Parks in Oak Hill
The goal of the City of Oak Hill Parks and Recreation Department is to enhance community well-being by providing accessible and diverse recreational opportunities, promoting health and fitness, and preserving natural spaces. The Department is responsible for park maintenance and development and offers a variety of community engagement with special events. The City of Oak Hill hosts many parks and recreational spaces within city limits including City Park, Russell E Mathew Park, Needleseye Park, White Oak Rail Trail and the Doc Hamilton Dog Park.
Below is a list with all of the parks in Oak Hill with descriptions.
COLLINS PARK:
Collins Park is home to a 9-hole disc golf course with a variety of different shots and hole lengths. The park also features four pavilions that are free for public use on a first come first serve basis as well as a playground for the kids and public restrooms.
DOC HAMILTON DOG PARK & K-9 MEMORIAL:
The Doc Hamilton dog park & K-9 memorial is a dog park located on Central Ave. It has two different fenced in areas, one for smaller dogs and one for larger dogs; Both areas are a great place to play for all dogs of all sizes. For owners there is a covered seating area and waste bins to throw away their pet’s waste. There is a statue and plaques memorializing passed K-9 dogs, there is also a spot on the fence where you can get a memorialization for your own dog(s) that have passed.
NEEDLESEYE PARK:
Needleseye Park is a 281- acre tract of permanently protected land operating under a conservation easement via the WV Land Trust owned by the City of Oak Hill in Fayette County. Needleseye Park is a multi-use municipal park and offers a wide variety of activities to the visitor including hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, disc golfing, bird watching and nature viewing. The terrain and topography vary from easy and rolling to steep, rocky and technical. With such a broad array of recreational activities available in Needleseye Park, it is a unique Park that shouldn’t be missed.
Currently one trailhead and parking area allow visitors to gain access to the park located off Terry Ave and Needleseye Rd. The trailhead parking can be found best by using Google Maps and entering “Needleseye Park”.
A small trailhead kiosk gives the visitor park information that is important to the visitor. Currently a “blue” blazed trail from the trailhead is the primary trail that will gain access into the interior of the park. This blue trail goes to the namesake Needleseye rock formation into the western territory of the park and beyond to another notable rock corridor called the Lion’s Den. The distance from the parking area to the Needleseye rock formation is ½ mile. The distance from the parking area to the Lion’s Den is ¾ mile.
The summer and fall of 2024 should bring much anticipated development of the park with an updated trailhead parking area with additional visitor parking, a 2-stall restroom facility and a large trailhead kiosk. Additionally, 8 miles of single-track multi-use mountain biking trails are being contracted for installation and an 18-hole disc golf course is slated for completion. Rock climbing and bouldering is prevalent in the park on the vast cliff line and boulders with continued work to provide the safest climbing experience.
OAK HILL CITY PARK:
Currently closed for construction. When finished the park will have renovations to the baseball facilities, including new dugouts, a new concession stand, restroom, press box building, and the addition of a regulation-sized outdoor basketball court. There will also be a 10,000-foot concrete skate park, along with many smaller improvements to the existing infrastructure.
RUSSELL E. MATTHEW PARK:
In 1998, the small park here in the community of Harlem Heights was named for Russell E. Matthew for his contributions to his community and neighbors. The park has a pavilion with picnic tables and grill as well as a playground for the kids. Theres also a basketball court with a Lit-up walking trail that is exactly 2/10 of a mile.
WHITE OAK RAIL TRAIL:
The White Oak Rail-Trail runs for nearly 8 miles through the central West Virginia city of Oak Hill, connecting the communities of Summerlee and Carlisle at either end.
