Flat Rock Ruritan Park
Park
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
North Carolina Granite Corporation Quarry Complex · Photo: Nmg27510 · Public domainC−Outdoors
Outdoors in Flat Rock
Flat Rock has 3 acres of parks, 2.6 for every 1,000 residents
1% of Flat Rock’s land is conserved, about 26 acres. 60% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 17% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
26 acres · of 2.6 sq mi of land
Trails
0.0 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
3 ac
2.6 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
60%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.3 mi
0.3 mi paths
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Flat Rock have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Flat Rock is ahead of 17% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park comes closest.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Flat Rock’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical NC town 3% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · NC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4DPark land2.6 acres of park per 1,000 residents (3 acres) · NC 8 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home60% 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 17%
LessMore
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Flat Rock. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
26 conserved acres
1% of Flat Rock’s land. Who manages Flat Rock’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Not recorded30 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 18 acState Other or Unknown · 12 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 3 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surry County Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 14 | Unknown |
| NC Land and Water Fund Project State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 12 | Restricted |
| City of Mount Airy Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 3 | Unknown |
Things to do
2 places to go in Flat Rock
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Flat Rock
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Biking & sports
0.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Baseball
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).
North Carolina Granite Corporation Quarry ComplexDistrict · listed 1980
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Flat Rock: April to June and 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) | 9.9 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 14.1 | 14.6 | 14.4 | 13.5 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.2 | 9.7 |
| High (°F) | 48 | 51 | 59 | 70 | 77 | 84 | 87 | 85 | 79 | 70 | 60 | 50 |
| Rain (in) | 4.1 | 3.3 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 5.2 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 4.3 |
February is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 5.2 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Flat Rock →
Next door
Flat Rock and its neighbors
Flat Rock 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flat Rock | 1% | under 0.1 | 3 | 60% | C− |
| Mount Airy | 7% | 0.2 | 19 | 56% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Flat Rock
How much of Flat Rock is conserved land?
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 Flat Rock’s trails?
Flat Rock Ruritan Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Flat Rock?
0.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Flat Rock?
698 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Flat Rock or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Flat Rock have?
Ahead of 17% 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 Flat Rock 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 →