Mcdowell Recreation Center
Park
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Carson-Young House · Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 4.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Marion
10% of Marion’s land is conserved: 435 acres
46 acres are parks and preserves, 6.0 per 1,000 residents. 58% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2.1 miles of mapped trail cross Marion, 0.3 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 52% of U.S. towns · #95 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Conserved land
10%
435 acres · of 6.9 sq mi of land
Trails
2.1 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
46 ac
6.0 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
58%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Marion?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Marion have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Marion is ahead of 52% of U.S. towns, #95 of 290 in North Carolina. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Marion’s overall grade.
Conserved land10% of the land · typical NC town 3% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · NC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land6.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (46 acres) · NC 8 · U.S. 13CParks close to home58% 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 52%
LessMore
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 67%
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
West Marion Community Park
Park
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
435 conserved acres
10% of Marion’s land. Who manages Marion’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city15 ac
Not recorded427 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 259 acState Other or Unknown · 132 acLocal Recreation Area · 36 acLocal Park · 15 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 5 of 13 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Marion Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 202 | Unknown |
| Marion Correctional Institution State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 131 | Restricted |
| McDowell County Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 57 | Unknown |
| McDowell County - Maple Leaf Sports Complex Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 17 | Unknown |
| City of Marion - Joseph McDowell Historical Catawba Greenway Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 12 | Unknown |
| Clinchfield Neighborhood Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Mcdowell Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| City of Marion - Cross Mill Community Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 3 | Open |
| City of Marion - Marion Community Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 3 | Open |
| City of Marion - West Marion Community Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 2 | Open |
3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
7 places to go in Marion
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Marion
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Marion
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Picnic areas in Marion
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.4 mi
Peavine Trail1.1 mi
Joseph McDowell Historical Catawba Greenway0.7 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
7Baseball
7Tennis
3Basketball
2Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →10 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.
Carson HouseBuilding · listed 1970
About itMcDowell County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1979
About itDepot Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1991
About itFirst Presbyterian ChurchBuilding · listed 1991
About itMain Street Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1991
About itSt. John's Episcopal ChurchBuilding · listed 1991
About itSt. Matthew's Lutheran ChurchBuilding · listed 1991
About itLone BeechBuilding · listed 1995
About itCarson-Young HouseBuilding · listed 2011
About itClinchfield Manufacturing Company Mill No. 2Building · listed 2024
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Marion: 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 | 13.1 | 14.0 | 14.6 | 14.3 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.2 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 50 | 55 | 62 | 72 | 79 | 85 | 88 | 87 | 81 | 71 | 61 | 53 |
| Rain (in) | 4.7 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.2 | 5.7 | 5.3 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.7 |
February is the driest month (3.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 5.7 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Marion →
Next door
Marion and its neighbors
Marion has the 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marion | 10% | 0.3 | 6 | 58% | B− |
| West Marion | under 1% | under 0.1 | 16 | 47% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Marion
How much of Marion is conserved land?
10% 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 Marion’s trails?
Mcdowell Recreation Center and West Marion Community Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Marion?
46,341 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Marion or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 46 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Marion have?
Ahead of 52% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #95 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 Marion 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 →