Photo: NCDOTcommunications · CC BY 2.0Wilmington has 17 miles of mapped trails, 0.3 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Airlie Gardens (1 mi), Long Leaf Park (0.9 mi), Halyburton Park (0.8 mi). 896 acres are parks and preserves, 7.4 per 1,000 residents. 4% of Wilmington’s land is conserved, about 1,412 acres.
Ahead of 49% of U.S. towns · #107 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
How much outdoors does Wilmington have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Wilmington is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns, #107 of 290 in North Carolina. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Wilmington ranks #359 on Outdoors.
Park acres per resident are where Wilmington trails most U.S. towns: 7.4 per 1,000 against 12.6 typical, since 126,809 people share 896 acres.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Airlie Gardens, with 1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Halyburton Park
Bluethenthal Wildflower Preserve
James E. L. Wade Park
All 33 parks & preserves
1,412 conserved acres
4% of Wilmington’s land. Who manages Wilmington’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 51 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 13 of 43 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Hanover County Park Local Park | County | 627 | Open |
| City of Wilmington Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 481 | Unknown |
| Northeast New Hanover Conservancy Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 320 | Restricted |
| New Hanover County Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 164 | Unknown |
| North Carolina Agricultural Foundation Preserve Private Conservation | Not recorded | 112 | Restricted |
| Airlie Gardens Local Park | County | 60 | Open |
| NC Land and Water Fund Conservation Agreement State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 40 | Restricted |
| Legion Sports Complex Local Park | Town or city | 34 | Open |
| Inland Greens Greenspace Local Park | Town or city | 31 | Open |
| NC Department of Transportation Mitigation Site State Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 26 | Unknown |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
34 places to go in Wilmington
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Plus 28 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Plus 1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
8 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers
61 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
21 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 5 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
9 more on the History page.
The best walking months in Wilmington: 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 | 11.3 | 10.3 | 9.9 |
| High (°F) | 57 | 60 | 66 | 74 | 81 | 87 | 90 | 88 | 84 | 76 | 67 | 60 |
| Rain (in) | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 5.3 | 6.3 | 7.1 | 8.1 | 4.7 | 3.6 | 3.7 |
April is the driest month (3.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 8.1 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Wilmington →
Wilmington and its neighbors
Wilmington has the most mapped trails of the 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilmington | 4% | 0.3 | 7 | 66% | B− |
| Silver Lake | 1% | 0.6 | 5 | 38% | C |
| Wrightsboro | under 1% | 0.1 | 2 | 12% | D |
| Kings Grant | 5% | under 0.1 | 1 | 32% | C− |
| Murraysville | 12% | 0.8 | 22 | 58% | A− |
| Myrtle Grove | 2% | under 0.1 | 2 | 17% | D |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Wilmington
Where can I hike in Wilmington?
The longest trail networks: Airlie Gardens, 1 miles; Long Leaf Park, 0.9 miles; Halyburton Park, 0.8 miles; Greenfield Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Wilmington 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 Wilmington’s trails?
Airlie Gardens and Long Leaf Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Wilmington?
61 miles of bike routes are on the map: 27 of painted or protected lanes, 30 of off-road paths and 4.2 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Wilmington?
7,336 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Wilmington or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 897 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Wilmington have?
Ahead of 49% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #107 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 Wilmington neighbors.
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 →