Grovemont Park
Park
1 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Harrison Keely · CC BY 4.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Swannanoa
6% of Swannanoa’s land is conserved: 239 acres
0.7 miles of mapped trail cross Swannanoa, 0.1 per square mile of land. 49% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 59 acres are parks and preserves, 8.5 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 40% of U.S. towns · #150 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
239 acres · of 6.4 sq mi of land
Trails
0.7 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
59 ac
8.5 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
49%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.8 mi
0.8 mi paths
Highest peak
4,039 ft
High Hickory Knob
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Swannanoa have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Swannanoa is ahead of 40% of U.S. towns, #150 of 290 in North Carolina. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Swannanoa’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical NC town 3% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · NC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4CPark land8.5 acres of park per 1,000 residents (59 acres) · NC 8 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home49% 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 40%
LessMore
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 48%
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Swannanoa. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
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 Grovemont Park, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
239 conserved acres
6% of Swannanoa’s land. Who manages Swannanoa’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County58 ac
Not recorded190 ac
State Other or Unknown · 179 acLocal Park · 58 acLocal Other or Unknown · 11 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 4 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swannanoa Correctional Center for Women State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 176 | Restricted |
| Buncombe County Park Local Park | County | 58 | Open |
| Buncombe County Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 11 | Unknown |
| NC Hazard Mitigation Buyout Property - Buncombe County State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 3 | Unknown |
Things to do
3 places to go in Swannanoa
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Swannanoa
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Swannanoa
High Hickory Knob4,039 ft elevation
DirectionsFour Brothers Knobs3,337 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
3Tennis
1Soccer
1Softball
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Swannanoa: April to June and August
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 | 14.6 | 14.3 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.2 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 47 | 50 | 58 | 67 | 74 | 80 | 83 | 82 | 76 | 67 | 57 | 49 |
| Rain (in) | 3.9 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.9 |
February is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 83 °F). 4.8 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Swannanoa →
Next door
Swannanoa and its neighbors
Swannanoa 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swannanoa | 6% | 0.1 | 9 | 49% | C+ |
| Black Mountain | 1% | 0.8 | 6 | 53% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Swannanoa
Where can I hike in Swannanoa?
The longest trail networks: Grovemont Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Swannanoa 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 Swannanoa’s trails?
Grovemont Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Swannanoa?
0.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.8 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Swannanoa?
21,296 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Swannanoa or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 59 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Swannanoa have?
Ahead of 40% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #150 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 Swannanoa 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 →