Cub Creek Park
Park
22 acres1.2 mi of trail
Cub Creek Walking Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: NatalieMaynor · CC BY 2.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Wilkesboro
Wilkesboro has 8.3 miles of mapped trails, 1.2 for every square mile of land
253 acres are parks and preserves, 69 per 1,000 residents. 8% of Wilkesboro’s land is conserved, about 334 acres. 72% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns · #12 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
334 acres · of 6.7 sq mi of land
Trails
8.3 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
253 ac
69 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
72%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.2 mi
1.1 mi lanes · 4.0 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Wilkesboro?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Wilkesboro have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Wilkesboro is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns, #12 of 290 in North Carolina. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Wilkesboro’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical NC town 3% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · NC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4APark land69 acres of park per 1,000 residents (253 acres) · NC 8 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home72% 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 87%
LessMore
North Carolina towns of 2,500+ (290)Ahead of 96%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. 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 Cub Creek Park, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lowe's Park at River's Edge
Park
62 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Westwood Park
Park
21 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Cub Creek
Park
8 acres0.1 mi of trail
Cub Creek Walking Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
334 conserved acres
8% of Wilkesboro’s land. Who manages Wilkesboro’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County134 ac
Town or city96 ac
Not recorded120 ac
Local Park · 164 acLocal Other or Unknown · 115 acLocal Recreation Area · 65 acState Other or Unknown · 4 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 9 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilkes County Open Space Local Park | Town or city | 143 | Open |
| Town of Wilkesboro Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 92 | Unknown |
| Lowes Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 65 | Open |
| Cub Creek Park Local Park | Town or city | 28 | Open |
| Town of Wilkesboro - Westwood Park Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 15 | Unknown |
| NC Land and Water Fund Conservation Agreement State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 4 | Restricted |
Things to do
5 places to go in Wilkesboro
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Wilkesboro
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Wilkesboro
Hidden Oaks Dog ParkIn Cub Creek
DirectionsBoat launches in Wilkesboro
Moravian Creek Access
DirectionsTrails & water
6 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 5.1 miUnpaved · 1.3 mi
Call Farm Loop2.7 mi
Cub Creek Walking Trail1.6 mi
Perkins Place Loop1.4 mi
Jailbreak Loop0.6 mi
Perkins Place Connector0.2 mi
Cub Creek Connector0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
5.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
4.0 mi
off-road bike paths
0.1 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
14Baseball
13Soccer
11Tennis
9Pickleball
6Basketball
1Beach volleyball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →13 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Old Wilkes County JailBuilding · listed 1971
About itRobert Cleveland Log HouseBuilding · listed 1972
About itWilkes County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1979
About itBrown-Cowles House and Cowles Law OfficeBuilding · listed 1982
About itFinley, Thomas B., Law OfficeBuilding · listed 1982
About itJ. T. Ferguson StoreBuilding · listed 1982
About itJohnson-Hubbard HouseBuilding · listed 1982
About itWilkesboro Presbyterian ChurchBuilding · listed 1982
About itWilkesboro-Smithey HotelBuilding · listed 1982
About itJ. L. Hemphill HouseBuilding · listed 1982
About itSt. Paul's Episcopal Church and CemeteryBuilding · listed 1982
About itDowntown Wilkesboro Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2009
About it1 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Wilkesboro: April to June
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) | 49 | 53 | 61 | 71 | 78 | 85 | 88 | 86 | 81 | 71 | 61 | 52 |
| Rain (in) | 4.1 | 3.2 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 4.2 |
February is the driest month (3.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 5.0 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Wilkesboro →
Next door
Wilkesboro and its neighbors
Wilkesboro has the most mapped trails of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilkesboro | 8% | 1.2 | 69 | 72% | A |
| Moravian Falls | 4% | 0.4 | 104 | 60% | B+ |
| North Wilkesboro | 18% | 0.2 | 164 | 96% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Wilkesboro
Where can I hike in Wilkesboro?
The longest trail networks: Cub Creek Park, 1.2 miles; Lowe's Park at River's Edge, 0.1 miles; Cub Creek, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Wilkesboro is conserved land?
8% 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 Wilkesboro’s trails?
Cub Creek Park and Lowe's Park at River's Edge don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Wilkesboro?
5.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.1 of painted or protected lanes, 4.0 of off-road paths and 0.1 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Wilkesboro?
6,466 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Wilkesboro or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 253 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Wilkesboro have?
Ahead of 87% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #12 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 Wilkesboro 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 →