Smithfield Recreation Area
Park
43 acres2.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Watson-Sanders House · Photo: LikeGrantTookRichmond · CC BY-SA 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Smithfield
6% of Smithfield’s land is conserved: 474 acres
The biggest trail networks: Smithfield Recreation Area (2.4 mi). 85 acres are parks and preserves, 7.0 per 1,000 residents. 66% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 49% of U.S. towns · #108 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
474 acres · of 12.7 sq mi of land
Trails
3.2 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
85 ac
7.0 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
66%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.6 mi
4.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Smithfield?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Smithfield have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Smithfield is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns, #108 of 290 in North Carolina. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Smithfield’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical NC town 3% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · NC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land7.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (85 acres) · NC 8 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home66% 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 49%
LessMore
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 63%
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
The longest trail network is Smithfield Recreation Area, with 2.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Talton Park
Park
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
474 conserved acres
6% of Smithfield’s land. Who manages Smithfield’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city63 ac
State conservation4 ac
Not recorded415 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 207 acState Conservation Area · 177 acLocal Park · 58 acLocal Recreation Area · 25 acState Other or Unknown · 9 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 12 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Town of Smithfield Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 207 | Unknown |
| North Carolina Safe Harbor Agreement - Red-cockaded Woodpecker State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 177 | Restricted |
| Smithfield Community Park Local Park | Town or city | 43 | Open |
| Town of Smithfield - Town Commons Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 19 | Unknown |
| Smith-Collins Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Civitan Field Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| NC Hazard Mitigation Buyout Property - Smithfield State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 5 | Unknown |
| NC Land and Water Fund Conservation Agreement State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 4 | Restricted |
| Triangle Land Conservancy Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 3 | Closed |
| Talton Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
9 places to go in Smithfield
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Smithfield
6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Smithfield
Smithfield Dog Park
DirectionsBoat launches in Smithfield
Smithfield BAAIn Town Commons Park
DirectionsPlus 1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
4.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
11Baseball
11Tennis
4Basketball
3Soccer
2Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →9 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Johnston County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1979
About itHood Brothers BuildingBuilding · listed 1986
About itHood-Strickland HouseBuilding · listed 1990
About itUS Post Office, FormerBuilding · listed 1993
About itDowntown Smithfield Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1993
About itBrooklyn Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2000
About itNorth Smithfield Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2000
About itWatson-Sanders HouseBuilding · listed 2001
About itSmithfield Masonic LodgeBuilding · listed 2007
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Smithfield: 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 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.2 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 53 | 56 | 64 | 74 | 80 | 87 | 91 | 88 | 83 | 73 | 64 | 56 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 5.1 | 5.2 | 5.6 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.5 |
February is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 91 °F). 5.6 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 91 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Smithfield →
Next door
Smithfield and its neighbors
Smithfield 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smithfield | 6% | 0.3 | 7 | 66% | B− |
| Selma | 1% | under 0.1 | 4 | 86% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Smithfield
Where can I hike in Smithfield?
The longest trail networks: Smithfield Recreation Area, 2.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Smithfield is conserved land?
6% 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 Smithfield’s trails?
Smithfield Recreation Area and Town Commons Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Smithfield?
4.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Smithfield?
1,288 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Smithfield or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 85 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Smithfield have?
Ahead of 49% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #108 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 Smithfield 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 →