Butner-Falls of Neuse Game Land
Nature preserve
121 acres1.2 mi of trail
Panther Creek Loop Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Gorman
Gorman has 120 acres of parks, 75 for every 1,000 residents
12% of Gorman’s land is conserved, about 222 acres. The biggest trail networks: Butner-Falls of Neuse Game Land (1.2 mi). 34% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 71% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
12%
222 acres · of 2.8 sq mi of land
Trails
1.2 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
120 ac
75 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
34%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Gorman?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Gorman have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Gorman is ahead of 71% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Gorman’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical NC town 3% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · NC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4BPark land75 acres of park per 1,000 residents (120 acres) · NC 8 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home34% 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 71%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B to 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 Butner-Falls of Neuse Game Land, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
222 conserved acres
12% of Gorman’s land. Who manages Gorman’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city34 ac
Not recorded294 ac
State Conservation Area · 121 acUnknown · 105 acLocal Other or Unknown · 68 acLocal Park · 34 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 4 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butner-Falls of Neuse Game Land State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 121 | Open |
| Falls Lake Unknown | Not recorded | 105 | Open |
| Durham County Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 68 | Unknown |
| Glenn Elementary School Local Park | Town or city | 34 | Open |
Trails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Panther Creek Loop Trail1.2 mi
When to get out
The best walking months in Gorman: 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) | 51 | 55 | 63 | 72 | 80 | 87 | 90 | 88 | 82 | 72 | 62 | 54 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 2.9 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.6 |
February is the driest month (2.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 4.7 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Gorman →
Next door
Gorman and its neighbors
Gorman 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gorman | 12% | 0.4 | 75 | 34% | B+ |
| Durham | 9% | 0.7 | 7 | 66% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Gorman
Where can I hike in Gorman?
The longest trail networks: Butner-Falls of Neuse Game Land, 1.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Gorman is conserved land?
12% 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 Gorman’s trails?
Butner-Falls of Neuse Game Land doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Gorman?
48,599 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Gorman or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 120 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Gorman have?
Ahead of 71% 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 Gorman 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 →