Photo: Mojo Hand · CC BY-SA 4.0Black Mountain has 5.2 miles of mapped trails, 0.8 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Lake Tomahawk Park (0.6 mi). 1% of Black Mountain’s land is conserved, about 65 acres. 48 acres are parks and preserves, 5.6 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 43% of U.S. towns · #132 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Black Mountain?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Black Mountain have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Black Mountain is ahead of 43% of U.S. towns, #132 of 290 in North Carolina. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
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
The longest trail network is Lake Tomahawk Park, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Youth Center Park
Riverwalk Park
All 5 parks & preserves
65 conserved acres
1% of Black Mountain’s land. Who manages Black Mountain’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 15 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 5 of 9 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buncombe County Park Local Park | County | 37 | Open |
| Town of Black Mountain - Douglas M. Brock Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 18 | Unknown |
| Lake Tomahawk Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Town of Black Mountain - Dr. John Wilson Community Garden Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 10 | Unknown |
| NC Land and Water Fund Project State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 2 | Restricted |
| Town of Black Mountain Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1 | Unknown |
6 places to go in Black Mountain
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
2 lakes & rivers
2.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
10 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
The best walking months in Black Mountain: 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 | 14.6 | 14.3 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.2 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 46 | 50 | 57 | 66 | 73 | 79 | 82 | 81 | 75 | 66 | 57 | 49 |
| Rain (in) | 4.8 | 3.8 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 5.3 | 5.0 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.8 |
February is the driest month (3.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 5.3 inches fall in August, the wettest month. The climate in Black Mountain →
Black Mountain and its neighbors
Black Mountain has the second most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Black Mountain
Where can I hike in Black Mountain?
The longest trail networks: Lake Tomahawk Park, 0.6 miles; Veterans Park, 0.1 miles; Riverwalk Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Black Mountain is conserved land?
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 Black Mountain’s trails?
Lake Tomahawk Park and Veterans Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Black Mountain?
2.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Black Mountain?
34,316 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Black Mountain or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 48 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Black Mountain have?
Ahead of 43% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #132 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 Black Mountain 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 →