Haw River Community Park
Park
26 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Granite Mill · Photo: Bureau of Labor Statistics, State of North Carolina (1897) & State Library of North Carolina · CC BY 2.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Haw River
Haw River has 56 acres of parks, 20 for every 1,000 residents
2.5 miles of mapped trail cross Haw River, 0.8 per square mile of land. 3% of Haw River’s land is conserved, about 58 acres. 60% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
58 acres · of 3.1 sq mi of land
Trails
2.5 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
56 ac
20 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
60%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Haw River?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Haw River have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Haw River is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Haw River’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical NC town 3% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · NC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land20 acres of park per 1,000 residents (56 acres) · NC 8 · U.S. 13BParks 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 64%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. 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 Haw River Community Park, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Red Slide Park
Park
12 acres0.1 mi of trail
Haw River Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
58 conserved acres
3% of Haw River’s land. Who manages Haw River’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city18 ac
Not recorded58 ac
Local Recreation Area · 30 acLocal Other or Unknown · 28 acLocal Park · 18 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 Haw River Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 27 | Unknown |
| Haw River Community Park Local Park | Town or city | 18 | Open |
| Town of Haw River - Haw River Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 16 | Open |
| Alamance County - Mountains to Sea Trail Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 14 | Unknown |
| Alamance County Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1 | Unknown |
Things to do
3 places to go in Haw River
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Haw River
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Haw River
Red Slide Park Paddle AccessIn Red Slide Park
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.5 mi
Haw River Trail1.0 mi
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
3Baseball
2Tennis
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).
When to get out
The best walking months in Haw River: 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) | 50 | 54 | 62 | 72 | 79 | 86 | 89 | 87 | 81 | 72 | 61 | 53 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 2.8 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 4.7 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Haw River →
Next door
Haw River and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haw River | 3% | 0.8 | 20 | 60% | B |
| Graham | 2% | 0.4 | 5 | 64% | 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 Haw River
Where can I hike in Haw River?
The longest trail networks: Haw River Community Park, 0.4 miles; Red Slide Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Haw River 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 Haw River’s trails?
Haw River Community Park and Red Slide Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Haw River?
2,282 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Haw River or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 56 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Haw River have?
Ahead of 64% 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 Haw River 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 →