Deal Park
Park
24 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Central School Historic District · Photo: Upstateherd · CC BY-SA 3.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Kings Mountain
Kings Mountain has 178 acres of parks, 15 for every 1,000 residents
27% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3.3 miles of mapped trail cross Kings Mountain, 0.2 per square mile of land. 3% of Kings Mountain’s land is conserved, about 324 acres.
Ahead of 40% of U.S. towns · #148 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
324 acres · of 14.9 sq mi of land
Trails
3.3 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
178 ac
15 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
27%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.8 mi
5.8 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
5
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Kings Mountain?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Kings Mountain have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Kings Mountain is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns, #148 of 290 in North Carolina. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Kings Mountain’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical NC town 3% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · NC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land15 acres of park per 1,000 residents (178 acres) · NC 8 · U.S. 13BParks close to home27% 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 40%
LessMore
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 49%
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 Deal Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Moss Lake Park I (Eastside)
Park
13 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Moss Lake Park II (Westside)
Park
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Patriots Park and Pavilion in Kings Mountain
Park
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
324 conserved acres
3% of Kings Mountain’s land. Who manages Kings Mountain’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city27 ac
Not recorded297 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 171 acState Park · 116 acLocal Park · 27 acLocal Recreation Area · 10 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 6 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Kings Mountain Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 171 | Unknown |
| Crowders Mountain State Park State Park | Not recorded | 116 | Open |
| Deal Park Local Park | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| City of Kings Mountain - Moss Lake Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 10 | Unknown |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Kings Mountain
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Kings Mountain
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Kings Mountain
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Campgrounds in Kings Mountain
Hounds Gateway Campground
DirectionsPlus 1 campground without a name on the map.
Trails & water
5 lakes & rivers
Biking & sports
5.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
10Tennis
8Baseball
3Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →9 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Central School Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2001
About itKing Street Overhead BridgeStructure · listed 2005
About itSouthern Railway Company Overhead BridgeStructure · listed 2007
About itMargrace Mill Village Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2009
About itWest End Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2010
About itMauney, Jacob S., Memorial Library and Teacher's HomeBuilding · listed 2014
About itUnited States Post OfficeBuilding · listed 2015
About itDavidson Elementary SchoolBuilding · listed 2016
About itFrank Rickert Summers HouseBuilding · listed 2021
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Kings Mountain: 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 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 51 | 56 | 63 | 72 | 79 | 86 | 89 | 87 | 82 | 72 | 62 | 54 |
| Rain (in) | 3.8 | 3.3 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 4.0 |
February is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 4.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Kings Mountain →
Next door
Kings Mountain and its neighbors
Kings Mountain 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kings Mountain | 3% | 0.2 | 15 | 27% | C+ |
| Gastonia | 12% | 0.5 | 24 | 58% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Kings Mountain
Where can I hike in Kings Mountain?
The longest trail networks: Deal Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Kings Mountain 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 Kings Mountain’s trails?
Deal Park and Moss Lake Park I (Eastside) don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Kings Mountain?
5.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Kings Mountain?
11,030 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Kings Mountain or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 178 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Kings Mountain have?
Ahead of 40% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #148 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 Kings Mountain 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 →