Holly Shelter Game Land
Nature preserve
7 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: DiscoA340 · CC BY-SA 4.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Surf City
Surf City has 96 acres of parks, 22 for every 1,000 residents
43% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2.5 miles of mapped trail cross Surf City, 0.3 per square mile of land. 3% of Surf City’s land is conserved, about 158 acres.
Ahead of 51% of U.S. towns · #101 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
158 acres · of 7.7 sq mi of land
Trails
2.5 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
96 ac
22 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
43%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.8 mi
0.8 mi paths
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Surf City have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Surf City is ahead of 51% of U.S. towns, #101 of 290 in North Carolina. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Surf City’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical NC town 3% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · NC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land22 acres of park per 1,000 residents (96 acres) · NC 8 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home43% 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 51%
LessMore
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 65%
Water is 23% of Surf City’s area (2 of 10 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 2%.
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
158 conserved acres
3% of Surf City’s land. Water is left out: Surf City has 7.7 square miles of land and 2.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Surf City’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits42 ac
Town or city33 ac
Not recorded83 ac
Local Recreation Area · 53 acConservation Easement · 42 acLocal Park · 33 acLocal Other or Unknown · 24 acState Conservation Area · 5 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 42 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 9 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saltwater Landing Park Local Park | Town or city | 33 | Open |
| Town of Surf City Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 24 | Unknown |
| Town of Surf City - Surf City Community Center Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 22 | Open |
| Town of Surf City - Soundside Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 21 | Open |
| Town of Surf City - Kenneth D. Batts Family Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 9 | Open |
| Holly Shelter Game Land State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 5 | Open |
| Town of Surf City - Nelva R. Albury Recreation Area Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 1 | Open |
Things to do
10 places to go in Surf City
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Surf City
Stevens Street Public Beach Access
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Surf City
Nelva R. Albury Recreation Center
DirectionsPlus 6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Surf City
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Picnic areas in Surf City
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.7 mi
Public Beach Access0.1 mi
Biking & sports
0.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
3Baseball
2Tennis
1Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Surf City: 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 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.9 |
| High (°F) | 56 | 59 | 65 | 73 | 80 | 86 | 89 | 87 | 83 | 75 | 66 | 59 |
| Rain (in) | 4.0 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 5.6 | 6.4 | 7.4 | 7.8 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 3.8 |
February is the driest month (3.5 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 Surf City →
Next door
Surf City and its neighbors
Surf City 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surf City | 3% | 0.3 | 22 | 43% | B− |
| North Topsail Beach | 8% | 0.7 | 11 | 11% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Surf City
How much of Surf City is conserved land?
3% 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 Surf City’s trails?
Holly Shelter Game Land doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Surf City?
0.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Surf City?
43,713 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Surf City or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 96 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Surf City have?
Ahead of 51% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #101 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 Surf City 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 →