Photo: Robert Campbell · CC BY-SA 3.049% of Eureka’s land is conserved: 2,973 acres
2,761 acres are parks and preserves, 106 per 1,000 residents. 97% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 10 miles of mapped trail cross Eureka, 1.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns · #54 of 847 in California. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Eureka?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Eureka have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Eureka is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #54 of 847 in California. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
Water is 41% of Eureka’s area (7 of 16 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 29%.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Sequoia Park, with 1.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Fay Slough Wildlife Area
Eureka Marsh
Cooper Gulch Park
Fort Humboldt State Historic Park
All 17 parks & preserves
2,973 conserved acres
49% of Eureka’s land. Water is left out: Eureka has 9.6 square miles of land and 6.5 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Eureka’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Eureka lot Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 2,123 | Open |
| Fay Slough Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 352 | Open |
| Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 174 | Restricted |
| Eureka Municipal Golf Course Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 117 | Restricted |
| Palco Marsh Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 106 | Open |
| Sequoia Park Local Park | Town or city | 61 | Open |
| Cooper Gulch Park Local Park | Town or city | 26 | Open |
| Bracut Tidelands State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 21 | Open |
| Halvorsen Park Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Fort Humboldt State Historic Park State Historic or Cultural Area | State parks | 16 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
50 places to go in Eureka
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
14 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
23 playgrounds without a name on the map.
5 boat launches without a name on the map.
5 picnic areas without a name on the map.
1 disc golf course without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
3 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
14 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
19 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
7 more on the History page.
The best walking months in Eureka: 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) | 9.5 | 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 | 57 | 59 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 63 | 61 | 58 | 55 |
| Rain (in) | 7.9 | 6.8 | 6.9 | 4.3 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 2.8 | 5.7 | 9.4 |
July is the driest month (0.2 in) and August the warmest (highs of 64 °F). 9.4 inches fall in December, the wettest month. The climate in Eureka →
Eureka and its neighbors
Eureka 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eureka | 49% | 1.1 | 106 | 97% | A+ |
| Cutten | 12% | 4.0 | 27 | 88% | A |
| Pine Hills | 33% | 2.6 | 365 | 70% | A+ |
| Myrtletown | 10% | 2.8 | 26 | 98% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Eureka
Where can I hike in Eureka?
The longest trail networks: Sequoia Park, 1.9 miles; Fay Slough Wildlife Area, 1.1 miles; Eureka Marsh, 0.8 miles; Cooper Gulch Park, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Eureka is conserved land?
49% 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 Eureka’s trails?
Sequoia Park and Fay Slough Wildlife Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Eureka?
14 miles of bike routes are on the map: 11 of painted or protected lanes and 2.7 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Eureka?
14,109 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Eureka or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,777 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Eureka have?
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #54 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 Eureka neighbors.
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 →