Anderson Sports & Entertainment Complex
Park
124 acres6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Kennedy Street School · Photo: Bill Fitzpatrick · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Anderson
Anderson has 8.9 miles of mapped trails, 0.5 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Anderson Sports & Entertainment Complex (6 mi), Anderson Recreation Complex (0.6 mi). 4% of Anderson’s land is conserved, about 435 acres. 314 acres are parks and preserves, 10 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns · #35 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
435 acres · of 16.5 sq mi of land
Trails
8.9 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
314 ac
10 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
60%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.8 mi
1.1 mi lanes · 2.7 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Anderson have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Anderson is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns, #35 of 169 in South Carolina. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Anderson’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical SC town 1% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · SC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land10 acres of park per 1,000 residents (314 acres) · SC 6 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home60% of residents within a half mile of a park · SC 52% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 56%
LessMore
South Carolina towns of 2,500+ (169)Ahead of 80%
Few South Carolina towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Anderson’s 4% is ahead of 77% of South Carolina towns, while its trails per square mile lead 75% of them.
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
The longest trail network is Anderson Sports & Entertainment Complex, with 6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Anderson Recreation Complex
Park
22 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 10 parks & preserves
Anderson Sports & Entertainment Complex124 acres · 6 mi of trail
DirectionsAnderson Recreation Complex22 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsCarolina Wren Park1 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsLinley Park13 acres
DirectionsSouthwood Park7 acres
DirectionsCater Lake Park7 acres
Abney Mills Park4 acres
DirectionsBrookview Park3 acres
Market St Park3 acres
American Legion Memorial Athletic Field1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
435 conserved acres
4% of Anderson’s land. Who manages Anderson’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County227 ac
Town or city148 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits61 ac
Local Recreation Area · 196 acLocal Park · 113 acLocal Historic or Cultural Area · 65 acConservation Easement · 61 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 61 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson Sports and Entertainment Center Local Recreation Area | County | 134 | Open |
| Whitehall Park Local Park | County | 71 | Open |
| Silver Brook Cemetery Local Historic or Cultural Area | Town or city | 43 | Open |
| Westview Cemetery Local Historic or Cultural Area | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| Anderson Memorial Stadium Local Recreation Area | County | 21 | Open |
| City of Anderson Recreation Center Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Westside Community Center Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| D. B. Walker Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Linley Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Cater Lake Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
26 places to go in Anderson
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Anderson
17 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Anderson
TBA Dog Park
DirectionsPicnic areas in Anderson
8 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Bluff Trail0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
3.8 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
2.7 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
19Tennis
15Baseball
8Pickleball
5Soccer
2Football
1Volleyball
1Basketball
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →10 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Caldwell-Johnson-Morris CottageBuilding · listed 1971
About itAnderson Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1971
About itDr. Samuel Marshall Orr HouseBuilding · listed 1973
About itAnderson Downtown Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1987
About itRalph John Ramer HouseBuilding · listed 1992
About itAnderson College Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1998
About itKennedy Street SchoolBuilding · listed 2007
About itNorth Anderson Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2008
About itUnited States Post Office and Court HouseBuilding · listed 2017
About itRobert J. and Lula Ginn HouseBuilding · listed 2019
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Anderson: 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 | 14.2 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.9 |
| High (°F) | 53 | 57 | 65 | 73 | 81 | 87 | 90 | 89 | 83 | 73 | 63 | 55 |
| Rain (in) | 4.4 | 4.1 | 4.7 | 3.7 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 4.6 |
October is the driest month (3.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 4.7 inches fall in March, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Anderson →
Next door
Anderson and its neighbors
Anderson has the most mapped trails of the 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson | 4% | 0.5 | 10 | 60% | B |
| Northlake | 46% | 0.1 | 1 | 9% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Anderson
Where can I hike in Anderson?
The longest trail networks: Anderson Sports & Entertainment Complex, 6 miles; Anderson Recreation Complex, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Anderson is conserved land?
4% of its land, against a typical 1% for a South Carolina town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Anderson’s trails?
Anderson Sports & Entertainment Complex and Anderson Recreation Complex don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Anderson?
3.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.1 of painted or protected lanes and 2.7 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Anderson?
5,511 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Anderson or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 376 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Anderson have?
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #35 of 169 in South 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 Anderson 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 →