Edward M. Armfield, Sr. Park
Managed by Non-Profit (Edward M. Armfield, Sr. Foundation)
33 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Rock House · Photo: MarmadukePercy · CC BY-SA 3.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Pilot Mountain
Few parks or trails are on the map in Pilot Mountain
20% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 33 acres are parks and preserves, 22 per 1,000 residents. 0.2 miles of mapped trail cross Pilot Mountain, 0.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 33% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
29 acres · of 2.0 sq mi of land
Trails
0.2 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
33 ac
22 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
20%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Pilot Mountain?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Pilot Mountain have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Pilot Mountain is ahead of 33% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Pilot Mountain’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical NC town 3% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · NC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4CPark land22 acres of park per 1,000 residents (33 acres) · NC 8 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home20% 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 33%
LessMore
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Pilot Mountain. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
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.
Who protects it
29 conserved acres
2% of Pilot Mountain’s land. Who manages Pilot Mountain’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Not recorded32 ac
State Other or Unknown · 17 acLocal Other or Unknown · 15 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 2 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 | 17 | Restricted |
| Town of Pilot Mountain Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 15 | Unknown |
Things to do
5 places to go in Pilot Mountain
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Pilot Mountain
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
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
6Tennis
2Softball
2Baseball
1Football
1Soccer
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 Pilot Mountain: April to June and 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) | 9.9 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 14.1 | 14.6 | 14.4 | 13.5 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.2 | 9.7 |
| High (°F) | 48 | 52 | 60 | 70 | 77 | 84 | 87 | 85 | 80 | 70 | 60 | 51 |
| Rain (in) | 3.9 | 3.1 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 4.0 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 4.7 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Pilot Mountain →
Questions about parks and trails in Pilot Mountain
How much of Pilot Mountain 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 Pilot Mountain’s trails?
Edward M. Armfield, Sr. Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Pilot Mountain?
5,380 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Pilot Mountain or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 33 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Pilot Mountain have?
Ahead of 33% 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 Pilot Mountain 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 →