Swansboro Municipal Park
Park
18 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Parking for public parkWebsite ↗
Photo: User: (WT-shared) Haem85 at wts wikivoyage · CC BY-SA 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Swansboro
Swansboro has 66 acres of parks, 16 for every 1,000 residents
84% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.2 miles of mapped trail cross Swansboro, 0.1 per square mile of land. 4% of Swansboro’s land is conserved, about 65 acres.
Ahead of 54% of U.S. towns · #90 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
65 acres · of 2.3 sq mi of land
Trails
0.2 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
66 ac
16 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
84%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Swansboro?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Swansboro have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Swansboro is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns, #90 of 290 in North Carolina. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Swansboro’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical NC town 3% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · NC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4CPark land16 acres of park per 1,000 residents (66 acres) · NC 8 · U.S. 13BParks close to home84% 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 54%
LessMore
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 69%
Water is 6% of Swansboro’s area (0 of 2 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 4%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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
65 conserved acres
4% of Swansboro’s land. Water is left out: Swansboro has 2.3 square miles of land and 0.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Swansboro’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County40 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits23 ac
Not recorded21 ac
Local Park · 40 acLocal Recreation Area · 23 acLocal Other or Unknown · 21 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 3 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Onslow County Park Local Park | County | 40 | Open |
| Swansboro Soccer Complex Local Recreation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 23 | Open |
| Town of Swansboro Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 21 | Unknown |
Things to do
7 places to go in Swansboro
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Swansboro
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Swansboro
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Biking & 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
2Soccer
2Basketball
2Tennis
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Swansboro: 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 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 56 | 58 | 65 | 73 | 79 | 86 | 89 | 87 | 83 | 75 | 66 | 59 |
| Rain (in) | 4.1 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 4.4 | 5.4 | 6.5 | 7.2 | 7.7 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 4.0 |
April is the driest month (3.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 7.7 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Swansboro →
Questions about parks and trails in Swansboro
Where can I hike in Swansboro?
The longest trail networks: Riverview Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Swansboro is conserved land?
4% 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 Swansboro’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Riverview Park. For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Swansboro?
39,287 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Swansboro or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 66 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Swansboro have?
Ahead of 54% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #90 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 Swansboro 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 →