Vernonia Lake City Park
Park
55 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Geirfuglasker · CC BY-SA 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Vernonia
Vernonia has 155 acres of parks, 56 for every 1,000 residents
1.8 miles of mapped trail cross Vernonia, 1.1 per square mile of land. 91% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 74% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
5 acres · of 1.6 sq mi of land
Trails
1.8 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
155 ac
56 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
91%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.2 mi
2.2 mi paths
Highest peak
778 ft
O-A Hill
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Vernonia?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Vernonia have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Vernonia is ahead of 74% of U.S. towns. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Vernonia’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical OR town 4% · U.S. 4%C−Trails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · OR 0.8 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land56 acres of park per 1,000 residents (155 acres) · OR 7 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home91% 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 74%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B 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 Vernonia Lake City Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 8 parks & preserves
Vernonia Lake City Park55 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsOld Mill Area56 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsOra Bolmeier City Park4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsSpencer Park21 acres
DirectionsAnderson Park7 acres
DirectionsWebb Way Park3 acres
DirectionsHawkins Park3 acres
Shay Park1 acres
Who protects it
5 conserved acres
under 1% of Vernonia’s land. Who manages Vernonia’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city5 ac
State Recreation Area · 4 acLocal Other or Unknown · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banks-Vernonia State Trail State Recreation Area | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Local Government 3 Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
13 places to go in Vernonia
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Vernonia
8 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Vernonia
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Vernonia
O-A Hill778 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Vernonia
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Vernonia
Vernonia Lake Primative CampgroundIn Vernonia Lake City Park · City of Vernonia
DirectionsCommunity gardens in Vernonia
1 community garden without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
OA Hill Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Crown Zellerbach Trail AlternateBike route
0.4 miCourts & fields
5Baseball
5Tracks
3Soccer
2Football
1Skate park
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Oregon-American Lumber Company Mill OfficeBuilding · listed 2002
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Vernonia: 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) | 45 | 48 | 52 | 57 | 65 | 69 | 77 | 78 | 72 | 60 | 49 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 7.5 | 6.1 | 5.8 | 3.7 | 2.4 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 4.4 | 8.2 | 9.4 |
July is the driest month (0.4 in) and August the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 9.4 inches fall in December, the wettest month. The climate in Vernonia →
Questions about parks and trails in Vernonia
Where can I hike in Vernonia?
The longest trail networks: Vernonia Lake City Park, 0.3 miles; Old Mill Area, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Vernonia is conserved land?
under 1% 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 Vernonia’s trails?
Vernonia Lake City Park and Old Mill Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Vernonia?
2.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.2 of off-road paths. Named routes: Crown Zellerbach Trail Alternate.
Is there public land near Vernonia?
31,171 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Vernonia or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 155 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Vernonia have?
Ahead of 74% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Vernonia 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 →