McKay Community Forest
Managed by Humboldt County
79 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dogs on leash
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Cutten
Cutten has 5.2 miles of mapped trails, 4.0 for every square mile of land
12% of Cutten’s land is conserved, about 97 acres. The biggest trail networks: McKay Community Forest (1.2 mi). 88% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns · #145 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
12%
97 acres · of 1.3 sq mi of land
Trails
5.2 mi
4.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
94 ac
27 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
88%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Cutten?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Cutten have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Cutten is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns, #145 of 847 in California. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Cutten’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%A−Trails4.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land27 acres of park per 1,000 residents (94 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home88% of residents within a half mile of a park · CA 91% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 93%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 83%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 McKay Community Forest, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
97 conserved acres
12% of Cutten’s land. Who manages Cutten’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County86 ac
Private owners11 ac
State natural resources1 ac
Local Resource Management Area · 86 acLocal Recreation Area · 11 acUnknown Easement · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| McKay Community Forest Local Resource Management Area | County | 86 | Open |
| Redwood Fields Local Recreation Area | Private owners | 11 | Open |
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
3Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Cutten: May to September
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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 55 | 56 | 56 | 58 | 60 | 63 | 65 | 66 | 66 | 63 | 58 | 54 |
| Rain (in) | 8.4 | 7.2 | 7.0 | 4.2 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 2.7 | 5.8 | 9.9 |
July is the driest month (0.1 in) and September the warmest (highs of 66 °F). 9.9 inches fall in December, the wettest month. The climate in Cutten →
Next door
Cutten 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cutten | 12% | 4.0 | 27 | 88% | A |
| Eureka | 49% | 1.1 | 106 | 97% | A+ |
| Myrtletown | 10% | 2.8 | 26 | 98% | A+ |
| Pine Hills | 33% | 2.6 | 365 | 70% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Cutten
Where can I hike in Cutten?
The longest trail networks: McKay Community Forest, 1.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Cutten is conserved land?
12% of its land, against a typical 4% for a California town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Cutten’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at McKay Community Forest (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Cutten?
12,141 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Cutten or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 94 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Cutten have?
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #145 of 847 in California. 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 Cutten 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 →