Lowe-White Memorial Park
Park
7 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: DiscoA340 · CC BY-SA 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Southport
19% of Southport’s land is conserved: 492 acres
2.5 miles of mapped trail cross Southport, 0.6 per square mile of land. 24 acres are parks and preserves, 5.6 per 1,000 residents. 67% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 67% of U.S. towns · #54 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Conserved land
19%
492 acres · of 4.0 sq mi of land
Trails
2.5 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
24 ac
5.6 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
67%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Southport?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Southport have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Southport is ahead of 67% of U.S. towns, #54 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 Southport’s overall grade.
Conserved land19% of the land · typical NC town 3% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · NC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land5.6 acres of park per 1,000 residents (24 acres) · NC 8 · U.S. 13CParks close to home67% 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 67%
LessMore
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 82%
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Fort Johnston-Southport Museum & Visitors' Center
Park
3 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Alvin C. Caviness Memorial Park
Park
1 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 6 parks & preserves
Fort Johnston-Southport Museum & Visitors' Center3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsAlvin C. Caviness Memorial Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsLowe-White Memorial Park7 acres
Franklin Square Park4 acres
DirectionsWaterfront Park1 acres
DirectionsSouthport Community Center1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
492 conserved acres
19% of Southport’s land. Who manages Southport’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation401 ac
State fish & wildlife28 ac
Town or city8 ac
Not recorded485 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 444 acConservation Easement · 401 acState Other or Unknown · 29 acState Conservation Area · 28 acLocal Recreation Area · 12 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 12 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Southport Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 444 | Unknown |
| NC Submerged Lands State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 29 | Open |
| Indigo Plantation Marsh Preserve State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 28 | Restricted |
| City of Southport - Lowe-White Memorial Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 7 | Open |
| City of Southport - Taylor Field Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 5 | Unknown |
| Stevens Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Waterfront Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Franklin Square Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Fort Johnston- Southport Musuem Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Alivin C. Caviness Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
9 places to go in Southport
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Southport
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Southport
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Southport
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Community gardens in Southport
Caswell Avenue Community Garden
DirectionsBiking & 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
4Tennis
2Basketball
1Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Southport: 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 | 65 | 73 | 80 | 86 | 89 | 87 | 83 | 76 | 67 | 60 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 4.0 | 4.9 | 6.4 | 7.1 | 8.0 | 4.9 | 3.5 | 3.7 |
April is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 8.0 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Southport →
Questions about parks and trails in Southport
Where can I hike in Southport?
The longest trail networks: Fort Johnston-Southport Museum & Visitors' Center, 0.1 miles; Alvin C. Caviness Memorial Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Southport is conserved land?
19% 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 Southport’s trails?
Lowe-White Memorial Park and Franklin Square Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Southport?
11,104 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Southport or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 28 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Southport have?
Ahead of 67% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #54 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 Southport 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 →