Elon College Historic District · Photo: MPD01605 from Sterling, Virginia, United States, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Elon has 97 acres of parks, 8.8 for every 1,000 residents
0.2 miles of mapped trail cross Elon. 35% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3% of Elon’s land is conserved, about 93 acres.
Ahead of 28% of U.S. towns · #190 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
How much outdoors does Elon have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Elon is ahead of 28% of U.S. towns, #190 of 290 in North Carolina. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles 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 Beth Schmidt Park, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lawrence Slade Park
93 conserved acres
3% of Elon’s land. Who manages Elon’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 4 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Town of Elon Open Space Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 71 | Unknown |
| Town of Elon - Schmidt Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 18 | Open |
| Town of Elon - Morgan Place Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 3 | Open |
| NC Department of Transportation Mitigation Site State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1 | Unknown |
3 places to go in Elon
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Plus 1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
2 lakes & rivers
1.4 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.
2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
The best walking months in Elon: April to June
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) | 50 | 54 | 62 | 71 | 78 | 85 | 89 | 87 | 81 | 71 | 61 | 53 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 2.8 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 4.6 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 4.6 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Elon →
Elon and its neighbors
Elon has the second 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elon | 3% | under 0.1 | 9 | 35% | C |
| Burlington | 6% | 0.2 | 9 | 59% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Elon
Where can I hike in Elon?
The longest trail networks: Beth Schmidt Park, 0.1 miles; Lawrence Slade Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Elon 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 Elon’s trails?
Beth Schmidt Park and Lawrence Slade Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Elon?
1.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Elon?
3,127 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Elon or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 97 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Elon have?
Ahead of 28% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #190 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 Elon 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 →