Little Susitna Recreation River
Managed by Alaska Department of Natural Resources
7,085 acres12.7 mi of trail
Iditarod National Historic Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Federal Aviation Administration, Alaska Region · Public domainA−Outdoors
Outdoors in Big Lake
Big Lake has 7,150 acres of parks, 1,994 for every 1,000 residents
49% of Big Lake’s land is conserved, about 35,936 acres. The biggest trail networks: Little Susitna Recreation River (12.7 mi), Susitna Flats State Game Refuge (1.8 mi). 2% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns · #8 of 41 in Alaska. What drives it
Conserved land
49%
35,936 acres · of 115.3 sq mi of land
Trails
76 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
7,150 ac
1,994 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
2%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.4 mi
5.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
43
4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Big Lake?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Big Lake have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Big Lake is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #8 of 41 in Alaska. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Big Lake’s overall grade.
Conserved land49% of the land · typical AK town 15% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (76 mi) · AK 0.5 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land1,994 acres of park per 1,000 residents (7,150 acres) · AK 15 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home2% of residents within a half mile of a park · AK 36% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 80%
LessMore
Alaska towns of 2,500+ (41)Ahead of 82%
Alaska towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 15%; the U.S., 4%), so Big Lake’s 49% is ahead of 78% of Alaska towns, while its trails per square mile lead 65% of them.
Water is 10% of Big Lake’s area (12 of 128 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 44%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
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 Little Susitna Recreation River, with 12.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Susitna Flats State Game Refuge
Managed by Alaska Department of Fish and Game
657 acres1.8 mi of trail
My Creek Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Nancy Lake State Recreation Area
Managed by Alaska Division of Parks & Outdoor Recreation
45 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
35,936 conserved acres
49% of Big Lake’s land. Water is left out: Big Lake has 115.3 square miles of land and 12.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Big Lake’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources35,146 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits799 ac
State Other or Unknown · 27,433 acState Recreation Area · 7,087 acConservation Easement · 799 acState Conservation Area · 627 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 790 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 7 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Land Disposals - Municipal Purposes State Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 12,727 | Unknown |
| State Patented State Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 10,028 | Unknown |
| Little Susitna Recreation River State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 7,079 | Open |
| State Land Disposals - Other Than Municipal State Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 4,677 | Unknown |
| Susitna Flats State Game Refuge State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 627 | Restricted |
| Nancy Lake State Recreation Area State Recreation Area | State natural resources | 8 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Big Lake
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Big Lake
Boat Launch
DirectionsRocky Lake State Recreation Site Boat LaunchFee
DirectionsPlus 2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Campgrounds in Big Lake
Rocky Lake State Recreation SiteFee
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 43 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 10.4 mi
Iditarod National Historic Trail7.9 mi
My Creek Trail1.2 mi
Clarks0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Anna LakelakeBeaverhouse LakelakeBeavers ReachpondBig Beaver LakeBig LakelakeBirch LakelakeBolo LakelakeBottle LakelakeButterfly LakelakeColt LakelakeCranberry LakelakeCrooked LakelakeDiamond LakelakeEcho LakelakeFlat LakelakeHomestead LakepondHorseshoe LakelakeHourglass LakelakeJade LakelakeJewell LakelakeLake MarionLazy LakelakeLiten LakelakeLittle Beaver LakeLloyds PondpondLoonsong LakelakeLynda LakelakeMirror LakelakeMuleshoe LakelakeMy LakepondNever Never LakeOrchid LakelakePapoose TwinslakeRocky LakeSara LakelakeSevenmile LakelakeStepan LakelakeStephan LakelakeSusan LakelakeTwo Loon LakeWest Beaver LakeWest LakelakeWhale Lakelake
Biking & sports
5.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.4 mi
off-road bike paths
When to get out
The best walking months in Big Lake: June to 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) | 6.2 | 8.8 | 11.5 | 14.6 | 17.5 | 19.4 | 18.6 | 15.9 | 12.8 | 9.8 | 7.0 | 5.4 |
| High (°F) | 21 | 28 | 33 | 46 | 57 | 64 | 66 | 64 | 55 | 42 | 28 | 24 |
| Rain (in) | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 1.4 |
April is the driest month (0.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 66 °F). 2.7 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Big Lake →
Next door
Big Lake and its neighbors
Big Lake has the second most mapped trails of the 6 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 Lake | 49% | 0.7 | 1,994 | 2% | A− |
| Knik-Fairview | 18% | 0.2 | 2 | 10% | C+ |
| Point MacKenzie | 71% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | C |
| Willow | 83% | 0.1 | 11,237 | 15% | B+ |
| Houston | 18% | 0.5 | 91 | under 1% | B |
| Meadow Lakes | 41% | 0.1 | 86 | 21% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Big Lake
Where can I hike in Big Lake?
The longest trail networks: Little Susitna Recreation River, 12.7 miles; Susitna Flats State Game Refuge, 1.8 miles; Nancy Lake State Recreation Area, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Big Lake is conserved land?
49% of its land, against a typical 15% for an Alaska town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Big Lake’s trails?
Little Susitna Recreation River and Susitna Flats State Game Refuge don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Big Lake?
5.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Big Lake?
29,735 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Big Lake or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 7,150 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Big Lake have?
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #8 of 41 in Alaska. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Big Lake 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 →