McKay Community Forest
Managed by Humboldt County
132 acres2.9 mi of trail
High Line TrailSlough TrailThe ChuteWild Ginger Loop+1
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Myrtletown
Myrtletown has 5.8 miles of mapped trails, 2.8 for every square mile of land
98% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 10% of Myrtletown’s land is conserved, about 139 acres. The biggest trail networks: McKay Community Forest (2.9 mi).
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns · #112 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
10%
139 acres · of 2.1 sq mi of land
Trails
5.8 mi
2.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
137 ac
26 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
98%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.5 mi
3.5 mi lanes
What kind of outdoors town is Myrtletown?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Myrtletown have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Myrtletown is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #112 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 Myrtletown’s overall grade.
Conserved land10% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%A−Trails2.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land26 acres of park per 1,000 residents (137 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home98% of residents within a half mile of a park · CA 91% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 95%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 87%
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 McKay Community Forest, with 2.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
139 conserved acres
10% of Myrtletown’s land. Who manages Myrtletown’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County128 ac
Town or city9 ac
State natural resources2 ac
Local Resource Management Area · 128 acLocal Park · 9 acUnknown Easement · 2 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2 acres are conservation easements, 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 | 128 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
Trails & water
5 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.2 miHorses · 2.1 miUnpaved · 2.9 mi
High Line Trail1.0 mi
Slough Trail0.6 mi
The Chute0.2 mi
Wild Ginger Loop0.2 mi
R-Line Connector0.1 mi
Biking & sports
3.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.5 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
2Basketball
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Myrtletown: 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 Myrtletown →
Next door
Myrtletown and its neighbors
Myrtletown has the second most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Myrtletown
Where can I hike in Myrtletown?
The longest trail networks: McKay Community Forest, 2.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Myrtletown is conserved land?
10% 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 Myrtletown’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at McKay Community Forest (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Myrtletown?
3.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.5 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Myrtletown?
12,018 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Myrtletown or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 137 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Myrtletown have?
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #112 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 Myrtletown 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 →