Colonial Waterfront Park
Park
6 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Tnewman39 · CC BY-SA 4.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Edenton
8% of Edenton’s land is conserved: 272 acres
83% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.9 miles of mapped trail cross Edenton, 0.2 per square mile of land. 25 acres are parks and preserves, 5.5 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 52% of U.S. towns · #94 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
272 acres · of 5.4 sq mi of land
Trails
0.9 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
25 ac
5.5 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
83%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
1 beach · 4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Edenton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Edenton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Edenton is ahead of 52% of U.S. towns, #94 of 290 in North Carolina. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Edenton’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% 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 land5.5 acres of park per 1,000 residents (25 acres) · NC 8 · U.S. 13CParks 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 52%
LessMore
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 68%
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 Colonial Waterfront Park, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Queen Anne's Park
Park
1 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
272 conserved acres
8% of Edenton’s land. Who manages Edenton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation141 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service118 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits7 ac
Town or city2 ac
Not recorded216 ac
State Other or Unknown · 167 acConservation Easement · 141 acFederal Other or Unknown · 118 acLocal Recreation Area · 22 acLocal Other or Unknown · 19 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 18 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 11 of 18 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| NC Land and Water Fund Conservation Agreement State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 167 | Unknown |
| Edenton National Fish Hatchery Federal Other or Unknown | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 118 | Restricted |
| Chowan County Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 15 | Unknown |
| Historic Preservation Foundation of North Carolina Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 14 | Closed |
| Chowan County - Fisher Field Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 7 | Open |
| Chowan County - Pembroke Creek Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 6 | Open |
| Town of Edenton - Colonial Waterfront Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 5 | Unknown |
| Town of Edenton Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 5 | Unknown |
| Town of Edenton - Filberts Creek Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 2 | Unknown |
| Historic Edenton State Historic Site State Historic or Cultural Area | Not recorded | 2 | Unknown |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
9 places to go in Edenton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Edenton
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Edenton
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Edenton
4 boat launches without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
3Basketball
2Baseball
2Softball
1Volleyball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →18 places on the National Register, 3 of them National Historic Landmarks
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 4 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
James Iredell HouseBuilding · listed 1970
About itBarker HouseBuilding · listed 1972
About itWessington HouseBuilding · listed 1973
About itEdenton Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1973
About itShelton Plantation HouseBuilding · listed 1974
About itSt. Paul's Episcopal Church and ChurchyardBuilding · listed 1975
About itAlbaniaBuilding · listed 1976
About itPembroke HallBuilding · listed 1976
About itAtholBuilding · listed 1980
About it6 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Edenton: 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) | 10.0 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 14.1 | 14.6 | 14.4 | 13.5 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.2 | 9.7 |
| High (°F) | 52 | 55 | 62 | 71 | 78 | 85 | 88 | 87 | 81 | 73 | 63 | 55 |
| Rain (in) | 3.8 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 4.9 | 5.9 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 5.9 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Edenton →
Questions about parks and trails in Edenton
Where can I hike in Edenton?
The longest trail networks: Colonial Waterfront Park, 0.1 miles; Queen Anne's Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Edenton is conserved land?
8% 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 Edenton’s trails?
Colonial Waterfront Park and Pembroke Creek Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Edenton?
1,581 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Edenton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 25 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Edenton have?
Ahead of 52% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #94 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 Edenton 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 →