Carl E. Wynn Nature Center
Managed by Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies
290 acres3 mi of trail
Lutz-Fireweed LoopMoose MeanderLynx LinkDogwood Loop+1
No dogs
Directionsto the trailhead
Photo: Beeblebrox · CC BY-SA 3.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Diamond Ridge
31% of Diamond Ridge’s land is conserved: 8,501 acres
The biggest trail networks: Carl E. Wynn Nature Center (3 mi). 31 miles of mapped trail cross Diamond Ridge, 0.7 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 39% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
31%
8,501 acres · of 42.4 sq mi of land
Trails
31 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
1,621 ft
Lookout Mountain
What kind of outdoors town is Diamond Ridge?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Diamond Ridge have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Diamond Ridge is ahead of 39% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Diamond Ridge’s overall grade.
Conserved land31% of the land · typical AK town 15% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (31 mi) · AK 0.5 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land0.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (0 acres) · AK 15 · U.S. 13DParks close to home0% 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 39%
LessMore
Alaska towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 15%; the U.S., 4%), so Diamond Ridge’s 31% is ahead of 63% of Alaska towns, while its trails per square mile lead 71% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. 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 Carl E. Wynn Nature Center, with 3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
8,501 conserved acres
31% of Diamond Ridge’s land. Who manages Diamond Ridge’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources7,933 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits476 ac
Bureau of Land Management247 ac
State Other or Unknown · 4,096 acState Conservation Area · 3,837 acUnknown Easement · 476 acNational Public Lands · 190 acConservation Easement · 56 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 533 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 9 of 13 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anchor River And Fritz Creek Critical Habitat Area State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 3,837 | Restricted |
| State Land Disposals - Other Than Municipal State Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 2,183 | Unknown |
| State Land Disposals - Municipal Purposes State Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 1,913 | Unknown |
| Anchorage Field Office National Public Lands | Bureau of Land Management | 190 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Diamond Ridge
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Scenic views in Diamond Ridge
Elliot Fischer Memorial PlatformIn Carl E. Wynn Nature Center
DirectionsPlus 2 scenic views without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Diamond Ridge
Lookout Mountain1,621 ft elevation
DirectionsOhlson Mountain1,512 ft elevation
DirectionsPlus 1 peak without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
23 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.5 miUnpaved · 19.5 mi
Watermelon Trail3.6 mi
Homestead Loop3.0 mi
Headwaters Highway2.1 mi
Homestead Trail1.9 mi
Sunset Loop1.7 mi
Lookout Mountain Trail1.3 mi
Demonstration Forest Trail1.2 mi
Lutz-Fireweed Loop0.8 mi
Moose Meander0.7 mi
Far Side0.5 mi
13 more trails
Lynx Link
0.5 miMarathon Ski Trail
0.5 miDogwood Loop
0.4 miBillie Fischer Trail
0.3 miSerpentine
0.3 miMidway
0.3 miMaster Blaster
0.2 miNature Trail
0.2 miHeadwaters Cutoff
0.2 miDozers Demise
0.1 miAudrey Clawson Trail
0.1 miDiamond Creek Trail
0.1 miChurch Trail
0.1 miBiking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
1Equestrian
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
July is the best month for walking in Diamond Ridge
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) | 6.7 | 9.1 | 11.6 | 14.4 | 17.0 | 18.7 | 18.0 | 15.6 | 12.7 | 10.0 | 7.4 | 6.0 |
| High (°F) | 28 | 31 | 33 | 42 | 51 | 57 | 61 | 60 | 53 | 42 | 33 | 29 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 2.3 | 3.3 | 4.6 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 3.3 |
March is the driest month (1.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 61 °F). 4.6 inches fall in September, the wettest month. The climate in Diamond Ridge →
Next door
Diamond Ridge and its neighbors
Diamond Ridge 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diamond Ridge | 31% | 0.7 | under 1 | under 1% | C+ |
| Anchor Point | 30% | 0.4 | 24 | under 1% | B |
| Fritz Creek | 34% | 0.4 | 415 | 1% | B+ |
| Homer | 8% | 0.7 | 8 | 60% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Diamond Ridge
Where can I hike in Diamond Ridge?
The longest trail networks: Carl E. Wynn Nature Center, 3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Diamond Ridge is conserved land?
31% 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 Diamond Ridge’s trails?
Carl E. Wynn Nature Center doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Diamond Ridge?
11,950 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Diamond Ridge or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 192 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Diamond Ridge have?
Ahead of 39% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Diamond Ridge 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 →