways inside a park or preserve or on a named trail route. Sidewalks are left out. Areas are counted on a 24-meter grid, so overlapping parcels count once. "Conserved" includes conservation easements, which protect land from development but are usually private property. Trailheads are the nearest marked trailhead, public parking lot or information board within about 150 meters of a preserve. Dog rules come from OpenStreetMap when someone has tagged them; otherwise we show what's typical for the land manager, or say the rules aren't recorded.