Harrisburg Municipal Park
Park
45 acres1.9 mi of trail
Harrisburg Half Mountain Bike Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Harrisburg_11 · CC BY 2.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Harrisburg
Harrisburg has 7.5 miles of mapped trails, 0.6 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Harrisburg Municipal Park (1.9 mi), Pharr Mill Park (1.3 mi). 24% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 94 acres are parks and preserves, 4.8 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 34% of U.S. towns · #168 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
163 acres · of 12.6 sq mi of land
Trails
7.5 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
94 ac
4.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
24%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.2 mi
0.4 mi lanes · 3.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Harrisburg have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Harrisburg is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns, #168 of 290 in North Carolina. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Harrisburg’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical NC town 3% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · NC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land4.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (94 acres) · NC 8 · U.S. 13CParks close to home24% 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 34%
LessMore
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 42%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− 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
The longest trail network is Harrisburg Municipal Park, with 1.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Stallings Road Park
Park
11 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Harris Square Veterans Park
Managed by Town of Harrisburg
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
163 conserved acres
2% of Harrisburg’s land. Who manages Harrisburg’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city43 ac
Not recorded120 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 86 acLocal Park · 43 acLocal Recreation Area · 34 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 5 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Town of Harrisburg Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 81 | Unknown |
| Cabarrus County - Pharr Mill Road Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 34 | Unknown |
| Harrisburg Community Park Local Park | Town or city | 32 | Open |
| Stallings Road Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Cabarrus County Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 5 | Unknown |
Things to do
12 places to go in Harrisburg
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Harrisburg
Magnolia Springs Community Pool
DirectionsPlus 1 public pool without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Harrisburg
7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Harrisburg
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Fishing spots in Harrisburg
1 fishing spot without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Harrisburg
Tom Johnson's Morehead Farms Campground
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.1 miUnpaved · 1.6 mi
Rocky River Crossing Nature Trail1.1 mi
Harrisburg Half Mountain Bike Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
4.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.4 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
3.2 mi
off-road bike paths
0.6 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
15Tennis
12Baseball
8Soccer
3Running tracks
2Basketball
2Football
2Multi-sport
2Beach volleyball
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). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Rocky River Presbyterian ChurchBuilding · listed 1986
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Harrisburg: 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 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 52 | 56 | 64 | 73 | 80 | 87 | 90 | 89 | 83 | 73 | 63 | 55 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.6 |
February is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 4.4 inches fall in June, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Harrisburg →
Next door
Harrisburg and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Harrisburg
Where can I hike in Harrisburg?
The longest trail networks: Harrisburg Municipal Park, 1.9 miles; Pharr Mill Park, 1.3 miles; Stallings Road Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Harrisburg is conserved land?
2% 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 Harrisburg’s trails?
Harrisburg Municipal Park and Pharr Mill Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Harrisburg?
4.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.4 of painted or protected lanes, 3.2 of off-road paths and 0.6 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Harrisburg?
7,955 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Harrisburg or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 94 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Harrisburg have?
Ahead of 34% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #168 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 Harrisburg 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 →