Hoop Pole Creek Preserve
Park
32 acres0.7 mi of trail
Hoop Pole Creek Nature Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail sign
Photo: Okayfurry119 · CC BY-SA 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Atlantic Beach
7% of Atlantic Beach’s land is conserved: 109 acres
The biggest trail networks: Hoop Pole Creek Preserve (0.7 mi). 38 acres are parks and preserves, 22 per 1,000 residents. 1.3 miles of mapped trail cross Atlantic Beach, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
109 acres · of 2.4 sq mi of land
Trails
1.3 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
38 ac
22 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
55%
of residents within ½ mile
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Atlantic Beach have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Atlantic Beach is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Atlantic Beach’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical NC town 3% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · NC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land22 acres of park per 1,000 residents (38 acres) · NC 8 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home55% of residents within a half mile of a park · NC 51% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 68%
LessMore
Water is 14% of Atlantic Beach’s area (0 of 3 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 6%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B to B+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Hoop Pole Creek Preserve, with 0.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Carteret County Open Space
Park
52 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
109 conserved acres
7% of Atlantic Beach’s land. Water is left out: Atlantic Beach has 2.4 square miles of land and 0.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Atlantic Beach’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation32 ac
Town or city11 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits1 ac
Not recorded120 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 53 acConservation Easement · 34 acPrivate Conservation · 32 acState Other or Unknown · 31 acLocal Park · 11 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 7 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 5 of 8 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Town of Atlantic Beach Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 53 | Unknown |
| North Carolina Coastal Federation Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 32 | Unknown |
| NC Land and Water Fund Conservation Agreement State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 31 | Unknown |
| Atlantic Town Beach Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Fort Macon State Park State Park | Not recorded | 4 | Open |
| Atlantic Beach Town park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
Things to do
9 places to go in Atlantic Beach
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Atlantic Beach
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Atlantic Beach
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Atlantic Beach
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Fishing spots in Atlantic Beach
N2Y Fishing Department
DirectionsPicnic areas in Atlantic Beach
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 named trails
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.0 mi
Hoop Pole Creek Nature Trail0.4 mi
Public Beach Access Path0.2 mi
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
16Tennis
7Beach volleyball
3Basketball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Atlantic Beach: April and May
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.1 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 56 | 58 | 64 | 71 | 78 | 85 | 88 | 87 | 83 | 75 | 66 | 60 |
| Rain (in) | 4.3 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 5.1 | 6.2 | 7.6 | 8.0 | 4.6 | 4.1 | 4.2 |
April is the driest month (3.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 8.0 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Atlantic Beach →
Next door
Atlantic Beach and its neighbors
Atlantic Beach has the second most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic Beach | 7% | 0.5 | 22 | 55% | B+ |
| Pine Knoll Shores | 25% | 0.9 | 16 | 54% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Atlantic Beach
Where can I hike in Atlantic Beach?
The longest trail networks: Hoop Pole Creek Preserve, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Atlantic Beach is conserved land?
7% of its land, against a typical 3% for a North Carolina town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Atlantic Beach’s trails?
Hoop Pole Creek Preserve and Carteret County Open Space don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Atlantic Beach?
24,509 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Atlantic Beach or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 38 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Atlantic Beach have?
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Atlantic Beach neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →