McKay Community Forest
Managed by Humboldt County
959 acres17.2 mi of trail
Bob Hill Gulch TrailPerimeter TrailTriple C (Switchy) TrailHuckleberry Loop Trail
Dogs on leash
Directionsto Northridge ParkingWebsite ↗
A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Pine Hills
Pine Hills has 27 miles of mapped trails, 2.6 for every square mile of land
33% of Pine Hills’ land is conserved, about 2,114 acres. 1,051 acres are parks and preserves, 365 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: McKay Community Forest (17.2 mi).
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns · #73 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
33%
2,114 acres · of 10.1 sq mi of land
Trails
27 mi
2.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,051 ac
365 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
70%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.1 mi
0.1 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Pine Hills?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Pine Hills have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Pine Hills is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns, #73 of 847 in California. 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 Pine Hills’ overall grade.
Conserved land33% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%A+Trails2.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (27 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land365 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,051 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13AParks close to home70% 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 97%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 91%
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 17.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Elk River Wildlife Area
Managed by California Department of Fish and Wildlife
83 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
2,114 conserved acres
33% of Pine Hills’ land. Who manages Pine Hills’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources1,029 ac
County962 ac
State fish & wildlife83 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits40 ac
Unknown Easement · 1,029 acLocal Resource Management Area · 962 acState Conservation Area · 83 acPrivate Conservation · 40 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,029 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 9 parcels. 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 | 962 | Open |
| Elk River Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 83 | Open |
| Martin Slough Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 40 | Unknown |
Trails & water
4 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 8.5 miUnpaved · 9.8 mi
Bob Hill Gulch Trail1.2 mi
Perimeter Trail1.1 mi
Triple C (Switchy) Trail0.4 mi
Huckleberry Loop Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.1 mi
off-road bike paths
When to get out
The best walking months in Pine Hills: 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 | 57 | 58 | 61 | 64 | 66 | 68 | 68 | 64 | 58 | 54 |
| Rain (in) | 9.6 | 8.2 | 7.6 | 4.5 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 3.0 | 6.5 | 11.1 |
July is the driest month (0.1 in) and September the warmest (highs of 68 °F). 11.1 inches fall in December, the wettest month. The climate in Pine Hills →
Next door
Pine Hills and its neighbors
Pine Hills has the 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Hills | 33% | 2.6 | 365 | 70% | A+ |
| Humboldt Hill | 1% | 0.5 | 5 | 20% | C− |
| Eureka | 49% | 1.1 | 106 | 97% | A+ |
| Cutten | 12% | 4.0 | 27 | 88% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Pine Hills
Where can I hike in Pine Hills?
The longest trail networks: McKay Community Forest, 17.2 miles; Elk River Wildlife Area, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Pine Hills is conserved land?
33% 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 Pine Hills’ 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 Pine Hills?
0.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Pine Hills?
13,464 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Pine Hills or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,051 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Pine Hills have?
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #73 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 Pine Hills 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 →