Tombee Plantation · Photo: Gwringle · CC BY-SA 3.0Port Royal has 9.5 miles of mapped trails, 0.5 for every square mile of land
83 acres are parks and preserves, 5.3 per 1,000 residents. 50% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 32% of U.S. towns · #86 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it
How much outdoors does Port Royal have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Port Royal is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns, #86 of 169 in South Carolina. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
Few South Carolina towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Port Royal’s under 1% is ahead of 27% of South Carolina towns, while its trails per square mile lead 73% of them.
Water is 14% of Port Royal’s area (3 of 22 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read under 1%.
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.
4th Bn Park
Enlisted Beach Park
Shell Point Park
All 5 parks & preserves
56 conserved acres
under 1% of Port Royal’s land. Water is left out: Port Royal has 19.3 square miles of land and 3.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Port Royal’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shell Point Park Local Park | County | 13 | Open |
| Sands Beach Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Cypress Wetlands Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Port Royal Sport Fields Local Recreation Area | County | 7 | Open |
| John Parker Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Naval Heritage Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Bruce Edgerly Field Local Recreation Area | County | 4 | Open |
| Fort Frederick Local Historic or Cultural Area | County | 3 | Open |
| Fort Frederick Heritage Preserve State Historic or Cultural Area | State natural resources | 2 | Restricted |
| Live Oaks Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
8 places to go in Port Royal
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
5 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
1 named trail and 4 lakes & rivers
0.4 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.
3 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 Port Royal: 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) | 60 | 63 | 69 | 76 | 83 | 88 | 91 | 89 | 85 | 78 | 69 | 62 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 5.3 | 5.8 | 6.6 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 2.6 | 3.1 |
November is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 91 °F). 6.6 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 91 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Port Royal →
Port Royal and its neighbors
Port Royal has the most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Port Royal
How much of Port Royal is conserved land?
under 1% 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 Port Royal’s trails?
Cypress Wetlands and 4th Bn Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Port Royal?
0.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Port Royal?
7,403 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Port Royal or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 83 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Port Royal have?
Ahead of 32% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #86 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 Port Royal 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 →