1
McKinleyville Community Forest
Managed by McKinleyville Community Services District
588 acres7.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the trailhead
Outdoors · McKinleyville
McKinleyville, CA parks, trails & bike paths
About 11% of McKinleyville is conserved land, roughly 1,442 acres. There are about 23 miles of mapped trails, and the biggest networks are in McKinleyville Community Forest (7.7 mi), Little River State Beach (2.1 mi), and Hiller Park (1.3 mi).
Conserved land, trails, parks and bike routes in McKinleyville, measured from OpenStreetMap and USGS data.
At a glance
McKinleyville outdoors
Conserved land
11%
1,442 of 13,446 acres
Trails
23 mi
1.1 mi per sq mi · 8 on conserved land
Parks & preserves
11
84 conserved acres per 1,000 residents
Bike routes
8.4 mi
3.5 mi lanes · 4.5 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
Little River State Beach
Managed by California Department of Parks and Recreation
193 acres2.1 mi of trail
Backdunes TrailNearshore Dunes TrailNorth Beach TrailSouth Beach Trail
No dogsMapped in OpenStreetMap
3
Hiller Park
Managed by McKinleyville Community Services District
38 acres1.3 mi of trail
Hiller Loop Trail
Dogs on leashMapped in OpenStreetMap
4
Mad River Bluffs
Managed by McKinleyville Land Trust
31 acres1.3 mi of trail
Mad River Bluffs TrailHiller Loop Trail
Dogs on leashMapped in OpenStreetMap
5
Azalea State Natural Reserve
Nature preserve
36 acres0.9 mi of trail
No dogsMapped in OpenStreetMap
6
Chah-GAH-Cho
Managed by McKinleyville Land Trust
10 acres0.7 mi of trail
Chah-GAH-Cho Trail
Dog rules not recorded
7
Clam Beach County Park
Nature preserve
127 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo South Lot
8
Pierson Park
Park
3 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
All 11 parks & preserves
Showing 1–10 of 11 parks & preserves
McKinleyville Community Forest588 acres · 7.7 mi of trail · McKinleyville Community Services District
Little River State Beach193 acres · 2.1 mi of trail · California Department of Parks and Recreation
Hiller Park38 acres · 1.3 mi of trail · McKinleyville Community Services District
Mad River Bluffs31 acres · 1.3 mi of trail · McKinleyville Land Trust
Azalea State Natural Reserve36 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
Chah-GAH-Cho10 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · McKinleyville Land Trust
Clam Beach County Park127 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
Pierson Park3 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Lhiwetgut Park3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · McKinleyville Community Services District
Hiller Sports Complex18 acres · McKinleyville Community Services District
Things to do
Beaches, playgrounds, falls & more
Pick a kind of place for the list, directions, or pins on the map above.
Scenic views in McKinleyville
Estuary OverlookIn Mad River Bluffs
North Stairs OverlookIn Mad River Bluffs
Shore Pine OverlookIn Mad River Bluffs
South Stairs OverlookIn Mad River Bluffs
Trails
Named trails
Open to bikes 13.9 miHorses 1.4 miUnpaved 17.9 mi
- Hiller Loop Trail1.4 mi
- Backdunes Trail1.0 mi
- Hammond Trail0.9 mi
- Chah-GAH-Cho Trail0.7 mi
- Mad River Bluffs Trail0.6 mi
- Nearshore Dunes Trail0.5 mi
- Mid-Town Trail0.2 mi
- North Beach Trail0.2 mi
- South Beach Trail0.2 mi
Water
Lakes & rivers
Tap a name for directions.
Who protects the land
1,442 conserved acres
Who manages it, from PAD-US. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn't always mean open to visitors. 575 acres are conservation easements, which are usually private land. Public access isn't recorded for 1 of 9 parcels. The places listed above are parks and preserves people visit.
Biking & sports
Bike routes, courts & fields
- Painted or protected bike lanes3.5 mi
- Off-road bike paths4.5 mi
- Shoulders & shared lanes0.4 mi
Courts & fields
- Tennis6
- Softball4
- Baseball3
- Basketball3
- Multi-sport2
- Football1
Counts include school and college facilities, which aren't always open to the public.
Public lands
The biggest protected places in McKinleyville
From USGS PAD-US: who manages each one and whether visitors are welcome.
Unknown Easement 575 acLocal Park 496 acState Park 168 acLocal Recreation Area 123 acState Conservation Area 36 ac
| Place | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clam Beach County ParkLocal Park | County | 456 | Open |
| Little River State BeachState Park | State parks | 168 | Open |
| Hiller Park Playground and Picnic AreaLocal Recreation Area | Regional agency | 123 | Open |
| Azalea State Natural ReserveState Conservation Area | State parks | 36 | Open |
| Riverfront ParkLocal Park | Regional agency | 35 | Restricted |
| Mad River BluffsPrivate Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 30 | Open |
| Clam Beach PondsState Other or Unknown | Other state land | 14 | Access unknown |
| Pierson ParkLocal Park | Regional agency | 5 | Open |
History
Historic places to visit
Humboldt Bay MemorialMemorial
Humboldt Bay MemorialMemorial
World's Tallest Totem PoleMonument
Nearby
McKinleyville and its neighbors
Towns whose outdoors data has been built so far.
| Town | Conserved | Trails | Parks & preserves |
|---|---|---|---|
| McKinleyville | 10.7% | 23.0 mi | 11 |
| Fieldbrook | 7.3% | 5.7 mi | 0 |
| Westhaven-Moonstone | 10.7% | 0.6 mi | 3 |
| Arcata | 35.3% | 32.8 mi | 20 |
Trail talk
Conditions & tips from neighbors
No recent posts about McKinleyville'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 21.1-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.