Robert Lake Park
Managed by Mountain Retreat Association DBA Montreat Conference Center
2 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Montreat
More than half of Montreat’s land is conserved: 78%
78% of Montreat’s land is conserved, about 1,368 acres. 14 miles of mapped trail cross Montreat, 4.9 per square mile of land. 73% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
78%
1,368 acres · of 2.7 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
4.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
7 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
73%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
4,019 ft
Rocky Head
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Montreat?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Montreat have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Montreat is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Montreat’s overall grade.
Conserved land78% of the land · typical NC town 3% · U.S. 4%A+Trails4.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (14 mi) · NC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (7 acres) · NC 8 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home73% 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 90%
LessMore
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 Robert Lake Park, with 0.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Pisgah National Forest
Managed by United States Forest Service
2 acres0.1 mi of trail
East Ridge Trail
Dogs on leash
No trailhead mapped yet
Welsh Field
Managed by Mountain Retreat Association DBA Montreat Conference Center
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
1,368 conserved acres
78% of Montreat’s land. Who manages Montreat’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other state land1,285 ac
State conservation13 ac
Private owners7 ac
Not recorded2,090 ac
State Other or Unknown · 2,081 acUnknown Easement · 1,285 acConservation Easement · 13 acLocal Park · 7 acLocal Other or Unknown · 7 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 165 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 7 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 Project State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1,161 | Restricted |
| Montreat Watershed (Mountain Retreat) Registered Heritage Area State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 921 | Unknown |
| Robert Lake Park Local Park | Private owners | 7 | Open |
| Town of Montreat Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 7 | Unknown |
| Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy - Brushy Knob Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 2 | Closed |
Things to do
16 places to go in Montreat
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Montreat
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Montreat
Lookout Rocks
DirectionsLunch Rock
DirectionsNorth View
DirectionsRattlesnake Rock
DirectionsShelter View
DirectionsPeaks in Montreat
Rocky Head4,019 ft elevation
DirectionsLittle Piney3,960 ft elevation
DirectionsBoggs Bunion3,888 ft elevation
DirectionsBrushy Mountain3,878 ft elevation
DirectionsLookout Mountain3,760 ft elevation
DirectionsRainbow Mountain3,320 ft elevation
DirectionsRainbow Mountain3,320 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
11 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.0 miUnpaved · 12.1 mi
East Ridge Trail1.2 mi
Lower Piney Trail1.1 mi
Big Piney Ridge Trail1.0 mi
Stomping Knob Trail0.9 mi
Rocky Head Trail0.8 mi
Rainbow Mountain Trail0.7 mi
Lookout Trail0.5 mi
West Ridge Trail0.4 mi
The Gate Trail0.2 mi
Rhododendron Ridge Trail0.2 mi
1 more trails
Buck Gap Trail
0.1 miLakes & 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.
Rainbow RoadBike route
1.6 miOld Mitchell Toll RoadBike route
0.8 miCourts & fields
5Tennis
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Montreat: April to August
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 | 14.6 | 14.3 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.2 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 45 | 48 | 55 | 65 | 72 | 77 | 80 | 79 | 74 | 65 | 55 | 47 |
| Rain (in) | 4.5 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.9 | 4.7 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (3.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 5.0 inches fall in August, the wettest month. The climate in Montreat →
Next door
Montreat and its neighbors
Montreat 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montreat | 78% | 4.9 | 12 | 73% | A |
| Black Mountain | 1% | 0.8 | 6 | 53% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Montreat
Where can I hike in Montreat?
The longest trail networks: Robert Lake Park, 0.2 miles; Pisgah National Forest, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Montreat is conserved land?
78% 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 Montreat’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Pisgah National Forest (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Montreat?
38,084 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Montreat or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 9 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Montreat have?
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Montreat 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 →