Kitty Hawk Woods Reserve
Nature preserve
1,023 acres1.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Kitty Hawk Life-Saving Station · Photo: Jasonspsyche · CC BY-SA 3.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Kitty Hawk
29% of Kitty Hawk’s land is conserved: 1,511 acres
929 acres are parks and preserves, 249 per 1,000 residents. 94% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Kitty Hawk Woods Reserve (1.3 mi), Sandy Run (0.5 mi).
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns · #4 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Conserved land
29%
1,511 acres · of 8.1 sq mi of land
Trails
4.8 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
929 ac
249 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
94%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
6.6 mi
3.6 mi lanes · 3.0 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Kitty Hawk?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Kitty Hawk have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Kitty Hawk is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #4 of 290 in North Carolina. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Kitty Hawk’s overall grade.
Conserved land29% of the land · typical NC town 3% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · NC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land249 acres of park per 1,000 residents (929 acres) · NC 8 · U.S. 13AParks close to home94% of residents within a half mile of a park · NC 51% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 96%
LessMore
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)#4 of 290
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. 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 Kitty Hawk Woods Reserve, with 1.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Kitty Hawk Boat Ramp
Managed by Dare County
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
1,511 conserved acres
29% of Kitty Hawk’s land. Who manages Kitty Hawk’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation828 ac
Joint459 ac
Not recorded1,523 ac
Conservation Easement · 1,286 acState Other or Unknown · 975 acLocal Conservation Area · 481 acLocal Recreation Area · 50 acLocal Other or Unknown · 17 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 11 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 17 of 19 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kitty Hawk Woods Coastal Reserve State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 975 | Open |
| Town of Kitty Hawk - Kitty Hawk Woods Local Conservation Area | Not recorded | 481 | Unknown |
| Dare County Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 23 | Unknown |
| Town of Kitty Hawk - Sandy Run Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 17 | Open |
| Town of Kitty Hawk Beach Access Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 16 | Unknown |
| Town of Kitty Hawk Open Space Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 12 | Unknown |
Things to do
11 places to go in Kitty Hawk
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Kitty Hawk
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Public pools in Kitty Hawk
Pool 1
DirectionsPool 2
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Kitty Hawk
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Kitty Hawk
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Kitty Hawk
Lillian Street Beach Access
DirectionsPicnic areas in Kitty Hawk
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Kitty Hawk
1 campground without a name on the map.
Biking & sports
6.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.6 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
3.0 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
4Tennis
1Basketball
1Pickleball
1Beach volleyball
1Golf
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 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Kitty Hawk Life-Saving StationBuilding · listed 1984
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Kitty Hawk: 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) | 51 | 53 | 59 | 68 | 75 | 83 | 86 | 86 | 80 | 72 | 62 | 55 |
| Rain (in) | 3.9 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.4 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 3.6 |
April is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 5.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 86 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Kitty Hawk →
Next door
Kitty Hawk and its neighbors
Kitty Hawk 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kitty Hawk | 29% | 0.6 | 249 | 94% | A+ |
| Southern Shores | 1% | 0.3 | 5 | 30% | C− |
| Kill Devil Hills | 29% | 0.7 | 120 | 93% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Kitty Hawk
Where can I hike in Kitty Hawk?
The longest trail networks: Kitty Hawk Woods Reserve, 1.3 miles; Sandy Run, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Kitty Hawk is conserved land?
29% 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 Kitty Hawk’s trails?
Kitty Hawk Woods Reserve and Sandy Run don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Kitty Hawk?
6.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.6 of painted or protected lanes and 3.0 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Kitty Hawk?
3,499 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Kitty Hawk or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,053 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Kitty Hawk have?
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #4 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 Kitty Hawk 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 →