City of Brevard Sports Complex
Park
21 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Harrison Keely · CC BY 4.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Brevard
Brevard has 81 acres of parks, 10 for every 1,000 residents
0.9 miles of mapped trail cross Brevard, 0.2 per square mile of land. 68% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3% of Brevard’s land is conserved, about 112 acres.
Ahead of 45% of U.S. towns · #120 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
112 acres · of 5.4 sq mi of land
Trails
0.9 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
81 ac
10 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
68%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.9 mi
0.2 mi lanes · 4.8 mi paths
Highest peak
2,815 ft
Elk Lodge Mountain
Lakes & rivers
4
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Brevard?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Brevard have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Brevard is ahead of 45% of U.S. towns, #120 of 290 in North Carolina. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Brevard’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical NC town 3% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · NC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land10 acres of park per 1,000 residents (81 acres) · NC 8 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home68% 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 45%
LessMore
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 59%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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 City of Brevard Sports Complex, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Silvermont Mansion Park
Park
8 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Franklin Park
Park
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Pisgah National Forest
Managed by United States Forest Service
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
112 conserved acres
3% of Brevard’s land. Who manages Brevard’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits39 ac
County37 ac
Town or city25 ac
State conservation6 ac
U.S. Forest Service5 ac
Local Recreation Area · 55 acUnknown Easement · 39 acLocal Park · 7 acConservation Easement · 6 acNational Forest · 5 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 45 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 8 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transylvani Activity Center Local Recreation Area | County | 35 | Open |
| Brevard Sports Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 20 | Open |
| Pisgah National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 5 | Open |
| Franklin Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | County | 2 | Open |
Things to do
9 places to go in Brevard
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Brevard
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Brevard
Pisgah Forest Access
DirectionsPeaks in Brevard
Elk Lodge Mountain2,815 ft elevation
DirectionsPine Mountain2,726 ft elevation
DirectionsCommunity gardens in Brevard
Brevard Community Garden
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Timber Trace0.1 mi
Springhouse Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
4.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.2 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
4.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
14Tennis
11Baseball
2Skate park
2Soccer
1Basketball
1Football
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →16 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.
Transylvania County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1979
About itWilliam Deaver HouseBuilding · listed 1979
About itSilvermontBuilding · listed 1981
About itWilliam Breese Jr. HouseBuilding · listed 1983
About itBrevard College Stone Fence and GateStructure · listed 1993
About itGodfrey-Barnette HouseBuilding · listed 1993
About itMcMinn BuildingBuilding · listed 1994
About itSt. Philip's Episcopal ChurchBuilding · listed 1997
About itHanckel-Barclay HouseBuilding · listed 1999
About itMax and Claire Brombacher HouseBuilding · listed 2001
About itMain Street Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2002
About itCharles E. Orr HouseBuilding · listed 2006
About it4 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Brevard: 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 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 48 | 52 | 59 | 69 | 75 | 81 | 83 | 82 | 77 | 68 | 59 | 51 |
| Rain (in) | 6.3 | 5.2 | 5.8 | 5.6 | 5.3 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 6.6 | 5.8 | 5.3 | 5.4 | 6.4 |
February is the driest month (5.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 6.6 inches fall in August, the wettest month. The climate in Brevard →
Questions about parks and trails in Brevard
Where can I hike in Brevard?
The longest trail networks: City of Brevard Sports Complex, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Brevard is conserved land?
3% 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 Brevard’s trails?
City of Brevard Sports Complex and Silvermont Mansion Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Brevard?
4.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.2 of painted or protected lanes and 4.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Brevard?
79,465 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Brevard or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 85 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Brevard have?
Ahead of 45% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #120 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 Brevard 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 →