Larry W. Abernathy Waterfront Park
Park
11 acres1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
J.C. Stribling Barn · Photo: KudzuVine · Public domainBOutdoors
Outdoors in Clemson
11% of Clemson’s land is conserved: 559 acres
The biggest trail networks: Larry W. Abernathy Waterfront Park (1 mi). 79% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 141 acres are parks and preserves, 7.8 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns · #18 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it
Conserved land
11%
559 acres · of 7.9 sq mi of land
Trails
3.2 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
141 ac
7.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
79%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.6 mi
0.7 mi lanes · 1.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Clemson?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Clemson have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Clemson is ahead of 65% of U.S. towns, #18 of 169 in South Carolina. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Clemson’s overall grade.
Conserved land11% of the land · typical SC town 1% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · SC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4BPark land7.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (141 acres) · SC 6 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home79% 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 65%
LessMore
South Carolina towns of 2,500+ (169)Ahead of 90%
Few South Carolina towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Clemson’s 11% is ahead of 94% of South Carolina towns, while its trails per square mile lead 70% of them.
Water is 5% of Clemson’s area (0 of 8 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 10%.
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 Larry W. Abernathy Waterfront Park, with 1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 7 parks & preserves
Larry W. Abernathy Waterfront Park11 acres · 1 mi of trail
DirectionsMountain View Park33 acres
DirectionsTwelve Mile Recreation Area25 acres
DirectionsClemson Park6 acres
DirectionsAshley Dearing Park4 acres
Gateway Park4 acres
Earl Anderson Park2 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
559 conserved acres
11% of Clemson’s land. Water is left out: Clemson has 7.9 square miles of land and 0.5 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Clemson’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Army Corps of Engineers461 ac
Town or city92 ac
Other state land33 ac
Recreation Management Area · 461 acLocal Recreation Area · 48 acLocal Park · 39 acState Resource Management Area · 33 acLocal Conservation Area · 5 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hartwell Recreation Area Recreation Management Area | Army Corps of Engineers | 461 | Open |
| Nettles Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 45 | Open |
| Clemson Forest State Resource Management Area | Other state land | 25 | Open |
| Mountain View Park Local Park | Town or city | 24 | Open |
| South Carolina Botanical Garden State Resource Management Area | Other state land | 7 | Open |
| Earl Anderson Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Clemson Park and Community Garden Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Ashley Dearing Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Gateway Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Shanklin / Sams Greenspace Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 2 | Open |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
11 places to go in Clemson
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Clemson
Country Walk Neighborhood Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Clemson
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Clemson
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Clemson
Mountain View Park Boat Ramp
DirectionsFishing spots in Clemson
Patrick Square Pond
DirectionsPicnic areas in Clemson
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Community gardens in Clemson
1 community garden without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.7 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
1.3 mi
off-road bike paths
0.6 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
12Tennis
6Baseball
3Beach volleyball
3Basketball
3Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Clemson: 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 | 14.3 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 53 | 57 | 65 | 73 | 80 | 87 | 90 | 88 | 83 | 73 | 63 | 55 |
| Rain (in) | 4.6 | 4.1 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.7 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 4.7 |
October is the driest month (3.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 4.7 inches fall in December, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Clemson →
Next door
Clemson and its neighbors
Clemson has the second most mapped trails of the 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clemson | 11% | 0.4 | 8 | 79% | B |
| Clemson University | 15% | 3.1 | 29 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Central | under 1% | under 0.1 | 1 | 29% | D |
| Pendleton | 2% | under 0.1 | 9 | 68% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Clemson
Where can I hike in Clemson?
The longest trail networks: Larry W. Abernathy Waterfront Park, 1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Clemson is conserved land?
11% 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 Clemson’s trails?
Larry W. Abernathy Waterfront Park and Mountain View Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Clemson?
2.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.7 of painted or protected lanes, 1.3 of off-road paths and 0.6 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Clemson?
15,358 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Clemson or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 262 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Clemson have?
Ahead of 65% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #18 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 Clemson 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 →