Outdoors · Chesapeake
Share Chesapeake, VA parks, trails & bike paths
About 35% of Chesapeake is conserved land, roughly 78,585 acres. There are about 145 miles of mapped trails, and the biggest networks are in Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (28.9 mi), Northwest River Park (10.6 mi), and Oak Grove Lake Park (2.7 mi).
Conserved land, trails, parks and bike routes in Chesapeake, measured from OpenStreetMap and USGS data.
At a glance
Share Chesapeake outdoors
Conserved land
35%
78,585 of 223,583 acres
Trails
145 mi
0.4 mi per sq mi · 66 on conserved land
Parks & preserves
70
311 conserved acres per 1,000 residents
Bike routes
39.0 mi
3.3 mi lanes · 34.8 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
🏊 Unnamed public pool 🛝 Bounce House 🛝 Centerville Baptist Playground 🛝 Great Bridge Primary School Playground 🛝 Indian River Community Center Play Area 🛝 Northwest River Park Playground 🛝 Oak Grove Lake Park 🛝 Unnamed playground 🛝 Unnamed playground 🛝 Unnamed playground 🛝 Unnamed playground in Northwest River Park 🛝 Unnamed playground in Northwest River Park 🛝 Unnamed playground in Northwest River Park 🛝 Unnamed playground in Cornland Park 🛝 Unnamed playground in Long Ridge Park 🛝 Unnamed playground in Cheshire Forest Park 🛝 Unnamed playground in Stonegate Park 🛝 Unnamed playground 🛝 Unnamed playground 🛝 Unnamed playground 🛝 Unnamed playground 🛝 Unnamed playground in Etheridge Lakes Park 🛝 Unnamed playground 🛝 Unnamed playground 🛝 Unnamed playground 🛝 Unnamed playground in Old Mill Park 🛝 Unnamed playground 🛝 Unnamed playground 🛝 Unnamed playground 🛝 Unnamed playground in Deep Creek Park 🛝 Unnamed playground in Sawyer's Mill Park 🛝 Unnamed playground in Deep Creek Park 🛝 Unnamed playground in Deep Creek Lock Park 🛝 Unnamed playground in Marsh Creek Park 🛝 Unnamed playground 🛝 Unnamed playground in Creekwood South Park 🛝 Unnamed playground 🛝 Unnamed playground 🛝 Unnamed playground 🛝 Unnamed playground 🛝 Unnamed playground 🛝 Unnamed playground 🛝 Unnamed playground 🛝 Unnamed playground in Cedar Crossing Park 🛝 Unnamed playground 🛝 Unnamed playground in Kevin Houston Park at Cedarwood 🛝 Unnamed playground 🛝 Unnamed playground 🛝 Unnamed playground 🛝 Unnamed playground 🛝 Unnamed playground in Bells Mill Park 🐕 Western Branch Park - Dog Park 🐕 Unnamed dog park in Deep Creek Park 🐕 Unnamed dog park in Chesapeake City Park 🛶 Indian Creek Launch 🛶 Unnamed boat launch in Ballahack Boat Ramp 🛶 Unnamed boat launch 🛶 Unnamed boat launch 🛶 Unnamed boat launch 🛶 Unnamed boat launch in Great Bridge Lock Park 🛶 Unnamed boat launch in Great Bridge Lock Park 🛶 Unnamed boat launch 🔭 Otter Point Overlook 🔭 Unnamed scenic view in Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge 🔭 Unnamed scenic view 🔭 Unnamed scenic view 🔭 Unnamed scenic view 🧺 Picnic Shelter #1 🧺 Picnic Shelter #3 🧺 Unnamed picnic area in Old Mill Park 🧺 Unnamed picnic area 🧺 Unnamed picnic area in Deep Creek Lock Park 🧺 Unnamed picnic area in Deep Creek Lock Park 🧺 Unnamed picnic area in Deep Creek Lock Park 🧺 Unnamed picnic area in Bells Mill Park 🧺 Unnamed picnic area 🧺 Unnamed picnic area in Dunedin Park 🏕️ Camp Baker Boy Scout Camp 🏕️ Camp Moonya Scout Camp 🏕️ Chesapeake Campground 🏕️ Lake Drummond Reservation Primitive 🏕️ Northwest River Park Campground 🥏 Unnamed disc golf course in Northwest River Park 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Show all of Chesapeake
Places to walk
Parks & preserves with trails
Ranked by mapped trail miles. Directions go to the nearest marked trailhead or public parking.
1 Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
50,334 acres28.9 mi of trail
East Ditch Trail Camp Ditch Trail Jericho Ditch Trail
🐕 Dog rules not recorded
2 Northwest River Park Managed by City of Chesapeake
759 acres10.6 mi of trail
Indian Creek Trail Molly Mitchell Trail Shuttle Trail Fresian Horse Trail Deer Island Trail
🐕 Dog rules not recorded
167 acres2.7 mi of trail
🐕 Dog rules not recorded
137 acres2.6 mi of trail
🐕 Dog rules not recorded
5 Chesapeake Arboretum Nature preserve
45 acres2.5 mi of trail
Central Loop South Loop North Loop Stewartia Trail Unmarked Trail
🐕 Dog rules not recorded
Directions To Chesapeake Arboretum Parking
Show on map
6 Chesapeake City Park Managed by City of Chesapeake
83 acres2.1 mi of trail
🐕 Dogs on leashMapped in OpenStreetMap
89 acres1.8 mi of trail
🐕 Dog rules not recorded
13 acres0.8 mi of trail
🐕 Dog rules not recorded
All 70 parks & preserves
Showing 1–10 of 70 parks & preserves
🌲 Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge 50,334 acres · 28.9 mi of trail · United States Fish and Wildlife Service
🌲 Northwest River Park 759 acres · 10.6 mi of trail · City of Chesapeake
🌳 Oak Grove Lake Park 167 acres · 2.7 mi of trail
🌳 Bells Mill Park 137 acres · 2.6 mi of trail
🌲 Chesapeake Arboretum 45 acres · 2.5 mi of trail
🌳 Chesapeake City Park 83 acres · 2.1 mi of trail · City of Chesapeake
🌳 Western Branch Park 89 acres · 1.8 mi of trail
🌳 Elizabeth River Park 13 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
🌳 Great Bridge Battlefield & Waterways Historic Park 8 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
🌳 Deep Creek Lock Park 24 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
Things to do
Beaches, playgrounds, falls & more
Pick a kind of place for the list, directions, or pins on the map above.
Playgrounds in Chesapeake Show all on map
Showing 1–10 of 50 playgrounds
🛝 Centerville Baptist Playground
🛝 Great Bridge Primary School Playground
🛝 Indian River Community Center Play Area
🛝 Northwest River Park Playground Hours: Mo-Su,PH 09:00 - (sunset- 00:30) · In Northwest River Park
🛝 Oak Grove Lake Park In Oak Grove Lake Park
🛝 Unnamed playground in Northwest River Park
74 more unnamed playgrounds are mapped in Chesapeake.
Trails
Named trails
Open to bikes 30.3 mi Horses 3.0 mi Unpaved 45.2 mi
Showing 1–10 of 25 trails
East Ditch Trail 4.9 mi Camp Ditch Trail 2.0 mi Indian Creek Trail 1.9 mi Molly Mitchell Trail 1.2 mi Shuttle Trail 1.1 mi Fresian Horse Trail 1.1 mi Central Loop 1.0 mi Deer Island Trail 0.8 mi Otter Point Trail 0.7 mi boundary path 0.7 mi Water
Lakes & rivers
Showing 1–10 of 28 places
Tap a name for directions.
Who protects the land
78,585 conserved acres
Who manages it, from PAD-US. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
101,852 ac Land trusts & nonprofits
12,665 ac State fish & wildlife
4,505 ac Other or Unknown Federal Land
3,685 ac State conservation
2,784 ac Other or Unknown Local Government
1,487 ac Conserved doesn't always mean open to visitors. 3,223 acres are conservation easements, which are usually private land. Public access isn't recorded for 4 of 286 parcels. The places listed above are parks and preserves people visit.
Biking & sports
Bike routes, courts & fields
Painted or protected bike lanes 3.3 mi Off-road bike paths 34.8 mi Shoulders & shared lanes 0.9 mi
Courts & fields Baseball 103 Tennis 90 Soccer 34 Basketball 22 Football 19 Multi-sport 11 Tracks 8 Counts include school and college facilities, which aren't always open to the public.
Public lands
The biggest protected places in Chesapeake
From USGS PAD-US: who manages each one and whether visitors are welcome.
National Wildlife Refuge 101,852 ac State Conservation Area 9,751 ac Local Park 9,031 ac Conservation Easement 8,215 ac Private Conservation 7,611 ac
Showing 1–10 of 15 places
Place Managed by Acres Public access
Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 101,852 Restricted Cavalier Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area State fish & wildlife 5,255 Open Northwest River State Natural Area Preserve State Conservation Area State conservation 4,494 Restricted North Landing River Private Conservation Land trusts & nonprofits 3,944 Closed Northwest River Private Conservation Land trusts & nonprofits 3,587 Closed US Government NW Radio Station Federal Other or Unknown Other or Unknown Federal Land 2,795 Open Northwest River Park Local Park Not recorded 1,513 Open Chesapeake Fee Simple Holding Local Park Town or city 1,284 Open Chesapeake City Easement Local Other or Unknown Not recorded 1,232 Restricted Stumpy Lake Natural Area Local Park Not recorded 757 Open
History
Historic places to visit
Showing 1–10 of 22 places
🏛️ 9/11 Memorial In Chesapeake City Park · Monument
🏛️ Anne E. McKim Memorial Garden Memorial
🏛️ Marian P Whitehurst Memorial In Northwest River Park · Memorial
🏛️ Pauline "Polly" Hoag Dedication In Chesapeake Arboretum · Memorial
🏛️ South Norfolk Historic District District
🏛️ Unknown Roadside Memoria Memorial
🪦 Berea Cemetery Memorial Gardens Cemetery
🪦 Bethel Baptist Cemetery Cemetery
🪦 Caddy Family Cemetery Cemetery
Nearby
Share Chesapeake and its neighbors
Towns whose outdoors data has been built so far.
Trail talk
Conditions & tips from neighbors
No recent posts about Chesapeake'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 72.9-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.
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