1
Brushy Face Preserve
Nature preserve
65 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Outdoors · Highlands
Highlands, NC parks, trails & bike paths
About 8% of Highlands is conserved land, roughly 325 acres. There are about 2.1 miles of mapped trails, and the biggest networks are in Brushy Face Preserve (0.6 mi).
Conserved land, trails, parks and bike routes in Highlands, measured from OpenStreetMap and USGS data.
At a glance
Highlands outdoors
Conserved land
8%
325 of 4,069 acres
Trails
2.1 mi
0.3 mi per sq mi
Parks & preserves
11
303 conserved acres per 1,000 residents
Bike routes
0.0 mi
0.0 mi lanes · 0.0 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
Nantahala National Forest
Managed by United States Forest Service
62 acres
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
3
Highlands Recreation Park
Park
26 acres
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
4
Dixon Park
Park
17 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 11 parks & preserves
Showing 1–10 of 11 parks & preserves
Brushy Face Preserve65 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
Kelsey-Hutchinson Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Nantahala National Forest62 acres · United States Forest Service
Highlands Recreation Park26 acres
Dixon Park17 acres
Rhododendron Park15 acres
Whiteside Mountain14 acres
Kelsey Trail Preserve13 acres
Ravenel Park11 acres
Satulah Mountain Preserves10 acres
Things to do
Beaches, playgrounds, falls & more
Pick a kind of place for the list, directions, or pins on the map above.
Peaks in Highlands
Bearpen Mountain4,285 ft elevation
Brushy Face4,242 ft elevation
Little Yellow Mountain4,203 ft elevation
Little Bearpen Mountain4,098 ft elevation
Sassafras Knob4,035 ft elevation
Holt Knob3,976 ft elevation
Water
Lakes & rivers
Tap a name for directions.
Who protects the land
325 conserved acres
Who manages it, from PAD-US. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn't always mean open to visitors. 103 acres are conservation easements, which are usually private land. Public access isn't recorded for 9 of 14 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 paths0.0 mi
- Shoulders & shared lanes0.0 mi
Courts & fields
- Pickleball6
- Tennis3
- Soccer1
- Skate park1
- Baseball1
Counts include school and college facilities, which aren't always open to the public.
Public lands
The biggest protected places in Highlands
From USGS PAD-US: who manages each one and whether visitors are welcome.
Private Conservation 141 acConservation Easement 74 acUnknown Easement 67 acNational Forest 41 acLocal Recreation Area 30 ac
| Place | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust PreservePrivate Conservation | Not recorded | 141 | Access unknown |
| Nantahala National ForestNational Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 41 | Open |
| Town of Highlands - Highlands Recreation ParkLocal Recreation Area | Not recorded | 30 | Access unknown |
| Satulah Mountain Summit Registered Heritage AreaState Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 10 | Restricted |
| Town of Highlands Open SpaceLocal Other or Unknown | Not recorded | 9 | Access unknown |
History
Historic places to visit
Highlands CemeteryCemetery
Trail talk
Conditions & tips from neighbors
No recent posts about Highlands'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.