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VAVirginia rankings

Towns with the most conserved land in Virginia

Ranked by the share of the town's area that is permanently protected: town forests, state and federal land, land-trust preserves and conservation easements (USGS PAD-US). 18 towns with 2,500+ residents.

U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024 5-year

Manassas Park 1 Manassas Park 17.4% Conserved acres 335 Roanoke 2 Roanoke 7.6% Conserved acres 2,067 Pimmit Hills 3 Pimmit Hills 6.5% Conserved acres 61
#TownConserved landConserved acresTrails
1 Manassas Park Manassas Park16,798 people 17.4% 335 3.8 mi
2 Roanoke Roanoke98,355 people 7.6% 2,067 53.6 mi
3 Pimmit Hills Pimmit Hills6,589 people 6.5% 61 1.9 mi
4 North Springfield North Springfield7,050 people 6.2% 61 1.2 mi
5 Bensley Bensley5,949 people 5.6% 103 0.4 mi
6 Bristol Bristol16,849 people 5.5% 457 20.2 mi
7 Altavista Altavista3,342 people 5.5% 188 6.5 mi
8 Map of Bailey's Crossroads Bailey's Crossroads24,271 people 5% 65 1.4 mi
9 George Mason George Mason9,937 people 4.3% 70 6.6 mi
10 Purcellville Purcellville8,973 people 4.3% 93 1.4 mi
11 Independent Hill Independent Hill10,853 people 3.8% 218 6.7 mi
12 Big Stone Gap Big Stone Gap5,162 people 3.6% 113 2.5 mi
13 New Baltimore New Baltimore11,919 people 2.8% 221 3.8 mi
14 Harrisonburg Harrisonburg51,392 people 2.5% 276 29.1 mi
15 Lake Barcroft Lake Barcroft10,973 people 1.5% 26 0.6 mi
16 Abingdon Abingdon8,330 people 1% 50 4.6 mi
17 Map of Montclair Montclair22,387 people 0.7% 28 4.0 mi
18 Shawneeland2,754 people 0.4% 18 2.5 mi

How this ranking works

We rank every town by the share of the town's area that is permanently protected: town forests, state and federal land, land-trust preserves and conservation easements (USGS PAD-US). Easements protect land from development but are often private, so not all of it is open to visitors. The town with the highest figure ranks #1.

Only towns with at least 2,500 residents are ranked; Census estimates for smaller places are too uncertain. Population and income: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Trails, streets and parks: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Conserved land: USGS PAD-US. Measured within each town's Census boundary. Town photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited on each town’s page.

Same ranking in other states

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