Fort Abercrombie State Historical Park
Managed by State of Alaska, Dept. of Natural Resources
195 acres4.9 mi of trail
Fort Abercrombie Cliffs LoopConnector TrailLake Gertrude Loop
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Kodiak Naval Operating Base and Forts Greely and Abercrombie · Photo: U.S. Coast Guard, SPC Jeff Parks · Public domainAOutdoors
Outdoors in Mill Bay
Mill Bay has 5.7 miles of mapped trails, 1.7 for every square mile of land
185 acres are parks and preserves, 51 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Fort Abercrombie State Historical Park (4.9 mi). 9% of Mill Bay’s land is conserved, about 205 acres.
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns · #3 of 41 in Alaska. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
205 acres · of 3.4 sq mi of land
Trails
5.7 mi
1.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
185 ac
51 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
76%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
4
What kind of outdoors town is Mill Bay?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Mill Bay have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Mill Bay is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #3 of 41 in Alaska. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Mill Bay’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical AK town 15% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · AK 0.5 · U.S. 0.4APark land51 acres of park per 1,000 residents (185 acres) · AK 15 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home76% of residents within a half mile of a park · AK 36% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 90%
LessMore
Alaska towns of 2,500+ (41)Ahead of 95%
Alaska towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 15%; the U.S., 4%), so Mill Bay’s 9% is ahead of 35% of Alaska towns, while its trails per square mile lead 85% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Fort Abercrombie State Historical Park, with 4.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Otmeloi Park
Managed by Kodiak Island Borough
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Mill Bay Beach Park
Managed by Kodiak Island Borough
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
North Star Elementary Playground
Managed by Kodiak Island Borough
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Fort Abercrombie State Historical Park195 acres · 4.9 mi of trail · State of Alaska, Dept. of Natural Resources
DirectionsOtmeloi Park3 acres · Kodiak Island Borough
Mill Bay Beach Park2 acres · Kodiak Island Borough
North Star Elementary Playground2 acres · Kodiak Island Borough
Island Lake Park1 acres · Kodiak Island Borough
Who protects it
205 conserved acres
9% of Mill Bay’s land. Who manages Mill Bay’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources193 ac
Other state land174 ac
Bureau of Land Management1 ac
State Other or Unknown · 193 acState Park · 174 acNational Public Lands · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 4 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Abercrombie State Historical Park State Park | Other state land | 174 | Open |
| State Land Disposals - Municipal Purposes State Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 99 | Unknown |
| State Patented State Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 94 | Unknown |
| Anchorage Field Office National Public Lands | Bureau of Land Management | 1 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Mill Bay
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Fishing spots in Mill Bay
Lake GertrudeIn Fort Abercrombie State Historical Park
DirectionsCampgrounds in Mill Bay
2 campgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
4 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 5.2 mi
Fort Abercrombie Cliffs Loop2.0 mi
Spruce Cape Trail0.7 mi
Connector Trail0.6 mi
Lake Gertrude Loop0.6 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
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
The best walking months in Mill Bay: July 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) | 7.2 | 9.3 | 11.6 | 14.3 | 16.6 | 18.1 | 17.5 | 15.3 | 12.7 | 10.1 | 7.8 | 6.5 |
| High (°F) | 36 | 37 | 38 | 43 | 50 | 55 | 60 | 61 | 55 | 47 | 41 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 7.9 | 6.0 | 5.1 | 5.6 | 5.4 | 5.1 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 7.3 | 8.3 | 7.1 | 8.3 |
July is the driest month (4.5 in) and August the warmest (highs of 61 °F). 8.3 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Mill Bay →
Next door
Mill Bay and its neighbors
Mill Bay has the 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mill Bay | 9% | 1.7 | 51 | 76% | A |
| Kodiak | 5% | 1.3 | 1 | 88% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Mill Bay
Where can I hike in Mill Bay?
The longest trail networks: Fort Abercrombie State Historical Park, 4.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Mill Bay is conserved land?
9% 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 Mill Bay’s trails?
Fort Abercrombie State Historical Park and Otmeloi Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Mill Bay?
3,713 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Mill Bay or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 185 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Mill Bay have?
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #3 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 Mill Bay 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 →