St. James has 11 miles of mapped trails, 1.2 for every square mile of land
12% of St. James’ land is conserved, about 670 acres. 9% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 16 acres are parks and preserves, 2.2 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns · #114 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is St. James?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does St. James have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, St. James is ahead of 47% of U.S. towns, #114 of 290 in North Carolina. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls 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.
670 conserved acres
12% of St. James’ land. Who manages St. James’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 245 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 13 of 14 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| NC Department of Transportation Mitigation Site State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 410 | Unknown |
| Woodlands Park Local Park | Private owners | 16 | Open |
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.
The best walking months in St. James: 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 | 4.8 | 6.4 | 7.0 | 7.8 | 4.8 | 3.5 | 3.7 |
April is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 7.8 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in St. James →
St. James and its neighbors
St. James 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. James | 12% | 1.2 | 2 | 9% | B− |
| Oak Island | 20% | 0.7 | 9 | 66% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in St. James
How much of St. James is conserved land?
12% 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.
Is there public land near St. James?
10,483 acres of parks and open public land lie inside St. James or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 16 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does St. James have?
Ahead of 47% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #114 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 St. James 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 →