Theodore Roosevelt State Natural Area
Nature preserve
288 acres1.3 mi of trail
Theodore Roosevelt Nature TrailAlice G. Hoffman Nature TrailEast Pond Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Aquarium Parking
Photo: NC Aquarium PKS · CC BY 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Pine Knoll Shores
25% of Pine Knoll Shores’ land is conserved: 352 acres
2.0 miles of mapped trail cross Pine Knoll Shores, 0.9 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Theodore Roosevelt State Natural Area (1.3 mi). 22 acres are parks and preserves, 16 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
25%
352 acres · of 2.2 sq mi of land
Trails
2.0 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
22 ac
16 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
54%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.1 mi
0.1 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
1 beach · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Pine Knoll Shores?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Pine Knoll Shores have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Pine Knoll Shores is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Pine Knoll Shores’ overall grade.
Conserved land25% of the land · typical NC town 3% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · NC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land16 acres of park per 1,000 residents (22 acres) · NC 8 · U.S. 13BParks close to home54% 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 79%
LessMore
Water is more than half of Pine Knoll Shores’ area (5 of 7 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 8%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ 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 Theodore Roosevelt State Natural Area, with 1.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
352 conserved acres
25% of Pine Knoll Shores’ land. Water is left out: Pine Knoll Shores has 2.2 square miles of land and 4.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Pine Knoll Shores’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation262 ac
Town or city3 ac
Not recorded543 ac
State Park · 279 acConservation Easement · 262 acState Other or Unknown · 221 acLocal Other or Unknown · 43 acLocal Park · 3 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 8 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theodore Roosevelt State Natural Area State Park | Not recorded | 279 | Open |
| Theodore Roosevelt Maritime Swamp Forest Unique Wetland State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 194 | Open |
| Town of Pine Knoll Shores Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 43 | Unknown |
| NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 27 | Open |
| Garner Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Pine Knoll Shores
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Pine Knoll Shores
Pine Knoll Shores
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Pine Knoll Shores
Tree-mendous Nature PlayIn Theodore Roosevelt State Natural Area
DirectionsBoat launches in Pine Knoll Shores
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
4 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.3 mi
Theodore Roosevelt Nature Trail0.6 mi
Alice G. Hoffman Nature Trail0.5 mi
Public Access0.1 mi
East Pond Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
11Tennis
2Basketball
1Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Pine Knoll Shores: 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 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 56 | 58 | 64 | 72 | 79 | 85 | 88 | 87 | 83 | 75 | 66 | 59 |
| Rain (in) | 4.2 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 5.1 | 6.4 | 7.4 | 7.9 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 4.1 |
April is the driest month (3.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 7.9 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Pine Knoll Shores →
Next door
Pine Knoll Shores and its neighbors
Pine Knoll Shores 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Knoll Shores | 25% | 0.9 | 16 | 54% | A− |
| Atlantic Beach | 7% | 0.5 | 22 | 55% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Pine Knoll Shores
Where can I hike in Pine Knoll Shores?
The longest trail networks: Theodore Roosevelt State Natural Area, 1.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Pine Knoll Shores is conserved land?
25% 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 Pine Knoll Shores’ trails?
Theodore Roosevelt State Natural Area doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Pine Knoll Shores?
0.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Pine Knoll Shores?
40,343 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Pine Knoll Shores or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 47 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Pine Knoll Shores have?
Ahead of 79% 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 Pine Knoll Shores 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 →