Photo: rjones0856 from USA · CC BY 2.08% of North Topsail Beach’s land is conserved: 299 acres
4.5 miles of mapped trail cross North Topsail Beach, 0.7 per square mile of land. 11% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 9 acres are parks and preserves, 11 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 51% of U.S. towns. What drives it
How much outdoors does North Topsail Beach have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, North Topsail Beach is ahead of 51% of U.S. towns. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
Water is 40% of North Topsail Beach’s area (4 of 10 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 4%.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
299 conserved acres
8% of North Topsail Beach’s land. Water is left out: North Topsail Beach has 6.2 square miles of land and 4.2 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages North Topsail Beach’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 6 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| New River Inlet Bird Nesting Islands State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 193 | Unknown |
| Permuda Island Coastal Reserve State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 63 | Open |
| Town of North Topsail Beach Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 29 | Unknown |
| Onslow County Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 13 | Unknown |
| Onslow County Park Local Park | County | 3 | Open |
| North Carolina Coastal Land Trust Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1 | Closed |
8 places to go in North Topsail Beach
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Plus 3 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
2 playgrounds without a name on the map.
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
The best walking months in North Topsail Beach: 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) | 10.1 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.9 | 14.4 | 14.2 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.9 |
| High (°F) | 56 | 59 | 65 | 73 | 80 | 86 | 89 | 87 | 83 | 75 | 66 | 59 |
| Rain (in) | 4.1 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 5.6 | 6.4 | 7.3 | 7.8 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 3.9 |
February is the driest month (3.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 7.8 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in North Topsail Beach →
North Topsail Beach and its neighbors
North Topsail Beach 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Topsail Beach | 8% | 0.7 | 11 | 11% | B− |
| Surf City | 3% | 0.3 | 22 | 43% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in North Topsail Beach
How much of North Topsail Beach is conserved land?
8% 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.
Is there public land near North Topsail Beach?
16,461 acres of parks and open public land lie inside North Topsail Beach or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 72 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does North Topsail Beach have?
Ahead of 51% 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 North Topsail Beach neighbors.
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 →