Oconaluftee Park
Managed by Eastern Band of Cherokee
17 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Mingus Mill · Photo: David Dugan · CC BY-SA 3.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Cherokee
Few parks or trails are on the map in Cherokee
49 acres are parks and preserves, 24 per 1,000 residents. 26% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3.3 miles of mapped trail cross Cherokee, 0.3 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 34% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
41 acres · of 12.1 sq mi of land
Trails
3.3 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
49 ac
24 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
26%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
8.3 mi
8.3 mi paths
Highest peak
3,806 ft
Fox Knob
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Cherokee have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Cherokee is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Cherokee’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical NC town 3% · U.S. 4%C−Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · NC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land24 acres of park per 1,000 residents (49 acres) · NC 8 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home26% of residents within a half mile of a park · NC 51% · U.S. 72%C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 34%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. 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 Oconaluftee Park, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
ᎠᏂᏣᎳᎩ ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯ ᎤᎾᏓᎪᎾᏙᏗᏱ;Cherokee Indian Fair Grounds
Park
7 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Acquoni Road Family Park
Managed by Eastern Band of Cherokee
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
41 conserved acres
under 1% of Cherokee’s land. Who manages Cherokee’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
National Park Service23 ac
Town or city17 ac
National Park · 19 acLocal Recreation Area · 17 acSpecial Designation Area · 4 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park National Park | National Park Service | 19 | Open |
| Oconaluftee Islands Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Blue Ridge Parkway Special Designation Area | National Park Service | 4 | Restricted |
Things to do
15 places to go in Cherokee
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Cherokee
6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Fishing spots in Cherokee
1 fishing spot without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Waterfalls in Cherokee
1 waterfall without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Cherokee
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Peaks in Cherokee
Fox Knob3,806 ft elevation
DirectionsRattlesnake Mountain3,698 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Cherokee
3 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Cherokee
1 campground without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.0 miUnpaved · 0.7 mi
fire tower0.9 mi
Trail0.1 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.
8.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Basketball
1Tennis
1Beach volleyball
1Skate park
1Football
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Cherokee: 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 | 53 | 60 | 70 | 77 | 83 | 85 | 84 | 79 | 70 | 60 | 51 |
| Rain (in) | 5.1 | 4.7 | 5.0 | 4.6 | 4.1 | 4.7 | 5.1 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 5.4 |
October is the driest month (3.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 5.4 inches fall in December, the wettest month. The climate in Cherokee →
Questions about parks and trails in Cherokee
Where can I hike in Cherokee?
The longest trail networks: Oconaluftee Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Cherokee 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 Cherokee’s trails?
Oconaluftee Park and ᎠᏂᏣᎳᎩ ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯ ᎤᎾᏓᎪᎾᏙᏗᏱ;Cherokee Indian Fair Grounds don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Cherokee?
8.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 8.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Cherokee?
129,486 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Cherokee or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 49 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Cherokee have?
Ahead of 34% 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 Cherokee 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 →