York Recreation Complex
Park
39 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Connor401 · CC BY-SA 3.0COutdoors
Outdoors in York
York has 76 acres of parks, 8.4 for every 1,000 residents
0.5 miles of mapped trail cross York, 0.1 per square mile of land. 1% of York’s land is conserved, about 70 acres. 76% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 32% of U.S. towns · #85 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
70 acres · of 8.8 sq mi of land
Trails
0.5 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
76 ac
8.4 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
76%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.4 mi
1.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is York?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does York have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, York is ahead of 32% of U.S. towns, #85 of 169 in South Carolina. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of York’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical SC town 1% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · SC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land8.4 acres of park per 1,000 residents (76 acres) · SC 6 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home76% 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 32%
LessMore
South Carolina towns of 2,500+ (169)Ahead of 50%
Few South Carolina towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so York’s 1% is ahead of 48% of South Carolina towns, while its trails per square mile lead 29% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C to C+. 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 York Recreation Complex, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
McCelvey Field
Park
11 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 8 parks & preserves
York Recreation Complex39 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsCity Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsMcCelvey Field11 acres
York Recreation Center8 acres
DirectionsLincoln Park2 acres
New Street Park2 acres
Magnolia Street Park1 acres
Veterans Memorial Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
70 conserved acres
1% of York’s land. Who manages York’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city59 ac
County10 ac
Local Recreation Area · 57 acLocal Park · 12 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| York Recreation Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 40 | Open |
| McCelvey Field Local Recreation Area | County | 10 | Open |
| York Recreation Center Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Jefferson Field Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| New Street Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| City Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Lincoln Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Magnolia Street Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Wooded Valley Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
8 places to go in York
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in York
8 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
15Golf
13Tennis
11Baseball
6Basketball
3Football
3Softball
1Volleyball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →7 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Wilson HouseBuilding · listed 1974
About itHart HouseBuilding · listed 1977
About itWitherspoon-Hunter HouseBuilding · listed 1978
About itYork Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1979
About itYork County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1981
About itSadler StoreBuilding · listed 2017
About itYork Graded SchoolBuilding · listed 2023
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in York: 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 | 83 | 73 | 63 | 55 |
| Rain (in) | 3.7 | 3.2 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 3.7 |
October is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 4.2 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in York →
Questions about parks and trails in York
Where can I hike in York?
The longest trail networks: York Recreation Complex, 0.3 miles; City Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of York is conserved land?
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 York’s trails?
York Recreation Complex and McCelvey Field don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in York?
1.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near York?
8,629 acres of parks and open public land lie inside York or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 76 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does York have?
Ahead of 32% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #85 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 York 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 →