Pisgah National Forest
Managed by United States Forest Service
613 acres5.9 mi of trail
Corvair TrailNeighborhood TrailLedford TrailDeer Lake Lodge Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Rice Pinnacle Parking Area
Belhaven Commercial Historic District · Photo: Nyttend · Public domainA+Outdoors
Outdoors in Bent Creek
45% of Bent Creek’s land is conserved: 635 acres
6.2 miles of mapped trail cross Bent Creek, 2.8 per square mile of land. 99% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Pisgah National Forest (5.9 mi).
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
45%
635 acres · of 2.2 sq mi of land
Trails
6.2 mi
2.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
22 ac
16 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Bent Creek?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Bent Creek have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bent Creek is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Bent Creek’s overall grade.
Conserved land45% of the land · typical NC town 3% · U.S. 4%A+Trails2.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · NC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land16 acres of park per 1,000 residents (22 acres) · NC 8 · U.S. 13BParks close to home99% of residents within a half mile of a park · NC 51% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 97%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. 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 Pisgah National Forest, with 5.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
635 conserved acres
45% of Bent Creek’s land. Who manages Bent Creek’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service614 ac
County21 ac
Not recorded21 ac
National Forest · 614 acLocal Park · 21 acLocal Other or Unknown · 21 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 3 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pisgah National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 614 | Open |
| Buncombe County Park Local Park | County | 21 | Open |
| Buncombe County Open Space - Bent Creek Ranch Lake Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 21 | Unknown |
Trails & water
4 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 4.2 miHorses · 2.4 miUnpaved · 4.0 mi
Corvair Trail0.9 mi
Neighborhood Trail0.6 mi
Ledford Trail0.3 mi
Deer Lake Lodge Trail0.2 mi
When to get out
The best walking months in Bent Creek: April to August
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) | 10.0 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.2 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 48 | 52 | 59 | 69 | 76 | 82 | 85 | 83 | 78 | 69 | 58 | 50 |
| Rain (in) | 3.9 | 3.2 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.8 |
October is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Bent Creek →
Questions about parks and trails in Bent Creek
Where can I hike in Bent Creek?
The longest trail networks: Pisgah National Forest, 5.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Bent Creek is conserved land?
45% 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 Bent Creek’s trails?
Pisgah National Forest doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Bent Creek?
13,709 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bent Creek or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 22 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Bent Creek have?
Ahead of 97% 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 Bent Creek 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 →