Knik Public Use Area
Managed by Alaska Department of Natural Resources
5,554 acres3.5 mi of trail
Knik Glacier Trail (RST 17)Rippy TrailOld Knik River Bridge
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Cecil Sanders · CC BY 2.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Butte
37% of Butte’s land is conserved: 8,044 acres
The biggest trail networks: Knik Public Use Area (3.5 mi). 10% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 18 miles of mapped trail cross Butte, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns · #23 of 41 in Alaska. What drives it
Conserved land
37%
8,044 acres · of 33.8 sq mi of land
Trails
18 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
40 ac
9.9 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
10%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
7.1 mi
1.5 mi lanes · 5.6 mi paths
Highest peak
886 ft
Bodenburg Butte
Lakes & rivers
5
What kind of outdoors town is Butte?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Butte have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Butte is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns, #23 of 41 in Alaska. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Butte’s overall grade.
Conserved land37% of the land · typical AK town 15% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (18 mi) · AK 0.5 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land9.9 acres of park per 1,000 residents (40 acres) · AK 15 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home10% of residents within a half mile of a park · AK 36% · U.S. 72%C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 58%
LessMore
Alaska towns of 2,500+ (41)Ahead of 45%
Alaska towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 15%; the U.S., 4%), so Butte’s 37% is ahead of 72% of Alaska towns, while its trails per square mile lead 57% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C 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 Knik Public Use Area, with 3.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
8,044 conserved acres
37% of Butte’s land. Who manages Butte’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources6,666 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits1,365 ac
Bureau of Land Management16 ac
State Other or Unknown · 6,666 acConservation Easement · 1,328 acRecreation or Education Easement · 36 acNational Public Lands · 16 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,362 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 6 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Patented State Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 5,472 | Unknown |
| State Land Disposals - Municipal Purposes State Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 1,194 | Unknown |
| Anchorage Field Office National Public Lands | Bureau of Land Management | 16 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Butte
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Butte
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in Butte
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Peaks in Butte
Bodenburg Butte886 ft elevation
DirectionsBurnt Butte643 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
6 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.0 miHorses · 1.0 miUnpaved · 5.9 mi
Knik Glacier Trail (RST 17)1.7 mi
Morgan Horse Trail1.0 mi
West Butte Trail0.9 mi
Mud Lake Jeep Trail0.5 mi
Rippy Trail0.2 mi
Old Knik River Bridge0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
7.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.5 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
5.6 mi
off-road bike paths
When to get out
The best walking months in Butte: June and July
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) | 23 | 29 | 34 | 46 | 58 | 64 | 66 | 63 | 55 | 42 | 28 | 24 |
| Rain (in) | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 1.5 |
April is the driest month (0.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 66 °F). 3.0 inches fall in August, the wettest month. The climate in Butte →
Next door
Butte and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butte | 37% | 0.5 | 10 | 10% | B |
| Lazy Mountain | 50% | 0.4 | under 1 | under 1% | C |
| Knik River | — 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 Butte
Where can I hike in Butte?
The longest trail networks: Knik Public Use Area, 3.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Butte is conserved land?
37% 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 Butte’s trails?
Knik Public Use Area doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Butte?
7.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.5 of painted or protected lanes and 5.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Butte?
76,573 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Butte or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 55 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Butte have?
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #23 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 Butte 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 →