Glenn C. Hilton Memorial Park
Park
70 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Hickory Municipal Building · Photo: Tylerg · CC BY-SA 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Hickory
5% of Hickory’s land is conserved: 1,136 acres
The biggest trail networks: Glenn C. Hilton Memorial Park (1.1 mi). 51% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 647 acres are parks and preserves, 15 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 51% of U.S. towns · #97 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
1,136 acres · of 33.2 sq mi of land
Trails
8.1 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
647 ac
15 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
51%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
8.3 mi
0.4 mi lanes · 7.9 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hickory have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hickory is ahead of 51% of U.S. towns, #97 of 290 in North Carolina. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Hickory’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical NC town 3% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · NC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land15 acres of park per 1,000 residents (647 acres) · NC 8 · U.S. 13BParks close to home51% 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 51%
LessMore
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 67%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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 Glenn C. Hilton Memorial Park, with 1.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Geitner Rotary Park
Park
88 acres0.3 mi of trail
Riverwalk
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 16 parks & preserves
Glenn C. Hilton Memorial Park70 acres · 1.1 mi of trail
DirectionsGeitner Rotary Park88 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsSally Fox Park4 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsWinkler Park6 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsStanford Park25 acres
DirectionsJaycee Park19 acres
DirectionsNeil Clark Jr Recreation Park14 acres
DirectionsKiwanis City Park11 acres
DirectionsCliff Teague Park8 acres
DirectionsCivitan Park7 acres
DirectionsOptimist Park7 acres
DirectionsWest Hickory Park5 acres
DirectionsSouthside Heights Park4 acres
DirectionsTaft Broome Park4 acres
DirectionsMcComb Park/Beaver Memorial Garden3 acres
DirectionsRobinson Park2 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
1,136 conserved acres
5% of Hickory’s land. Who manages Hickory’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city106 ac
State natural resources1 ac
Not recorded1,058 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 537 acState Park · 293 acLocal Recreation Area · 217 acLocal Park · 95 acState Other or Unknown · 11 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 6 of 23 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Hickory Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 525 | Unknown |
| Wilderness Gateway State Trail State Park | Not recorded | 293 | Unknown |
| City of Hickory - Glenn Hilton Civic Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 83 | Open |
| City of Hickory - Geitner Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 74 | Open |
| City of Hickory - Breakfast Optimist Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 38 | Open |
| City of Hickory Open Space - Kiwanis City Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 21 | Open |
| Jaycee Park Local Park | Town or city | 18 | Open |
| Southside Heights Park Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| Neil Clark Jr Recreation Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Catawba County Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 12 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
18 places to go in Hickory
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Hickory
Lowes Foods City Park
DirectionsPlus 14 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Hickory
Fairbrook Optimist Park
DirectionsBoat launches in Hickory
Geitner Park Boat RampIn Geitner Rotary Park
DirectionsDisc golf in Hickory
1 disc golf course without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.7 mi
Boardwalk0.3 mi
Riverwalk0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
8.3 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
7.9 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
37Tennis
23Baseball
7Soccer
3Basketball
3Multi-sport
3Pickleball
2Football
2Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →21 places 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.
Shuford HouseBuilding · listed 1973
About itWeidner Rock HouseBuilding · listed 1973
About itClement Geitner HouseBuilding · listed 1985
About itElliott-Carnegie LibraryBuilding · listed 1985
About itFirst Presbyterian ChurchBuilding · listed 1985
About itHouck's ChapelBuilding · listed 1985
About itJohn A. Lentz HouseBuilding · listed 1985
About itJohn Alfred Moretz HouseBuilding · listed 1985
About itPiedmont Wagon CompanyBuilding · listed 1985
About itKenworth Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1985
About itClaremont High School Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1986
About itHighland SchoolBuilding · listed 1990
About it9 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Hickory: April to June
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) | 50 | 54 | 61 | 71 | 78 | 85 | 88 | 86 | 81 | 71 | 61 | 53 |
| Rain (in) | 3.8 | 3.3 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 4.0 |
February is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 4.6 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Hickory →
Next door
Hickory and its neighbors
Hickory has the most mapped trails of the 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hickory | 5% | 0.2 | 15 | 51% | B− |
| St. Stephens | under 1% | under 0.1 | under 1 | 18% | D |
| Long View | 1% | 0.1 | 7 | 32% | C− |
| Conover | 1% | 0.2 | 3 | 45% | C− |
| Newton | 5% | 0.4 | 20 | 46% | B |
| Granite Falls | 3% | under 0.1 | 5 | 40% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Hickory
Where can I hike in Hickory?
The longest trail networks: Glenn C. Hilton Memorial Park, 1.1 miles; Geitner Rotary Park, 0.3 miles; Sally Fox Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hickory is conserved land?
5% 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 Hickory’s trails?
Glenn C. Hilton Memorial Park and Geitner Rotary Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Hickory?
8.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.4 of painted or protected lanes and 7.9 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Hickory?
3,116 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hickory or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 647 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Hickory have?
Ahead of 51% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #97 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 Hickory 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 →