Pelletier House and Wantland Spring · Photo: Hammerattack at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0More than half of Jacksonville’s land is conserved: 59%
59% of Jacksonville’s land is conserved, about 18,871 acres. 52 miles of mapped trail cross Jacksonville, 1.0 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Jacksonville Commons (1.3 mi), Beirut Memorial (1.1 mi), Northeast Creek Park (0.5 mi).
Ahead of 74% of U.S. towns · #36 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Jacksonville?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Jacksonville have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Jacksonville is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns, #36 of 290 in North Carolina. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
Water is 13% of Jacksonville’s area (8 of 58 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 52%.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Jacksonville Commons, with 1.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Beirut Memorial
Northeast Creek Park
Sturgeon City Park
Richard Ray Park
Henderson Green
All 25 parks & preserves
18,871 conserved acres
59% of Jacksonville’s land. Water is left out: Jacksonville has 49.9 square miles of land and 7.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Jacksonville’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 12 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 8 of 20 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camp Lejeune Military Land | Not recorded | 17,624 | Unknown |
| City of Jacksonville Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 538 | Unknown |
| Onslow County Park Local Park | County | 515 | Open |
| City of Jacksonville - Jacksonville Commons Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 164 | Open |
| New River Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 121 | Restricted |
| New River Swamps And Marshes Fee Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 121 | Unknown |
| City of Jacksonville - Northeast Creek Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 82 | Unknown |
| City of Jacksonville - Rails to Trails Greenway Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 38 | Unknown |
| Michael J. Stokes Park Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Federal Land | 28 | Open |
| Sturgeon City Park Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Open |
3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
64 places to go in Jacksonville
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
53 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
9 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
2 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
15 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 14 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
The best walking months in Jacksonville: 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) | 10.1 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 56 | 59 | 65 | 73 | 80 | 86 | 89 | 87 | 83 | 75 | 66 | 59 |
| Rain (in) | 4.0 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 5.5 | 6.5 | 7.0 | 7.3 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.8 |
February is the driest month (3.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 7.3 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Jacksonville →
Jacksonville and its neighbors
Jacksonville has the 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville | 59% | 1.0 | 10 | 40% | B+ |
| Piney Green | 8% | 0.2 | 10 | 43% | C+ |
| Half Moon | 1% | 0.1 | 3 | 22% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Jacksonville
Where can I hike in Jacksonville?
The longest trail networks: Jacksonville Commons, 1.3 miles; Beirut Memorial, 1.1 miles; Northeast Creek Park, 0.5 miles; Sturgeon City Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Jacksonville is conserved land?
59% 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 Jacksonville’s trails?
Jacksonville Commons and Beirut Memorial don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Jacksonville?
15 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.6 of painted or protected lanes and 12 of off-road paths. Named routes: East Coast Greenway (NC/VA complementary route).
Is there public land near Jacksonville?
7,447 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Jacksonville or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 725 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Jacksonville have?
Ahead of 74% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #36 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 Jacksonville neighbors.
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 →