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Salem North Carolina Map

Explore Salem, North Carolina, with this interactive street and satellite map.

This page also offers TOPO MAPS — the official USGS topographic sheets — plus USGS aerial imagery, a labelled USNG grid overlay, a distance and bearing tool, and a GPS grid-reference readout. See How to Use This Map below.

Interactive Map of Salem, North Carolina

How to Use This Salem, North Carolina Map

This interactive map shows the street layout and satellite imagery for Salem, North Carolina. Use the Map and Satellite buttons above to switch between street map and aerial imagery views. Use the + and − buttons to zoom in or out, or scroll your mouse wheel while holding the Control key to zoom. On a touchscreen, use a two-finger pinch gesture. Drag the map to pan to any area of North Carolina or beyond.

Click ⛶ Fullscreen to expand the map to fill your screen. To return to the normal page view, press the Escape key, click the ✕ Exit Fullscreen button that appears above the map, or on a mobile device tap the back button (Android) or the close icon (iOS).

TOPO MAPS — NEW. Click the green 🔍 Search Maps button below the map to open a second map with a Base map row offering three choices. OSM is the standard OpenStreetMap street map. Topo shows the official USGS topographic maps from The National Map — contours, hydrography, land cover and shaded relief, the same mapping used for hiking, hunting and back-country navigation in the Adirondacks, the Catskills and the Finger Lakes. Imagery shows USGS aerial photography, mostly 1-metre NAIP. The search box finds any US town, county or landmark by name, so you are not limited to Salem.

Reading the map like a paper quad. Click Grid to overlay the U.S. National Grid (USNG), labelled along the edges exactly as a printed topographic sheet is — at normal zoom the squares are one kilometre across, so you can read a six-figure grid reference by eye and judge distance directly off the map. Click Measure, then tap two points, to get the distance between them together with the grid bearing in degrees and mils, the true bearing, and the magnetic bearing to set on a compass.

Click 📍 My position to take a single GPS reading from your device. It marks where you are and reports your position as a USNG grid reference as well as plain latitude and longitude — USNG being the format FEMA and US search and rescue teams work from — with a Copy position button so you can paste it straight into a text message. It takes one reading and stops, rather than tracking continuously, to conserve your battery. Note that map tiles need cell coverage, but a GPS reading does not — your coordinates stay correct even where the map itself cannot load.

City	Salem
State	North Carolina (NC)
County	Burke County
Country	United States of America
Timezone	Eastern Time (America/New_York)

Latitude	35.699725
Longitude	-81.700298
Population	2,356
Density	211.9 /km²
Incorporated	N/A
ZIP Codes	27320, 27101, 27030, 28655
Area Code	336, 828
County Seat	Morganton
School District	Burke County Schools

🌦 Goto Salem Weather Page: Salem, North Carolina — Weather Warnings, Forecast, Radar, Satellite & Current Conditions

About Salem, North Carolina

Salem is a locality in Burke County, North Carolina, United States. It has a population of approximately 2,356. The population density is 211.9 people per km². Salem is located at 35.6997°N, 81.7003°W. It observes the Eastern Time (America/New_York) timezone. ZIP codes: 27320, 27101, 27030.

Salem possesses a landscape defined by the rhythmic rise and fall of the piedmont, where the earth settles into a quiet, enduring persistence of red clay and dense woodland. It lies 3.3 miles south-southwest of Morganton, NC (from Morganton, NC: bearing 192°T), and is situated 8.1 miles west-southwest of Valdese. Sunlight here filters through the canopy with a humid, golden thickness, catching the dust motes that hang over the fields near the South Mountains Game Land. The horizon is punctuated by the distant, hazy silhouette of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a jagged blue ink-stroke against the pale afternoon sky. Closer to the ground, the moisture of the air gathers around the banks of Hunting Creek, where the water moves with a deliberate, dark clarity through the undergrowth. The air holds the scent of damp soil and drying leaves, a pervasive, earthen perfume that marks the passage of seasons across the rolling terrain.

Salem preserves a legacy of industry and communal labor, rooted in the industrious spirit that once drove local mills and the long-standing traditions of regional agriculture. The economic life of Salem has evolved from its early agrarian foundations into a modern landscape where the hum of machinery often competes with the slow, steady pace of the surrounding woods. Local commerce remains tied to the land, reflecting a culture that values the specific, slow-cured depth of regional barbecue and the persistent resonance of the Appalachian ballad tradition. Residents often travel the short distance toward the quiet expanse of Rhodhiss Lake to find a moment of stillness away from the main thoroughfares. Life in Salem proceeds with a courteous, unhurried gravity, shaped by the weight of generations who worked the soil and built the structures that define the character of the neighborhood today.

Nearby Outdoor Places

South Mountains Game Land (State Conservation Area) — 1.4 mi, 172° S
Broughton Park (Local Park) — 2.2 mi, 032° NE
Shuey Field (Local Park) — 2.2 mi, 348° N
City of Morganton - Catawba River Greenway (Local Recreation) — 2.6 mi, 348° N
South Mountains State Park (State Park) — 2.7 mi, 184° S
Historic Town Limit (Monument) — 3.4 mi, 006° N
Historic Town Limits (Monument) — 3.4 mi, 018° N
City of Morganton - Catawba Meadows Park (Local Recreation) — 3.5 mi, 356° N
Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina Preserve (Conservation Area) — 4.8 mi, 139° SE
Johns River Game Land (State Conservation Area) — 5.4 mi, 016° N
Chestnut Knob Overlook (Viewpoint) — 7.2 mi, 152° SE
Lake James State Park (State Park) — 8.5 mi, 294° NW
McGalliard Falls (Attraction) — 8.7 mi, 058° NE
Fonta Flora Covered Bridge (Public Artwork) — 11.4 mi, 306° NW
Something Rotten (Attraction) — 11.4 mi, 289° W
Build a Fairy House (Attraction) — 11.5 mi, 290° W
Every Drop Goes a Long Way (Attraction) — 11.5 mi, 289° W
Wilson Creek, North Carolina Wild and Scenic River (Wild & Scenic River) — 12.5 mi, 357° N · 7,017 acres
Pisgah National Forest (National Forest) — 12.6 mi, 341° N · 511k acres
Linville Gorge Wilderness (Wilderness Area) — 12.7 mi, 312° NW · 12k acres
Veterans Memorial (Monument) — 13.5 mi, 064° NE
Foothills Community Theatre (Theatre) — 17.4 mi, 266° W
Marion Train Depot (Museum) — 17.4 mi, 266° W
Hickory Aviation Museum (Museum) — 17.7 mi, 080° E
Historic Carson House (Museum) — 20.0 mi, 268° W
Catawba Science Center (Museum) — 20.7 mi, 083° E
Hickory Museum of Art (Gallery) — 20.7 mi, 083° E
Belk Centrum (Arts Centre) — 21.2 mi, 082° E
Anvil Arts Studio (Gallery) — 23.5 mi, 322° NW
NC Mineral and Gem Festival (Museum) — 24.4 mi, 303° NW

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