International Drive Fields
Park
20 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Carolina Forest
Carolina Forest has 16 miles of mapped trails, 1.0 for every square mile of land
732 acres are parks and preserves, 28 per 1,000 residents. 7% of Carolina Forest’s land is conserved, about 713 acres. 47% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns · #11 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
713 acres · of 16.8 sq mi of land
Trails
16 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
732 ac
28 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
47%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
16 mi
4.5 mi lanes · 11 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Carolina Forest?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Carolina Forest have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Carolina Forest is ahead of 72% of U.S. towns, #11 of 169 in South Carolina. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Carolina Forest’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical SC town 1% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (16 mi) · SC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land28 acres of park per 1,000 residents (732 acres) · SC 6 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home47% of residents within a half mile of a park · SC 52% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 72%
LessMore
South Carolina towns of 2,500+ (169)Ahead of 94%
Few South Carolina towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Carolina Forest’s 7% is ahead of 86% of South Carolina towns, while its trails per square mile lead 92% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B 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 International Drive Fields, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Preserve
Nature preserve
227 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
713 conserved acres
7% of Carolina Forest’s land. Who manages Carolina Forest’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources660 ac
County54 ac
State Conservation Area · 660 acLocal Park · 30 acLocal Recreation Area · 24 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Preserve / Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 660 | Open |
| Carolina Forest Site 1 Local Park | County | 30 | Open |
| Carolina Forest Site 3 Local Recreation Area | County | 24 | Open |
Things to do
22 places to go in Carolina Forest
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Carolina Forest
Cloisters Pool
DirectionsTurnberry Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Carolina Forest
Plus 15 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Carolina Forest
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Carolina Forest
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
16 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.5 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
11 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
10Baseball
8Basketball
8Soccer
7Tennis
2Beach volleyball
2Pickleball
1Football
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Carolina Forest: 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 | 10.4 | 9.9 |
| High (°F) | 57 | 60 | 67 | 74 | 81 | 87 | 89 | 88 | 83 | 76 | 67 | 60 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 6.3 | 6.3 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 3.8 |
April is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 6.3 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Carolina Forest →
Next door
Carolina Forest and its neighbors
Carolina Forest 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carolina Forest | 7% | 1.0 | 28 | 47% | B+ |
| Conway | 7% | 0.5 | 5 | 44% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Carolina Forest
Where can I hike in Carolina Forest?
The longest trail networks: International Drive Fields, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Carolina Forest is conserved land?
7% 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 Carolina Forest’s trails?
International Drive Fields and Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Carolina Forest?
16 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.5 of painted or protected lanes and 11 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Carolina Forest?
14,039 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Carolina Forest or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 732 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Carolina Forest have?
Ahead of 72% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #11 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 Carolina Forest 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 →