Photo: DiscoA340 · CC BY-SA 4.06% of Wrightsville Beach’s land is conserved: 55 acres
1.1 miles of mapped trail cross Wrightsville Beach, 0.8 per square mile of land. 17 acres are parks and preserves, 6.5 per 1,000 residents. 77% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns. What drives it
How much outdoors does Wrightsville Beach have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Wrightsville Beach is ahead of 64% of U.S. towns. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
Water is 39% of Wrightsville Beach’s area (1 of 2 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 4%.
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Coastal Mangement-Masonboro Estaurine Resource Pre
55 conserved acres
6% of Wrightsville Beach’s land. Water is left out: Wrightsville Beach has 1.4 square miles of land and 0.9 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Wrightsville Beach’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 3 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Town of Wrightsville Beach Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 23 | Unknown |
| South Wrightsville Beach Audubon Sanctuary Private Conservation | Not recorded | 20 | Unknown |
| New Hanover County Park Local Park | County | 13 | Open |
7 places to go in Wrightsville Beach
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
3 boat launches without a name on the map.
5 named trails
1.5 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.
The best walking months in Wrightsville Beach: 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 | 59 | 65 | 73 | 80 | 86 | 89 | 88 | 83 | 75 | 66 | 60 |
| Rain (in) | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 5.3 | 6.4 | 7.2 | 8.2 | 4.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
April is the driest month (3.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 8.2 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Wrightsville Beach →
Questions about parks and trails in Wrightsville Beach
How much of Wrightsville Beach 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 Wrightsville Beach’s trails?
Wrightsville Beach Park and Coastal Mangement-Masonboro Estaurine Resource Pre don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Wrightsville Beach?
1.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.9 of painted or protected lanes and 0.5 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Wrightsville Beach?
3,752 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Wrightsville Beach or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 17 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Wrightsville Beach have?
Ahead of 64% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Wrightsville Beach 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 →