Circle Creek Habitat Reserve
Managed by North Coast Land Conservancy
345 acres0.2 mi of trail
Wetland Walk
No dogs
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Dieter F · CC BY-SA 3.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Seaside
Seaside has 11 miles of mapped trails, 2.7 for every square mile of land
30% of Seaside’s land is conserved, about 770 acres. 566 acres are parks and preserves, 79 per 1,000 residents. 87% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns · #5 of 142 in Oregon. What drives it
Conserved land
30%
770 acres · of 4.0 sq mi of land
Trails
11 mi
2.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
566 ac
79 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
87%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.4 mi
1.4 mi lanes · 0.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
5
6 beaches · 3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Seaside?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Seaside have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Seaside is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #5 of 142 in Oregon. 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 Seaside’s overall grade.
Conserved land30% of the land · typical OR town 4% · U.S. 4%ATrails2.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (11 mi) · OR 0.8 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land79 acres of park per 1,000 residents (566 acres) · OR 7 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home87% of residents within a half mile of a park · OR 96% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 98%
LessMore
Oregon towns of 2,500+ (142)Ahead of 97%
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 Circle Creek Habitat Reserve, with 0.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Cartwright Park
Park
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 8 parks & preserves
Circle Creek Habitat Reserve345 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · North Coast Land Conservancy
DirectionsBroadway Park9 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsQuatat Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsGateway Park4 acres
DirectionsCartwright Park2 acres
Ecola State Park1 acres · Oregon Parks and Recreation Department
DirectionsSeltzer Park1 acres
DirectionsElvin C. Goodman Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
770 conserved acres
30% of Seaside’s land. Who manages Seaside’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Private owners406 ac
Other state land198 ac
Town or city61 ac
State land board1 ac
Not recorded180 ac
Private Conservation · 406 acState Recreation Area · 199 acUnknown Easement · 180 acLocal Park · 42 acState Park · 17 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 112 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Circle Creek Private Conservation | Private owners | 344 | Closed |
| Beach State Recreation Area | Other state land | 180 | Open |
| Shangrila Creek Wetlands Private Conservation | Private owners | 62 | Closed |
| Millponds Park Local Park | Town or city | 26 | Open |
| Gearhart Ocean State Recreation Area State Recreation Area | Town or city | 19 | Open |
| Gearheart Ocean State Park State Park | Other state land | 17 | Open |
| Broadway Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| North Gateway Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| State Trust Land State Resource Management Area | State land board | 1 | Open |
| Carwright Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
21 places to go in Seaside
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Seaside
Seaside Beach
DirectionsPlus 5 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Seaside
12 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Boat launches in Seaside
3 boat launches without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 7.3 mi
North Promenade0.4 mi
Wetland Walk0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.4 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.3 mi
off-road bike paths
0.6 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
4Basketball
4Baseball
4Pickleball
3Tennis
2Beach volleyball
2Football
2Softball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Seaside: 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) | 9.0 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 14.9 | 15.7 | 15.4 | 14.1 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.4 | 8.7 |
| High (°F) | 49 | 51 | 53 | 56 | 61 | 64 | 68 | 69 | 68 | 61 | 53 | 49 |
| Rain (in) | 13.2 | 9.0 | 10.1 | 7.2 | 4.1 | 2.9 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 3.2 | 8.0 | 13.5 | 13.7 |
July is the driest month (1.0 in) and August the warmest (highs of 69 °F). 13.7 inches fall in December, the wettest month. The climate in Seaside →
Next door
Seaside and its neighbors
Seaside has the most mapped trails of the 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seaside | 30% | 2.7 | 79 | 87% | A+ |
| Gearhart | 24% | 4.2 | 57 | 67% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Seaside
Where can I hike in Seaside?
The longest trail networks: Circle Creek Habitat Reserve, 0.2 miles; Broadway Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Seaside is conserved land?
30% of its land, against a typical 4% for an Oregon town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Seaside’s trails?
Circle Creek Habitat Reserve and Broadway Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Seaside?
2.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.4 of painted or protected lanes, 0.3 of off-road paths and 0.6 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Seaside?
8,983 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Seaside or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 569 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Seaside have?
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #5 of 142 in Oregon. 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 Seaside 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 →