Where to Walk In and Around Charlottesville
There are dozens of quiet and scenic places to walk in our beautiful neck of the woods and here’s just a sampling.
- Botanical Garden of the Piedmont
- Rivanna Trails Foundation
- Charlottesville City Parks
- Albemarle County Parks
- The Saunders Monticello Trail
- Montpelier Trails
- Blue Ridge Parkway
- Shenandoah National Park
- White Oak Canyon (PDF)
- Old Rag Mountain
- Blue Ridge Tunnel
- Crozet Trails Crew
- Biscuit Run State Park (PDF)
- Spy Rock Trail
- Crabtree Falls Hiking Trail
- Foxhaven Trails
- Boars Head Trails (PDF)
- Ragged Mountain Reservoir Trail System (PDF)
- Forest Lakes
- Darden Towe Park
- Virginia Blue Ridge Railway Trail / Piney River
- Guide to Community Tracks (PDF)
Our Community Tracks
Our area has over a dozen community school tracks of varying distances open to the public (non-school hours). We have measured each of these neighborhood venues and have assembled a list of them for your running enjoyment and convenience. All of the high school tracks are the traditional *4 laps* to the mile and have a rubberized surface.
* 4 laps to the mile
Our area has over a dozen community school tracks of varying distances open to the public (non-school hours). We have measured each of these neighborhood venues and have assembled a list of them for your running enjoyment and convenience. All of the high school tracks are the traditional *4 laps* to the mile and have a rubberized surface.
- Agnor-Hurt Elementary - Located off Rio Road on Berkmar Drive, this looped track is 5 laps to the mile.
- *Albemarle High School*
- Buford Middle - Located off Cherry Avenue this three-laned paved oval is 5 laps to the mile.
- Burley Middle - Located on Rose Hill Drive this is one of the newest editions to our local track circuit. It's a bit tricky as you must run 6 laps in lane three to get your full mile on this perfectly shaped hard surface oval.
- Curtis Elder Track at Charlottesville High School* - Watch this video to learn about running the mile in lanes 3 and 8.
- Greenbrier Elementary - This is truly a community track as it is comfortably nestled right in the middle of the Greenbrier neighborhood. 5 and 1/2 laps on this crushed graveled surface will give you a full mile.
- Henley/Brownsville - Located across from Western Albemarle High School on 250 West in Crozet (just one light before Old Trail), this crushed gravel path is the trickiest of all for keeping track of your mile because after 5 full laps you are 70 yards beyond the mile.
- Hollymead/Sutherland - Located off 29 North in the heart of the Hollymead neighborhood, this snake-like, winding path is another tricky circuit. One lap around this paved path is about 1500 feet, so 3 and 1/2 laps will give you a full mile.
- Jack Jouett Middle - Located off Lambs Road (off Hydraulic behind Albemarle High School) this is one of the most private feeling of all the tracks as it's tucked well behind the school. It is the only track that you access by way of a wooded path. 3 laps around this winding crushed gravel path will give you a mile.
- *Meriwether Lewis Elementary* - Located off Owensville Road in Ivy, this winding, paved track is one of the few on the local circuit that is actually 4 laps to the mile. It is also one of the only ones to feature a hill, as almost all of the other tracks are perfectly flat!
- *Monticello High School*
- Murray Elementary - Located on Morgantown Road in Ivy (off 250 West) this paved track is 5 laps to the mile.
- *Walton Middle* - Located off Route 20 South about half way between Charlottesville and Scottsville. Like a high school track. this perfectly shaped paved flat oval is 4 laps to the mile.
- *Western Albemarle High School*
* 4 laps to the mile
The Saunders Trail to Monticello
Opened in the mid-nineties, this popular public crushed gravel path gently meanders, for two scenic miles, up the base of Carter’s Mountain, past the historic Michie Tavern to the gates of Jefferson’s famous and beautiful “Monticello”. Parking is available at the base of Route 53 (take a left off Route 20 south…about a quarter of a mile from the 64 overpass and across from PVCC).
Albemarle County Parks
Once thought of as swimming, softball and soccer venues, our system of Albemarle County parks now features endless miles of scenic and peaceful soft surface footpaths. Mint Springs (west), Walnut Creek (south), Chris Greene (north), Preddy Creek (north), Humphris (northern urban ring), Totier (far south), Byrom (northwest), Towe (northeast) and the Historic River Greenway Path Park, which will ultimately take foot travelers on a ten mile riverside path from underneath Free Bridge southeast all the way to Fluvanna!
The Rivanna Trails (RTF)
Charlottesville is home to one of the nation’s best urban trails systems, an almost completely uninterrupted 20 mile loop of soft surface paths that circle the city. The fine folks at the RTF have been volunteering their time throughout the year since 1992 to create and maintain this wonderful network of trails. A detailed hard copy pamphlet map of the entire RTF path system is also available for free at Ragged Mountain. Many thanks to all of our community neighbor property owners along the path.
Camp Holiday Trails
This hilly but quiet and scenic run is the closest “dirt” road to the city limits. The road, which is currently being heavily utilized by large equipment building the new Ragged Mountain Reservoir, runs around 1.5 miles in one direction. Take Fontaine Avenue underneath the 29/250 bypass to Reservoir Road and turn right.
Opened in the mid-nineties, this popular public crushed gravel path gently meanders, for two scenic miles, up the base of Carter’s Mountain, past the historic Michie Tavern to the gates of Jefferson’s famous and beautiful “Monticello”. Parking is available at the base of Route 53 (take a left off Route 20 south…about a quarter of a mile from the 64 overpass and across from PVCC).
Albemarle County Parks
Once thought of as swimming, softball and soccer venues, our system of Albemarle County parks now features endless miles of scenic and peaceful soft surface footpaths. Mint Springs (west), Walnut Creek (south), Chris Greene (north), Preddy Creek (north), Humphris (northern urban ring), Totier (far south), Byrom (northwest), Towe (northeast) and the Historic River Greenway Path Park, which will ultimately take foot travelers on a ten mile riverside path from underneath Free Bridge southeast all the way to Fluvanna!
The Rivanna Trails (RTF)
Charlottesville is home to one of the nation’s best urban trails systems, an almost completely uninterrupted 20 mile loop of soft surface paths that circle the city. The fine folks at the RTF have been volunteering their time throughout the year since 1992 to create and maintain this wonderful network of trails. A detailed hard copy pamphlet map of the entire RTF path system is also available for free at Ragged Mountain. Many thanks to all of our community neighbor property owners along the path.
Camp Holiday Trails
This hilly but quiet and scenic run is the closest “dirt” road to the city limits. The road, which is currently being heavily utilized by large equipment building the new Ragged Mountain Reservoir, runs around 1.5 miles in one direction. Take Fontaine Avenue underneath the 29/250 bypass to Reservoir Road and turn right.
