Pharr Family Preserve
Managed by Catawba Lands Conservancy
66 acres1.5 mi of trail
Pharr Family Preserve TrailPharr Family Perserve Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Spears House · Photo: RoxylovesHistory · CC BY-SA 4.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Midland
Few parks or trails are on the map in Midland
The biggest trail networks: Pharr Family Preserve (1.5 mi), Rob Wallace Park (1.2 mi). 33% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2% of Midland’s land is conserved, about 164 acres.
Ahead of 31% of U.S. towns · #178 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
164 acres · of 13.3 sq mi of land
Trails
2.9 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
43 ac
8.9 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
33%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Midland?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Midland have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Midland is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns, #178 of 290 in North Carolina. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; trail miles come closest.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Midland’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical NC town 3% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · NC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land8.9 acres of park per 1,000 residents (43 acres) · NC 8 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home33% 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 31%
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 range from C to 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 Pharr Family Preserve, with 1.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Rob Wallace Park
Park
37 acres1.2 mi of trail
Rob Wallace Park Flower TrailRob Wallace Park Field Loop
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
164 conserved acres
2% of Midland’s land. Who manages Midland’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land27 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits2 ac
Not recorded256 ac
State Other or Unknown · 93 acPrivate Conservation · 93 acLocal Recreation Area · 37 acLocal Other or Unknown · 32 acUnknown Easement · 28 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 5 of 8 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| NC Land and Water Fund Conservation Agreement State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 93 | Restricted |
| Catawba Lands Conservancy - Pharr Family Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 67 | Restricted |
| Cabarrus County - Rob Wallace Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 37 | Unknown |
| Cabarrus County Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 32 | Unknown |
| Catawba Lands Conservancy - Vanderburg Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 26 | Restricted |
Things to do
1 places to go in Midland
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Midland
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
4 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.4 miUnpaved · 2.5 mi
Pharr Family Preserve Trail1.2 mi
Rob Wallace Park Flower Trail0.5 mi
Rob Wallace Park Field Loop0.4 mi
Pharr Family Perserve Trail0.3 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
3Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Midland: 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) | 53 | 57 | 64 | 74 | 81 | 88 | 91 | 89 | 83 | 74 | 63 | 55 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 3.1 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 91 °F). 4.2 inches fall in June, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 91 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Midland →
Next door
Midland and its neighbors
Midland 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midland | 2% | 0.2 | 9 | 33% | C |
| Locust | 1% | 0.5 | 8 | 40% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Midland
Where can I hike in Midland?
The longest trail networks: Pharr Family Preserve, 1.5 miles; Rob Wallace Park, 1.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Midland 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 Midland’s trails?
Pharr Family Preserve and Rob Wallace Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Midland?
5,933 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Midland or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 43 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Midland have?
Ahead of 31% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #178 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 Midland 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 →