Edwin M Griffin Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
91 acres2.8 mi of trail
Cottonwood TrailHighlands TrailPinecone TrailTurkey Cut Trail+1
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the trailhead
Photo: PegasusRacer28 · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Spartanburg
Spartanburg has 11 miles of mapped trails, 0.5 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Edwin M Griffin Nature Preserve (2.8 mi), Cleveland Park (0.6 mi), Hatcher Garden and Woodland Preserve (0.6 mi). 80% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 356 acres are parks and preserves, 9.2 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns · #34 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
346 acres · of 20.4 sq mi of land
Trails
11 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
356 ac
9.2 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
80%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
24 mi
12 mi lanes · 12 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
6
What kind of outdoors town is Spartanburg?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Spartanburg have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Spartanburg is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns, #34 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 Spartanburg’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical SC town 1% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (11 mi) · SC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land9.2 acres of park per 1,000 residents (356 acres) · SC 6 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home80% 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 Spartanburg’s 3% is ahead of 66% of South Carolina towns, while its trails per square mile lead 76% 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 Edwin M Griffin Nature Preserve, with 2.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hatcher Garden and Woodland Preserve
Nature preserve
14 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Hatcher Garden Bus ParkingWebsite ↗
All 36 parks & preserves
Edwin M Griffin Nature Preserve91 acres · 2.8 mi of trail
DirectionsCleveland Park28 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsHatcher Garden and Woodland Preserve14 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsTiger Park6 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsLiberty Garden4 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Directions295 Sports Complex21 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsVoyagers Park1 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsDuncan Park84 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsMorgan Square1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsRichardson Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsAlumni Park10 acres
DirectionsButterfly Creek Park9 acres
DirectionsIrwin Park9 acres
DirectionsStewart Park8 acres
DirectionsBarnet Park7 acres
DirectionsBerry Field7 acres
DirectionsAirport Park6 acres
DirectionsAndrews Farm Park6 acres
DirectionsAdam's Park5 acres
DirectionsSouth Converse Park4 acres
DirectionsThe Rail Yard4 acres
DirectionsSubaru of Spartanburg Bike Park4 acres
DirectionsPriscilla Rumley Park3 acres
DirectionsVeteran's Pointe Memorial Park3 acres
DirectionsHillcrest Park3 acres
Chapel Street Park2 acres
DirectionsHappy Hollow Park2 acres
DirectionsWalter S. Montgomery Commons2 acres
DirectionsSummerhill Park1 acres
Denny's Plaza1 acres
DirectionsFairgrounds Basketball Courts1 acres
Grain District Plaza1 acres
DirectionsCentral Park1 acres
DirectionsMary H Wright Greenway Park1 acres
DirectionsSt. Matthews Community Park1 acres
DirectionsFour Season Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
346 conserved acres
3% of Spartanburg’s land. Who manages Spartanburg’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city228 ac
County66 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits60 ac
Private owners11 ac
Local Park · 198 acLocal Recreation Area · 102 acUnknown Easement · 46 acForest Stewardship Easement · 7 acConservation Easement · 7 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 60 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 35 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duncan Park Local Park | Town or city | 87 | Open |
| Cleveland Park Local Recreation Area | County | 29 | Open |
| Fairgrounds Basketball Courts Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 26 | Open |
| 295 Sports Complex Local Recreation Area | County | 24 | Open |
| Fairfield Park Local Park | Town or city | 20 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Andrews Farm Park Local Park | Private owners | 11 | Open |
| Legion Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Stewart Park Local Park | County | 10 | Open |
| South Converse Street Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
106 places to go in Spartanburg
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Spartanburg
CC Woodson Pool
DirectionsFernwood Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Spartanburg
Beaumont Mills playground
DirectionsCC Woodson Playground
DirectionsCleveland Park playgroundIn Cleveland Park
DirectionsHappy Hollow Park playgroundIn Happy Hollow Park
DirectionsLibrary Playground
DirectionsPanthers NFL Play60 courseIn The Rail Yard
DirectionsPlay on MainIn Denny's Plaza
DirectionsSpartanburg Regional Kids' Zone
Directions93 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Dog parks in Spartanburg
Rail Tail Dog Park
DirectionsPlus 8 dog parks without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Spartanburg
2 scenic views without a name on the map.
Trails & water
15 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 4.8 miUnpaved · 6.3 mi
Cottonwood Trail1.4 mi
Powerline Trail0.5 mi
Lakeside Trail0.5 mi
Highlands Trail0.5 mi
Pinecone Trail0.3 mi
Turkey Cut Trail0.2 mi
Railroad Trail0.2 mi
Ridge Trail0.2 mi
Periwinkle Trail0.2 mi
Beaverdam Trail0.2 mi
5 more trails
Wetlands Trail
0.1 miOrchard Trail
0.1 miShortcut Trail
0.1 miSummit
0.1 miThe Boardwalk
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
24 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
12 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
12 mi
off-road bike paths
0.3 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
46Tennis
25Basketball
16Baseball
8Soccer
7Football
6Softball
5Lacrosse
4Tracks
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →28 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 21 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Evins-Bivings HouseBuilding · listed 1970
About itFoster's TavernBuilding · listed 1970
About itJammie Seay HouseBuilding · listed 1971
About itCleveland Law RangeBuilding · listed 1973
About itWofford College Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1974
About itConverse College Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1975
About itWalker HallBuilding · listed 1977
About itMorgan, Daniel, MonumentObject · listed 1980
About itHampton Heights Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1983
About itSpartanburg Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1983
About itWalter Scott Montgomery HouseBuilding · listed 1984
About itPalmetto TheaterBuilding · listed 1996
About it16 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Spartanburg: 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) | 10.0 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 52 | 57 | 64 | 73 | 80 | 87 | 90 | 88 | 82 | 73 | 63 | 55 |
| Rain (in) | 4.2 | 3.7 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 4.4 |
October is the driest month (3.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 4.6 inches fall in March, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Spartanburg →
Next door
Spartanburg and its neighbors
Spartanburg has the most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Spartanburg
Where can I hike in Spartanburg?
The longest trail networks: Edwin M Griffin Nature Preserve, 2.8 miles; Cleveland Park, 0.6 miles; Hatcher Garden and Woodland Preserve, 0.6 miles; Tiger Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Spartanburg 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.
Are dogs allowed on Spartanburg’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Edwin M Griffin Nature Preserve (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Spartanburg?
24 miles of bike routes are on the map: 12 of painted or protected lanes, 12 of off-road paths and 0.3 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Spartanburg?
8,964 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Spartanburg or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 356 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Spartanburg have?
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #34 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 Spartanburg 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 →