Fort Johnson/Powder Magazine · Photo: Conrad Wise Chapman · Public domainFew parks or trails are on the map in James Island
1 acre is park or preserve, 0.1 per 1,000 residents. 0.4 miles of mapped trail cross James Island, 0.1 per square mile of land. 71% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 28% of U.S. towns · #98 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it
How much outdoors does James Island have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, James Island is ahead of 28% of U.S. towns, #98 of 169 in South Carolina. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
Few South Carolina towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so James Island’s 3% is ahead of 73% of South Carolina towns, while its trails per square mile lead 38% of them.
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.
99 conserved acres
3% of James Island’s land. Who manages James Island’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Johnson Marine Resources Center State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 98 | Open |
| Dock Street Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
4 places to go in James Island
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1.2 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.
4 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.
The best walking months in James Island: 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) | 10.2 | 11.0 | 11.9 | 12.9 | 13.8 | 14.3 | 14.1 | 13.3 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 10.0 |
| High (°F) | 59 | 62 | 68 | 75 | 81 | 87 | 90 | 89 | 85 | 77 | 69 | 62 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 5.4 | 5.7 | 6.4 | 5.4 | 4.4 | 2.8 | 3.2 |
November is the driest month (2.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 6.4 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in James Island →
James Island and its neighbors
James Island has the second 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Island | 3% | 0.1 | under 1 | 71% | C |
| Charleston | 14% | 0.8 | 20 | 79% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in James Island
How much of James Island is conserved land?
3% 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.
Where can I bike in James Island?
1.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.2 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near James Island?
6,585 acres of parks and open public land lie inside James Island or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 98 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does James Island have?
Ahead of 28% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #98 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 James Island 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 →