Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Few parks or trails are on the map in South Carthage
64 acres are parks and preserves, 27 per 1,000 residents. 41% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1% of South Carthage’s land is conserved, about 21 acres.
Ahead of 45% of U.S. towns. What drives it
How much outdoors does South Carthage have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, South Carthage is ahead of 45% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
Few Tennessee towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so South Carthage’s 1% is ahead of 47% of Tennessee towns, while its trails per square mile lead 66% 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.
21 conserved acres
1% of South Carthage’s land. Who manages South Carthage’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smith County Soccer Complex Local Recreation Area | County | 21 | Open |
1.6 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.
The best walking months in South Carthage: 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) | 9.9 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 14.1 | 14.6 | 14.4 | 13.5 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.2 | 9.7 |
| High (°F) | 48 | 53 | 62 | 72 | 79 | 86 | 90 | 89 | 84 | 73 | 61 | 52 |
| Rain (in) | 4.5 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 5.3 |
October is the driest month (3.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 5.3 inches fall in December, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in South Carthage →
Questions about parks and trails in South Carthage
How much of South Carthage is conserved land?
1% of its land, against a typical 1% for a Tennessee town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Where can I bike in South Carthage?
1.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near South Carthage?
1,529 acres of parks and open public land lie inside South Carthage or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 64 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does South Carthage have?
Ahead of 45% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 South Carthage 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 →