Carolina Beach State Park
Park
39 acres1.3 mi of trail
Fitness Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Annebethmi · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Carolina Beach
9% of Carolina Beach’s land is conserved: 144 acres
3.0 miles of mapped trail cross Carolina Beach, 1.2 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Carolina Beach State Park (1.3 mi). 83% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns · #17 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
144 acres · of 2.5 sq mi of land
Trails
3.0 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
144 ac
21 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
83%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
8.3 mi
3.5 mi lanes · 1.9 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
1 beach · 3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Carolina Beach?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Carolina Beach have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Carolina Beach is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns, #17 of 290 in North Carolina. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Carolina Beach’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical NC town 3% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · NC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land21 acres of park per 1,000 residents (144 acres) · NC 8 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home83% 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 86%
LessMore
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 94%
Water is 10% of Carolina 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 8%.
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 Carolina Beach State Park, with 1.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
144 conserved acres
9% of Carolina Beach’s land. Water is left out: Carolina Beach has 2.5 square miles of land and 0.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Carolina Beach’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County100 ac
Not recorded104 ac
Local Park · 100 acLocal Other or Unknown · 57 acState Park · 33 acMilitary Land · 13 acState Other or Unknown · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 5 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Hanover County Park Local Park | County | 100 | Open |
| Town of Carolina Beach Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 57 | Unknown |
| Carolina Beach State Park State Park | Not recorded | 33 | Open |
| Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point Military Land | Not recorded | 13 | Restricted |
| NC Hazard Mitigation Buyout Property - Carolina Beach State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1 | Unknown |
Things to do
9 places to go in Carolina Beach
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Carolina Beach
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Carolina Beach
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Carolina Beach
3 boat launches without a name on the map.
Disc golf in Carolina Beach
Trinity Disc Golf CourseHours: dawn-dusk · Good Hops Brewery
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.8 mi
Fitness Trail1.1 mi
Snow's Cut Trail0.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
8.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.5 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
1.9 mi
off-road bike paths
2.9 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
5Tennis
4Baseball
2Beach volleyball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Joy Lee Apartment Building and AnnexBuilding · listed 1997
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Carolina 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 | 13.9 | 14.4 | 14.2 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.3 | 9.9 |
| High (°F) | 57 | 60 | 66 | 73 | 80 | 86 | 89 | 88 | 83 | 76 | 67 | 60 |
| Rain (in) | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 5.1 | 6.4 | 7.1 | 8.2 | 4.9 | 3.6 | 3.7 |
April is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 8.2 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Carolina Beach →
Next door
Carolina Beach and its neighbors
Carolina Beach 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carolina Beach | 9% | 1.2 | 21 | 83% | A |
| Kure Beach | 6% | 0.7 | 10 | 57% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Carolina Beach
Where can I hike in Carolina Beach?
The longest trail networks: Carolina Beach State Park, 1.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Carolina Beach is conserved land?
9% 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 Carolina Beach’s trails?
Carolina Beach State Park and Carolina Beach Lake Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Carolina Beach?
8.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.5 of painted or protected lanes, 1.9 of off-road paths and 2.9 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Carolina Beach?
8,485 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Carolina Beach or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 144 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Carolina Beach have?
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #17 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 Carolina 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 →