Arrowhead Park
Park
28 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
COutdoors
Outdoors in Silver Lake
Few parks or trails are on the map in Silver Lake
The biggest trail networks: Arrowhead Park (0.6 mi). 1.5 miles of mapped trail cross Silver Lake, 0.6 per square mile of land. 1% of Silver Lake’s land is conserved, about 22 acres.
Ahead of 35% of U.S. towns · #165 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
22 acres · of 2.5 sq mi of land
Trails
1.5 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
31 ac
4.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
38%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.3 mi
0.3 mi lanes
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Silver Lake have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Silver Lake is ahead of 35% of U.S. towns, #165 of 290 in North Carolina. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Silver Lake’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical NC town 3% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · NC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land4.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (31 acres) · NC 8 · U.S. 13CParks close to home38% 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 35%
LessMore
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 43%
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
The longest trail network is Arrowhead Park, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
22 conserved acres
1% of Silver Lake’s land. Who manages Silver Lake’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County21 ac
Not recorded22 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 22 acLocal Park · 21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Hanover County Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 22 | Unknown |
| New Hanover County Park Local Park | County | 21 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Silver Lake
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Silver Lake
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Disc golf in Silver Lake
1 disc golf course without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.3 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
6Pickleball
1Tennis
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Silver Lake: 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 | 11.3 | 10.3 | 9.9 |
| High (°F) | 57 | 60 | 66 | 74 | 80 | 86 | 89 | 88 | 83 | 76 | 67 | 60 |
| Rain (in) | 3.9 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 5.2 | 6.4 | 7.1 | 8.2 | 4.8 | 3.6 | 3.7 |
April is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 8.2 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Silver Lake →
Next door
Silver Lake and its neighbors
Silver Lake has the second most mapped trails of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silver Lake | 1% | 0.6 | 5 | 38% | C |
| Wilmington | 4% | 0.3 | 7 | 66% | B− |
| Myrtle Grove | 2% | under 0.1 | 2 | 17% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Silver Lake
Where can I hike in Silver Lake?
The longest trail networks: Arrowhead Park, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Silver Lake is conserved land?
1% 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 Silver Lake’s trails?
Arrowhead Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Silver Lake?
0.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.3 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Silver Lake?
4,351 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Silver Lake or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 31 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Silver Lake have?
Ahead of 35% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #165 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 Silver Lake 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 →