Tanana Valley State Forest
Managed by Alaska Department of Natural Resources
8,109 acres2.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Steele Creek
36% of Steele Creek’s land is conserved: 21,383 acres
The biggest trail networks: Tanana Valley State Forest (2.4 mi). 49 miles of mapped trail cross Steele Creek, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 36% of U.S. towns · #35 of 41 in Alaska. What drives it
Conserved land
36%
21,383 acres · of 92.9 sq mi of land
Trails
49 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
8.4 mi
0.1 mi lanes · 8.2 mi paths
Highest peak
1,860 ft
Mount Lulu Fairbanks
What kind of outdoors town is Steele Creek?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Steele Creek have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Steele Creek is ahead of 36% of U.S. towns, #35 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 Steele Creek’s overall grade.
Conserved land36% of the land · typical AK town 15% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (49 mi) · AK 0.5 · U.S. 0.4BPark 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 36%
LessMore
Alaska towns of 2,500+ (41)Ahead of 15%
Alaska towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 15%; the U.S., 4%), so Steele Creek’s 36% is ahead of 68% of Alaska towns, while its trails per square mile lead 55% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D 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 Tanana Valley State Forest, with 2.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
21,383 conserved acres
36% of Steele Creek’s land. Who manages Steele Creek’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources21,383 ac
State Other or Unknown · 13,260 acState Resource Management Area · 8,122 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 5 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tanana Valley State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 8,122 | Open |
| State Patented State Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 6,879 | Unknown |
| State Tentatively Approved (tad) State Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 3,151 | Unknown |
| State Land Disposals - Municipal Purposes State Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 2,532 | Unknown |
| State Land Disposals - Other Than Municipal State Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 699 | Unknown |
Things to do
5 places to go in Steele Creek
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Steele Creek
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Steele Creek
Mount Lulu Fairbanks1,860 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Steele Creek
Camp Li-WaVictory Ministries of Alaska
DirectionsTrails & water
6 named trails
Named trails
Tungsten Trail2.2 mi
Trail1.0 mi
Winter Trail0.9 mi
Wolfrmite Court0.3 mi
Old Gold Mine Trail0.2 mi
Weiler Court0.1 mi
Biking & sports
8.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
8.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
1Equestrian
1Soccer
1Running tracks
1Basketball
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
June is the best month for walking in Steele Creek
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) | 5.0 | 8.3 | 11.5 | 15.1 | 18.6 | 21.8 | 20.2 | 16.5 | 12.9 | 9.5 | 6.0 | 3.7 |
| High (°F) | 10 | 17 | 24 | 42 | 57 | 67 | 68 | 61 | 52 | 33 | 18 | 14 |
| Rain (in) | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 2.2 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.6 |
March is the driest month (0.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 68 °F). 2.9 inches fall in August, the wettest month. The climate in Steele Creek →
Next door
Steele Creek 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steele Creek | 36% | 0.5 | under 1 | under 1% | C+ |
| Two Rivers | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Fox | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| Farmers Loop | 19% | 2.4 | 106 | under 1% | A− |
| Badger | 15% | 1.0 | 4 | 12% | B− |
| Fairbanks | 6% | 2.3 | 15 | 84% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Steele Creek
Where can I hike in Steele Creek?
The longest trail networks: Tanana Valley State Forest, 2.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Steele Creek is conserved land?
36% 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 Steele Creek’s trails?
Tanana Valley State Forest doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Steele Creek?
8.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of painted or protected lanes and 8.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Steele Creek?
54,755 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Steele Creek or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 8,439 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Steele Creek have?
Ahead of 36% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #35 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 Steele Creek 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 →