Cox-Williams House · Photo: Ian Poellet (User:Werewombat) · CC BY-SA 3.0St. Helens has 6.8 miles of mapped trails, 1.4 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: McCormick Park (1.8 mi), Sand Island Marine Park (1.8 mi), Saint Helens Waterfront Park (0.8 mi). 88% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 5% of St. Helens’ land is conserved, about 146 acres.
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns · #50 of 142 in Oregon. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is St. Helens?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does St. Helens have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, St. Helens is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #50 of 142 in Oregon. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
Water is 18% of St. Helens’ area (1 of 6 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 4%.
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 McCormick Park, with 1.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Sand Island Marine Park
Saint Helens Waterfront Park
Dalton Lake Recreation Area
Columbia Botanical Gardens
Nob Hill Nature Park
All 13 parks & preserves
146 conserved acres
5% of St. Helens’ land. Water is left out: St. Helens has 4.9 square miles of land and 1.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages St. Helens’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mccormic Park Local Park | Town or city | 65 | Open |
| Sand Island Marine Park Local Park | Town or city | 54 | Open |
| SPC Stewardship State Resource Management Area | State Department of Land | 14 | Open |
| Campbell Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Colombia Botanical Gardens Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Godfrey Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| 6Th Street Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Grey Cliffs Waterfront Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Heinie Heumann Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Civic Pride Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
13 places to go in St. Helens
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Plus 8 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
1 community garden without a name on the map.
2 lakes & rivers
6.5 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.
2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
The best walking months in St. Helens: April 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) | 47 | 51 | 56 | 61 | 68 | 73 | 81 | 81 | 76 | 63 | 52 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 6.1 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 1.7 | 3.7 | 6.4 | 7.1 |
July is the driest month (0.5 in) and August the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 7.1 inches fall in December, the wettest month. The climate in St. Helens →
St. Helens and its neighbors
St. Helens 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Helens | 5% | 1.4 | 17 | 88% | A− |
| Columbia City | 1% | 1.1 | 8 | 99%+ | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in St. Helens
Where can I hike in St. Helens?
The longest trail networks: McCormick Park, 1.8 miles; Sand Island Marine Park, 1.8 miles; Saint Helens Waterfront Park, 0.8 miles; Dalton Lake Recreation Area, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of St. Helens is conserved land?
5% 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 St. Helens’ trails?
McCormick Park and Sand Island Marine Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in St. Helens?
6.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 6.5 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near St. Helens?
23,241 acres of parks and open public land lie inside St. Helens or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 237 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does St. Helens have?
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #50 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 St. Helens 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 →