Heritage Park
Managed by Eielson Air Force Base
10 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: United States Air Force · Public domainC+Outdoors
Outdoors in Eielson AFB
14% of Eielson AFB’s land is conserved: 2,720 acres
19% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 10 acres are parks and preserves, 3.1 per 1,000 residents. 7.2 miles of mapped trail cross Eielson AFB, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 38% of U.S. towns · #34 of 41 in Alaska. What drives it
Conserved land
14%
2,720 acres · of 29.9 sq mi of land
Trails
7.2 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
10 ac
3.1 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
19%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
4
What kind of outdoors town is Eielson AFB?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Eielson AFB have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Eielson AFB is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns, #34 of 41 in Alaska. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Eielson AFB’s overall grade.
Conserved land14% of the land · typical AK town 15% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · AK 0.5 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land3.1 acres of park per 1,000 residents (10 acres) · AK 15 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home19% 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 38%
LessMore
Alaska towns of 2,500+ (41)Ahead of 18%
Alaska towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 15%; the U.S., 4%), so Eielson AFB’s 14% is ahead of 48% of Alaska towns, while its trails per square mile lead 35% 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 Heritage Park, with 0.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
2,720 conserved acres
14% of Eielson AFB’s land. Who manages Eielson AFB’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources2,720 ac
State Other or Unknown · 2,720 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 2 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 | 2,478 | Unknown |
| State Patented State Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 242 | Unknown |
Things to do
4 places to go in Eielson AFB
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Eielson AFB
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Eielson AFB
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Campgrounds in Eielson AFB
Birch Lake Recreation Area
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 3.0 mi
ATV trail2.7 mi
Lily Lake access0.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & 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
3Softball
2Baseball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Eielson AFB: May and June
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) | 5.1 | 8.3 | 11.5 | 15.0 | 18.5 | 21.5 | 20.0 | 16.5 | 12.9 | 9.5 | 6.1 | 3.9 |
| High (°F) | 0 | 11 | 25 | 45 | 61 | 71 | 72 | 66 | 54 | 33 | 10 | 3 |
| Rain (in) | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 2.1 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
March is the driest month (0.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 72 °F). 2.7 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Eielson AFB →
Next door
Eielson AFB and its neighbors
Eielson AFB has the second most mapped trails of the 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eielson AFB | 14% | 0.2 | 3 | 19% | C+ |
| Salcha | — 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 Eielson AFB
Where can I hike in Eielson AFB?
The longest trail networks: Heritage Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Eielson AFB is conserved land?
14% 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 Eielson AFB’s trails?
Heritage Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Eielson AFB?
12,857 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Eielson AFB or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 10 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Eielson AFB have?
Ahead of 38% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #34 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 Eielson AFB 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 →