Collier Cove Nature Preserve
Managed by Buncombe County
29 acres
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
COutdoors
Outdoors in Royal Pines
Royal Pines has 18 acres of parks, 4.1 for every 1,000 residents
0.2 miles of mapped trail cross Royal Pines, 0.1 per square mile of land. 53% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3% of Royal Pines’ land is conserved, about 54 acres.
Ahead of 28% of U.S. towns · #191 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
54 acres · of 2.7 sq mi of land
Trails
0.2 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
18 ac
4.1 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
53%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,989 ft
Brown Mountain
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Royal Pines have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Royal Pines is ahead of 28% of U.S. towns, #191 of 290 in North Carolina. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Royal Pines’ overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical NC town 3% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · NC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4CPark land4.1 acres of park per 1,000 residents (18 acres) · NC 8 · U.S. 13CParks close to home53% 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 28%
LessMore
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 34%
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Royal Pines. 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 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
54 conserved acres
3% of Royal Pines’ land. Who manages Royal Pines’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners16 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits6 ac
County2 ac
Not recorded35 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 30 acLocal Park · 18 acConservation Easement · 6 acState Other or Unknown · 5 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 6 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buncombe County Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 29 | Unknown |
| Rosscraggon Park Local Park | Private owners | 16 | Open |
| NC Land and Water Fund Project State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 5 | Restricted |
| Buncombe County Park Local Park | County | 2 | Open |
| City of Asheville Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 1 | Unknown |
Things to do
3 places to go in Royal Pines
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Royal Pines
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Royal Pines
Brown Mountain2,989 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & 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
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Royal Pines: 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 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.2 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 47 | 51 | 58 | 68 | 75 | 81 | 84 | 82 | 77 | 68 | 58 | 50 |
| Rain (in) | 4.1 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 4.0 |
October is the driest month (3.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.5 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Royal Pines →
Next door
Royal Pines and its neighbors
Royal Pines 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Pines | 3% | 0.1 | 4 | 53% | C |
| Asheville | 4% | 0.6 | 8 | 73% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Royal Pines
How much of Royal Pines is conserved land?
3% 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 Royal Pines’ trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Collier Cove Nature Preserve (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Royal Pines?
8,960 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Royal Pines or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 18 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Royal Pines have?
Ahead of 28% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #191 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 Royal Pines 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 →