Sunset Park
Park
21 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Coolmore Plantation · Photo: Thomas T. Waterman, Photographer · Public domainBOutdoors
Outdoors in Tarboro
7% of Tarboro’s land is conserved: 483 acres
210 acres are parks and preserves, 19 per 1,000 residents. 58% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3.2 miles of mapped trail cross Tarboro, 0.3 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns · #70 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
483 acres · of 11.3 sq mi of land
Trails
3.2 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
210 ac
19 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
58%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Tarboro?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Tarboro have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Tarboro is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns, #70 of 290 in North Carolina. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Tarboro’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% 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 land19 acres of park per 1,000 residents (210 acres) · NC 8 · U.S. 13BParks close to home58% 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 60%
LessMore
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 76%
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.
Clark Memorial Park
Park
20 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Tarboro Swimming Pool Complex
Park
10 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Clark Memorial Park Development
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
483 conserved acres
7% of Tarboro’s land. Who manages Tarboro’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city83 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits12 ac
Not recorded412 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 261 acLocal Recreation Area · 144 acLocal Park · 75 acConservation Easement · 12 acState Other or Unknown · 11 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 5 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 7 of 14 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Town of Tarboro Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 220 | Unknown |
| Town of Tarboro Open Space - Indian Lake Park Local Recreation Area | Not recorded | 126 | Open |
| Edgecombe County Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 52 | Unknown |
| Clark Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 34 | Open |
| Sunset Park Local Park | Town or city | 24 | Open |
| Riverside Park Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| NC Hazard Mitigation Buyout Property - Tarboro State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 11 | Unknown |
| Tarboro Swimming Pool Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Tarboro Boat Landing State Conservation Area | Not recorded | 4 | Unknown |
| Livesay Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
8 places to go in Tarboro
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Tarboro
7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Fishing spots in Tarboro
Bell's Bridge Access Area
DirectionsTrails & water
7 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.3 mi
Main Loop0.6 mi
Main Trail0.6 mi
North Loop0.3 mi
South Loop0.2 mi
Central Path0.2 mi
Small Loop0.2 mi
Park Connector0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
15Tennis
11Baseball
2Pickleball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →16 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Tarboro Town CommonSite · listed 1970
About itCotton PressStructure · listed 1971
About itBarracks, TheBuilding · listed 1971
About itCalvary Episcopal Church and ChurchyardBuilding · listed 1971
About itGrove, TheBuilding · listed 1971
About itWalston-Bulluck HouseBuilding · listed 1971
About itCoats HouseBuilding · listed 1973
About itRedmond-Shackelford HouseBuilding · listed 1976
About itEdgecombe Agricultural WorksBuilding · listed 1980
About itOakland PlantationBuilding · listed 1980
About itRailroad Depot ComplexBuilding · listed 1980
About it4 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Tarboro: 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 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 14.1 | 14.6 | 14.4 | 13.5 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.2 | 9.7 |
| High (°F) | 52 | 56 | 63 | 72 | 79 | 87 | 90 | 88 | 82 | 73 | 63 | 56 |
| Rain (in) | 3.6 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 5.2 | 5.3 | 5.8 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
February is the driest month (3.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 5.8 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Tarboro →
Questions about parks and trails in Tarboro
Where can I hike in Tarboro?
The longest trail networks: Clark Memorial Park, 0.2 miles; Tarboro Swimming Pool Complex, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Tarboro is conserved land?
7% 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 Tarboro’s trails?
Sunset Park and Clark Memorial Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Tarboro?
375 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Tarboro or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 210 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Tarboro have?
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #70 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 Tarboro 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 →