Catawba College Ecological Preserve
Nature preserve
109 acres2 mi of trail
Bill Stanback Birding LoopDr. Stephan WursterPipeline Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Kharris0317 · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Salisbury
Salisbury has 15 miles of mapped trails, 0.6 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Catawba College Ecological Preserve (2 mi), Elizabeth Holmes Hurley Mem. Park (0.7 mi), Jaycee-Optimists Sports Complex (0.6 mi). 4% of Salisbury’s land is conserved, about 557 acres. 370 acres are parks and preserves, 10 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns · #80 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
557 acres · of 23.2 sq mi of land
Trails
15 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
370 ac
10 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
60%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
12 mi
4.7 mi lanes · 3.7 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Salisbury?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Salisbury have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Salisbury is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns, #80 of 290 in North Carolina. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Salisbury’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical NC town 3% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (15 mi) · NC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land10 acres of park per 1,000 residents (370 acres) · NC 8 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home60% 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 56%
LessMore
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 73%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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
The longest trail network is Catawba College Ecological Preserve, with 2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Elizabeth Holmes Hurley Mem. Park
Park
17 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Jaycee-Optimists Sports Complex
Park
10 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Town Creek Park
Park
20 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Cannon Park
Managed by Salisbury Parks and Rec
5 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 14 parks & preserves
Catawba College Ecological Preserve109 acres · 2 mi of trail
Elizabeth Holmes Hurley Mem. Park17 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsJaycee-Optimists Sports Complex10 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
Town Creek Park20 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Cannon Park5 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Salisbury Parks and Rec
Salisbury City Park22 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsBell Tower Green4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsGreenway4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Rowan County Fair25 acres · Rowan County Agriculture and Industrial Fair
DirectionsForest Hills Park8 acres
Lincoln Park3 acres
DirectionsOakland Heights Park3 acres
Centennial Park1 acres
Morlan Park1 acres
Who protects it
557 conserved acres
4% of Salisbury’s land. Who manages Salisbury’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits256 ac
Other state land182 ac
Town or city164 ac
State conservation5 ac
Not recorded148 ac
Local Park · 347 acUnknown Easement · 232 acState Other or Unknown · 133 acPrivate Conservation · 39 acConservation Easement · 5 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 82 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 14 of 39 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catawba College Ecological Preserve Local Park | Other state land | 182 | Open |
| Piedmont Correctional Institution State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 80 | Restricted |
| Salisbury Nature Study Registered Heritage Area State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 44 | Unknown |
| Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 28 | Open |
| Town Creek Park Local Park | Town or city | 25 | Open |
| Grants Creek Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 24 | Closed |
| City Park Local Park | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| Kelsey Scott Park Local Park | Town or city | 19 | Open |
| Hurley Park Local Park | Town or city | 19 | Open |
| Three Rivers Land Trust Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 15 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
15 places to go in Salisbury
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Salisbury
Eastwood Village Pool
DirectionsFred M. Evans PoolIn Lincoln Park
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Salisbury
11 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Salisbury
Pitner Dog ParkIn Town Creek Park
DirectionsCommunity gardens in Salisbury
1 community garden without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.2 mi
Bill Stanback Birding Loop0.9 mi
Dr. Stephan Wurster0.5 mi
Pipeline Trail0.5 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
12 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.7 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
3.7 mi
off-road bike paths
3.1 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
30Tennis
15Basketball
8Baseball
6Pickleball
3Football
1Softball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →34 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 7 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Community BuildingBuilding · listed 1970
About itHenderson, Archibald, Law OfficeBuilding · listed 1972
About itMaxwell Chambers HouseBuilding · listed 1972
About itMcNeely-Strachan HouseBuilding · listed 1972
About itSalisbury Southern Railroad Passenger DepotBuilding · listed 1975
About itSalisbury Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1975
About itGrimes MillBuilding · listed 1984
About itKesler Manufacturing Co.-Cannon Mills Co. Plant No. 7 Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1985
About itNorth Long Street-Park Avenue Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1985
About itBrooklyn-South Square Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1985
About itNorth Main Street Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1985
About itMount Zion Baptist ChurchBuilding · listed 1985
About it22 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Salisbury: 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) | 10.0 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 14.0 | 14.6 | 14.3 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.2 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 51 | 55 | 62 | 72 | 79 | 86 | 89 | 87 | 81 | 72 | 61 | 53 |
| Rain (in) | 3.7 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 4.4 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Salisbury →
Next door
Salisbury and its neighbors
Salisbury has the most mapped trails of the 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salisbury | 4% | 0.6 | 10 | 60% | B |
| Spencer | 7% | under 0.1 | 22 | 98% | B |
| East Spencer | 4% | 0.1 | 10 | 84% | B− |
| Granite Quarry | 6% | under 0.1 | 7 | 60% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Salisbury
Where can I hike in Salisbury?
The longest trail networks: Catawba College Ecological Preserve, 2 miles; Elizabeth Holmes Hurley Mem. Park, 0.7 miles; Jaycee-Optimists Sports Complex, 0.6 miles; Town Creek Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Salisbury is conserved land?
4% 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 Salisbury’s trails?
Catawba College Ecological Preserve and Elizabeth Holmes Hurley Mem. Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Salisbury?
12 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.7 of painted or protected lanes, 3.7 of off-road paths and 3.1 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Salisbury?
7,664 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Salisbury or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 370 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Salisbury have?
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #80 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 Salisbury 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 →