White Deer Park
Park
138 acres2 mi of trail
White Deer TrailSouth Garner GreenwayWhite Deer Trails
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Mikeiamunion21 · CC BY-SA 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Garner
Garner has 917 acres of parks, 27 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: White Deer Park (2 mi), Lake Benson Park (0.9 mi), South Garner Park (0.8 mi). 7% of Garner’s land is conserved, about 992 acres. 12 miles of mapped trail cross Garner, 0.6 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns · #28 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
992 acres · of 20.7 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
917 ac
27 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
82%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
11 mi
0.6 mi lanes · 9.7 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
5
What kind of outdoors town is Garner?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Garner have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Garner is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns, #28 of 290 in North Carolina. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Garner’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical NC town 3% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · NC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land27 acres of park per 1,000 residents (917 acres) · NC 8 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home82% 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 79%
LessMore
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 91%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 White Deer Park, with 2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lake Benson Park
Park
65 acres0.9 mi of trail
Lake Benson Woodland Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Creech Road Elementary School Park
Park
19 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Garner Recreational Park
Park
20 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 15 parks & preserves
White Deer Park138 acres · 2 mi of trail
DirectionsLake Benson Park65 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
DirectionsSouth Garner Park33 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsCreech Road Elementary School Park19 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsGarner Recreational Park20 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsCloverdale Park6 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Lake Benson67 acres
Avery Street Recreation Park15 acres
DirectionsThompson Road Park14 acres · Town of Garner
DirectionsJaycee Park of Garner11 acres · Town of Garner
DirectionsCentennial Park10 acres
DirectionsGarner Baseball Park8 acres
DirectionsJackie Johns Sr. Community Park4 acres · Town of Garner
Greenbrier Park3 acres
Lakemoor Neighborhood Park2 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
992 conserved acres
7% of Garner’s land. Who manages Garner’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County521 ac
State natural resources288 ac
Town or city109 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits42 ac
Private owners14 ac
Not recorded642 ac
Local Recreation Area · 890 acLocal Conservation Area · 260 acUnknown Easement · 199 acOther Easement · 140 acLocal Park · 85 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 112 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 9 of 44 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wake County Open Space Land Local Recreation Area | County | 243 | Open |
| Os-032 Local Conservation Area | County | 123 | Open |
| Town of Garner Open Space Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 99 | Open |
| Town of Garner Open Space - White Deer Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 96 | Open |
| Os-043 Local Conservation Area | County | 75 | Open |
| Town of Garner Open Space - Lake Benson Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 65 | Open |
| Wake County Open Space - OS-031 Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 65 | Open |
| Town of Garner - Swift Creek Greenway Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 63 | Open |
| Town of Garner Greenway Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 61 | Open |
| Wake County Open Space Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 45 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
48 places to go in Garner
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Garner
Edgebrook Swim Club
DirectionsPlus 1 public pool without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Garner
Aversboro Road Baptist Church
Directions35 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Dog parks in Garner
North Garner Dog ParkIn Garner Recreational Park
DirectionsPlus 10 dog parks without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
4 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 3.7 mi
White Deer Trail0.6 mi
South Garner Greenway0.4 mi
Lake Benson Woodland Trail0.4 mi
White Deer Trails0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
11 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.6 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
9.7 mi
off-road bike paths
0.5 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
22Tennis
18Soccer
18Baseball
5Basketball
3Football
2Beach volleyball
2Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 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 Garner: 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 | 14.0 | 14.6 | 14.3 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.2 | 9.7 |
| High (°F) | 52 | 56 | 63 | 73 | 80 | 87 | 90 | 88 | 82 | 73 | 63 | 55 |
| Rain (in) | 3.7 | 3.1 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.3 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.6 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 5.3 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Garner →
Next door
Garner and its neighbors
Garner has the second most mapped trails of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garner | 7% | 0.6 | 27 | 82% | A− |
| Raleigh | 16% | 0.7 | 21 | 91% | A |
| Fuquay-Varina | 2% | 0.1 | 10 | 68% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Garner
Where can I hike in Garner?
The longest trail networks: White Deer Park, 2 miles; Lake Benson Park, 0.9 miles; South Garner Park, 0.8 miles; Creech Road Elementary School Park, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Garner is conserved land?
7% 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 Garner’s trails?
White Deer Park and Lake Benson Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Garner?
11 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.6 of painted or protected lanes, 9.7 of off-road paths and 0.5 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Garner?
15,791 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Garner or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 917 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Garner have?
Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #28 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 Garner 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 →