George Poston Park
Park
338 acres3.6 mi of trail
Soccer Loop (Green)Spencer Mountain Loop (Yellow)George Poston ParkwaySoccer Loop (Blue)+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Lowell
Lowell has 415 acres of parks, 110 for every 1,000 residents
3.8 miles of mapped trail cross Lowell, 1.0 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: George Poston Park (3.6 mi). 4% of Lowell’s land is conserved, about 104 acres.
Ahead of 83% of U.S. towns · #21 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
104 acres · of 3.7 sq mi of land
Trails
3.8 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
415 ac
110 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
72%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.5 mi
0.4 mi lanes · 0.1 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Lowell?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lowell have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lowell is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns, #21 of 290 in North Carolina. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lowell’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical NC town 3% · U.S. 4%BTrails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · NC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land110 acres of park per 1,000 residents (415 acres) · NC 8 · U.S. 13AParks close to home72% of residents within a half mile of a park · NC 51% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 83%
LessMore
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 93%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ 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 George Poston Park, with 3.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
104 conserved acres
4% of Lowell’s land. Who manages Lowell’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County84 ac
State conservation5 ac
Town or city1 ac
Not recorded23 ac
Local Park · 85 acLocal Other or Unknown · 11 acPrivate Conservation · 8 acConservation Easement · 5 acState Other or Unknown · 3 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 3 of 9 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gaston County Park Local Park | County | 84 | Open |
| Gaston County Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 10 | Unknown |
| Catawba Lands Conservancy - Hoffman Property Private Conservation | Not recorded | 5 | Restricted |
| Catawba Lands Conservancy - Pharr Preserve West Private Conservation | Not recorded | 4 | Restricted |
| NC Land and Water Fund Project State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 3 | Restricted |
| City of Gastonia Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1 | Unknown |
| Bob Bolick Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Lowell
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Lowell
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Lowell
George Poston Dog ParkHours: Mon–Sun 7 am – 11 pm · In George Poston Park
DirectionsPlus 1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Picnic areas in Lowell
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
6 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.7 miUnpaved · 2.6 mi
Spencer Mountain Loop (Yellow)0.7 mi
Soccer Loop (Green)0.6 mi
George Poston Parkway0.6 mi
Soccer Loop (Blue)0.6 mi
Spencer Mountain Loop Option (Yellow)0.3 mi
Big Leaf Loop (Red)0.1 mi
Biking & sports
0.5 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
0.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
7Baseball
6Tennis
4Soccer
1Volleyball
1Skate park
1Basketball
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Lowell: 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 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 52 | 56 | 64 | 73 | 80 | 87 | 90 | 88 | 83 | 73 | 63 | 55 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.8 |
October is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 4.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Lowell →
Next door
Lowell and its neighbors
Lowell has the second most mapped trails of the 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowell | 4% | 1.0 | 110 | 72% | A− |
| Gastonia | 12% | 0.5 | 24 | 58% | B+ |
| McAdenville | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Ranlo | 1% | 0.1 | 2 | 91% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Lowell
Where can I hike in Lowell?
The longest trail networks: George Poston Park, 3.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lowell is conserved land?
4% 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 Lowell’s trails?
George Poston Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Lowell?
0.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.4 of painted or protected lanes and 0.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Lowell?
4,967 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lowell or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 415 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Lowell have?
Ahead of 83% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #21 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 Lowell 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 →