Highland Drive Park
Park
26 acres1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Lincolnton
Lincolnton has 104 acres of parks, 8.9 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Highland Drive Park (1 mi). 1.0 miles of mapped trail cross Lincolnton, 0.1 per square mile of land. 50% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 32% of U.S. towns · #176 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
113 acres · of 9.0 sq mi of land
Trails
1.0 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
104 ac
8.9 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
50%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.5 mi
1.5 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Lincolnton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lincolnton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lincolnton is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns, #176 of 290 in North Carolina. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; park acres per resident come closest.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lincolnton’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical NC town 3% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · NC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4CPark land8.9 acres of park per 1,000 residents (104 acres) · NC 8 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home50% 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 32%
LessMore
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 39%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be C. 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 Highland Drive Park, with 1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
City Park
Park
15 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
113 conserved acres
2% of Lincolnton’s land. Who manages Lincolnton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land17 ac
Not recorded127 ac
Local Recreation Area · 88 acLocal Other or Unknown · 22 acState Other or Unknown · 17 acUnknown Easement · 17 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 8 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Lincolnton - Betty Ross Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 40 | Open |
| City of Lincolnton - Highland Drive Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 25 | Open |
| City of Lincolnton - City Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 21 | Open |
| City of Lincolnton Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 20 | Unknown |
| NC Land and Water Fund Conservation Agreement State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 17 | Restricted |
| City of Lincolnton - Park By Rail Trail Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 2 | Unknown |
| Lincoln County Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 2 | Unknown |
Things to do
9 places to go in Lincolnton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Lincolnton
9 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Biking & sports
1.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
9Baseball
5Tennis
2Pickleball
2Soccer
1Football
1Basketball
1Softball
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 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Loretz HouseBuilding · listed 1972
About itShadow LawnBuilding · listed 1972
About itRock Springs Camp Meeting GroundSite · listed 1972
About itWoodsideBuilding · listed 1973
About itPleasant Retreat AcademyBuilding · listed 1975
About itLincoln County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1979
About itCaldwell-Cobb-Love HouseBuilding · listed 1986
About itSt. Luke's Church and CemeteryDistrict · listed 1992
About itEmanuel United Church of ChristBuilding · listed 1994
About itEmmanuel Lutheran ChurchBuilding · listed 1994
About itFirst Presbyterian ChurchBuilding · listed 1994
About itFirst United Methodist ChurchBuilding · listed 1994
About it9 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Lincolnton: 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 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.2 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 51 | 55 | 63 | 72 | 79 | 85 | 89 | 87 | 81 | 72 | 62 | 53 |
| Rain (in) | 3.8 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.9 |
October is the driest month (3.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 4.4 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Lincolnton →
Questions about parks and trails in Lincolnton
Where can I hike in Lincolnton?
The longest trail networks: Highland Drive Park, 1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lincolnton is conserved land?
2% 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 Lincolnton’s trails?
Highland Drive Park and Betty G. Ross Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Lincolnton?
1.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Lincolnton?
1,088 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lincolnton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 104 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Lincolnton have?
Ahead of 32% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #176 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 Lincolnton 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 →