Few parks or trails are on the map in Bethlehem
28% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 33 acres are parks and preserves, 7.9 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 9% of U.S. towns · #267 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
How much outdoors does Bethlehem have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Bethlehem is ahead of 9% of U.S. towns, #267 of 290 in North Carolina. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; park acres per resident come closest.
Water is 14% of Bethlehem’s area (1 of 9 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read under 1%.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
1 places to go in Bethlehem
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
2 lakes & rivers
The best walking months in Bethlehem: April to June
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 | 13.1 | 14.0 | 14.6 | 14.4 | 13.5 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.2 | 9.7 |
| High (°F) | 50 | 54 | 61 | 71 | 78 | 85 | 88 | 86 | 81 | 71 | 61 | 53 |
| Rain (in) | 3.8 | 3.2 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.9 |
February is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 4.5 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Bethlehem →
Bethlehem and its neighbors
Bethlehem has the 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethlehem | under 1% | under 0.1 | 8 | 28% | D |
| St. Stephens | under 1% | under 0.1 | under 1 | 18% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Bethlehem
How much of Bethlehem is conserved land?
under 1% 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 Bethlehem’s trails?
Wittenburg Access Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Bethlehem?
1,943 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Bethlehem or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 33 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Bethlehem have?
Ahead of 9% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #267 of 290 in North Carolina. 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 Bethlehem neighbors.
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 →