Photo: Townofspringlake · CC BY-SA 4.0More than half of Spring Lake’s land is conserved: 82%
82% of Spring Lake’s land is conserved, about 12,432 acres. 46 miles of mapped trail cross Spring Lake, 2.0 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Air Park (0.9 mi).
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns · #25 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Spring Lake?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Spring Lake have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Spring Lake is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns, #25 of 290 in North Carolina. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Air Park, with 0.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Spring Lake Park Site 3
Flightline Park
All 5 parks & preserves
12,432 conserved acres
82% of Spring Lake’s land. Who manages Spring Lake’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 12 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Bragg Military Reservation Military Land | Not recorded | 12,258 | Unknown |
| Town of Spring Lake Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 114 | Unknown |
| NC Land and Water Fund Conservation Agreement State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 54 | Restricted |
| Audubon Environmental Land Trust Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 43 | Closed |
| Sandhills Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 42 | Restricted |
| Sandhills Theme Megasite Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 38 | Closed |
| Town of Spring Lake - Edward Mendoza Municipal Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 34 | Open |
| Carver's Creek State Park State Park | Not recorded | 7 | Open |
| Spring Lake Tennis Courts Etc Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
7 places to go in Spring Lake
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 5 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
The best walking months in Spring 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) | 10.0 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 54 | 58 | 65 | 74 | 81 | 88 | 91 | 89 | 83 | 74 | 64 | 56 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 4.9 | 5.3 | 4.8 | 5.3 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 91 °F). 5.3 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 91 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Spring Lake →
Spring Lake and its neighbors
Spring Lake 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring Lake | 82% | 2.0 | 7 | 65% | A− |
| Fayetteville | 40% | 1.0 | 10 | 41% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Spring Lake
Where can I hike in Spring Lake?
The longest trail networks: Air Park, 0.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Spring Lake is conserved land?
82% 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 Spring Lake’s trails?
Air Park and Mendoza Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Spring Lake?
5,130 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Spring Lake or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 77 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Spring Lake have?
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #25 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 Spring Lake neighbors.
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 →