Tanana Valley State Forest
Managed by Alaska Department of Natural Resources
836 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Rika's Landing Roadhouse · Photo: User:Lar · CC BY-SA 4.0–Not graded
Outdoors in Big Delta
More than half of Big Delta’s land is conserved: 80%
80% of Big Delta’s land is conserved, about 23,994 acres. The biggest trail networks: Tanana Valley State Forest (0.7 mi). 233 acres are parks and preserves, 413 per 1,000 residents.
Conserved land
80%
23,994 acres · of 47.1 sq mi of land
Trails
29 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
233 ac
413 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
7%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
1 boat launch
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Tanana Valley State Forest, with 0.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Quartz Lake Recreation Area
Managed by State of Alaska, Department of Fish & Game
215 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Big Delta State Historical Park
Park
16 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
23,994 conserved acres
80% of Big Delta’s land. Water is left out: Big Delta has 47.1 square miles of land and 6.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Big Delta’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources23,994 ac
State Other or Unknown · 23,117 acState Resource Management Area · 877 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 5 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Land Disposals - Other Than Municipal State Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 13,991 | Unknown |
| State Patented State Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 6,681 | Unknown |
| State Tentatively Approved (tad) State Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 1,838 | Unknown |
| Tanana Valley State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 877 | Open |
| State Land Disposals - Municipal Purposes State Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 607 | Unknown |
Things to do
3 places to go in Big Delta
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Big Delta
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Campgrounds in Big Delta
Big Delta State Historical ParkFee · In Big Delta State Historical Park
DirectionsQuartz Lake CampgroundFee · In Quartz Lake Recreation Area · State of Alaska, Dept. of Natural Resources
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 3.1 mi
Bluff Cabin Lake Trail3.0 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Big Delta: May, June and August
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) | 5.3 | 8.4 | 11.5 | 14.9 | 18.3 | 21.0 | 19.7 | 16.4 | 12.9 | 9.5 | 6.3 | 4.2 |
| High (°F) | 3 | 13 | 24 | 44 | 60 | 69 | 70 | 64 | 53 | 32 | 12 | 6 |
| Rain (in) | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 2.1 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.5 |
April is the driest month (0.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 70 °F). 2.8 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Big Delta →
Next door
Big Delta and its neighbors
Big Delta has the second most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Delta | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Deltana | 90% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | C |
| Whitestone | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Delta Junction | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Big Delta
Where can I hike in Big Delta?
The longest trail networks: Tanana Valley State Forest, 0.7 miles; Big Delta State Historical Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
Are dogs allowed on Big Delta’s trails?
Tanana Valley State Forest and Quartz Lake Recreation Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Big Delta?
92,300 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Big Delta or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,264 of them inside the town line.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Big Delta neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
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 →