1
Green River Game Land
Nature preserve
593 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
Outdoors · Columbus
Columbus, NC parks, trails & bike paths
About 46% of Columbus is conserved land, roughly 1,096 acres. Columbus has 5 named parks and preserves on the map.
Conserved land, trails, parks and bike routes in Columbus, measured from OpenStreetMap and USGS data.
At a glance
Columbus outdoors
Conserved land
46%
1,096 of 2,400 acres
Trails
0.9 mi
0.2 mi per sq mi
Parks & preserves
5
1,023 conserved acres per 1,000 residents
Bike routes
1.2 mi
0.0 mi lanes · 1.2 mi off-road paths
Conserved land is a share of the whole town area. Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number or a place below to zoom in© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Parks & preserves with trails
Ranked by mapped trail miles. Directions go to the nearest marked trailhead or public parking.
2
Polk County Recreation Complex
Managed by Polk County
323 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
3
James R. Gibson Park
Park
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
4
Stearns Park
Park
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
Things to do
Beaches, playgrounds, falls & more
Pick a kind of place for the list, directions, or pins on the map above.
Peaks in Columbus
Little White Oak Mountain2,375 ft elevation · In Green River Game Land
Foster Mountain1,585 ft elevation
Water
Lakes & rivers
Tap a name for directions.
Who protects the land
1,096 conserved acres
Who manages it, from PAD-US. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn't always mean open to visitors. 40 acres are conservation easements, which are usually private land. Public access isn't recorded for 7 of 10 parcels. The places listed above are parks and preserves people visit.
Biking & sports
Bike routes, courts & fields
- Painted or protected bike lanes0.0 mi
- Off-road bike paths1.2 mi
- Shoulders & shared lanes0.0 mi
Public lands
The biggest protected places in Columbus
From USGS PAD-US: who manages each one and whether visitors are welcome.
State Other or Unknown 890 acUnknown Easement 630 acState Conservation Area 596 acLocal Other or Unknown 300 acLocal Recreation Area 298 ac
| Place | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polk County Open SpaceLocal Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 599 | Access unknown |
| Green River Game LandState Conservation Area | Not recorded | 596 | Open |
| NC Land and Water Fund ProjectState Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 591 | Restricted |
| NC Land and Water Fund Conservation AgreementState Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 298 | Restricted |
| Conserving Carolina - Little White Oak MountainPrivate Conservation | Not recorded | 162 | Access unknown |
History
Historic places to visit
Battle of Round Mountain MonumentIn Stearns Park · Monument
Doughboy StatueMonument
Columbus Baptist Church CemeteryCemetery
Columbus Presbyterian Church CemeteryCemetery
Polk Memorial GardensCemetery
Trail talk
Conditions & tips from neighbors
No recent posts about Columbus's trails yet. Muddy, icy, a bridge out, where to park: a quick post helps the next person.
Sources: trails, parks, preserves, courts and bike lanes © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), map data as of 2026-09-28. Conserved land: USGS Gap Analysis Project, Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US). Measured against the Census town boundary.
How we measure
"Trails" are OpenStreetMap paths, bridleways, public tracks and unpaved footways, plus footways inside a park or preserve or on a named trail route. Sidewalks are left out. Areas are counted on a 20-meter grid, so overlapping parcels count once. "Conserved" includes conservation easements, which protect land from development but are usually private property. Trailheads are the nearest marked trailhead, public parking lot or information board within about 150 meters of a preserve. Dog rules come from OpenStreetMap when someone has tagged them; otherwise we show what's typical for the land manager, or say the rules aren't recorded.