Department of Conservation and Recreation
Conserve. Protect. Enjoy.
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Model last updated 3/2019.
A new model version has been completed. For now, both the "Recreation Access Model" from 2019 and the new "Nature-based Recreation Access Model" are available. This is because there is still a grant round open for the Virginia Recreational Trails Program (RTP) that relies on the 2019 model for scoring. After the end of June 2021, the older model will be fully retired.
You can find the 2021 model here. Current VLCF grant applicants should use the 2021 version.
For information on the 2019 model, continue reading below. Current RTP grant applicants should use the 2019 model. Current VLCF grant applicants should NOT use the 2019 model.
The Virginia Recreation Access Model is a vector dataset that quantifies access to outdoor recreation opportunities in Virginia. The dataset contains 1.5-mile-diameter hexagons, with attributes quantifying access to parks, trails, boating, fishing, and swimming. The term "park" is used loosely to refer to any contiguous block of land with public access for recreation. "Swimming" refers to non-pool, beach or bank swimming opportunities.
This model is intended to assist land planners and granting organizations in prioritizing lands for conservation and recreation access. It helps identify where additional recreation opportunities are needed to achieve certain baseline benchmarks. The benchmarks are as follows:
Layers based on the "Baseline Benchmark Status" attribute for each recreation type indicate how many additional park acres, trail miles, or boating/fishing/swimming access points are needed to achieve baseline benchmarks. For all except Local Parks and Local Trails, benchmark status is categorized based on how much would be needed to serve 1000 identical hexagons, rather than a single hexagon, because otherwise the values would be extremely small and relatively meaningless at the regional scale.
Layers based on travel time attributes provide additional measures of access to each recreation type.
Two summary scores are included:
The full list of attributes included in the model dataset can be found here.
A slideshow overview is available here.
The model is available for interactive viewing at ArcGIS Online and on the Natural Heritage Data Explorer.
Spatial data with metadata, accompanied by a symbolized map document, are bundled in an ArcGIS map package file (MPK file) which is available for download here. You will be required to register in our system to obtain this file. Once you have downloaded and unzipped the file, use the "Extract Package" tool in ArcGIS to extract the MPK file to the folder of your choice. If this file format will not work for you, please contact us and we can provide an alternative.
The Virginia Recreation Access Model is fundamentally a regional/statewide model, although it does incorporate a local component for parks and trails. For more detailed, city-level analysis related to parks access, you may be interested in the "ParkScore" analysis provided by the Trust for Public Land. ParkScores are available for several cities in Virginia:
Analyses for other cities may be found by using the search box at the bottom of any of the above pages.The Trust for Public Land also provides the ParkServe online mapping service to help park planners determine the best locations for adding new local parks. The goal is to strategically place parks to ensure that all city dwellers can walk to a public greenspace within 10 minutes.
An update of the model is currently in progress!
For more information please contact Kirsten Hazler (Kirsten.Hazler@dcr.virginia.gov, phone: 804-371-6203) or David Bucklin (David.Bucklin@dcr.virginia.gov, phone: 804-225-2820.
Page last updated 3/2019.
