Clarkston Public Library · Photo: Ian Poellet · CC BY-SA 4.0Clarkston has 55 acres of parks, 7.7 for every 1,000 residents
94% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Granite Lake Park (0.8 mi). 1.0 miles of mapped trail cross Clarkston, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns · #183 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Clarkston?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Clarkston have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Clarkston is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns, #183 of 285 in Washington. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
Water is 8% of Clarkston’s area (0 of 2 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 3%.
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 Granite Lake Park, with 0.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Beachview Park
The Greenbelt
Gateway Park
All 7 parks & preserves
39 conserved acres
3% of Clarkston’s land. Water is left out: Clarkston has 2.1 square miles of land and 0.2 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Clarkston’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Greenbelt National Public Lands | Other or Unknown Federal Land | 25 | Open |
| Beachview Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Arnold Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Vernon Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Foster Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
5 places to go in Clarkston
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
1.5 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 best walking months in Clarkston: April to June and 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 | 15.0 | 15.8 | 15.5 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.6 |
| High (°F) | 43 | 48 | 58 | 66 | 75 | 82 | 93 | 92 | 82 | 66 | 51 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 1.3 |
August is the driest month (0.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 93 °F). 1.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 93 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Clarkston →
Clarkston and its neighbors
Clarkston has the second most mapped trails of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clarkston | 3% | 0.5 | 8 | 94% | B |
| West Clarkston-Highland | 2% | 0.1 | 14 | 38% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Clarkston
Where can I hike in Clarkston?
The longest trail networks: Granite Lake Park, 0.8 miles; Beachview Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Clarkston is conserved land?
3% of its land, against a typical 4% for a Washington town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Clarkston’s trails?
Granite Lake Park and Beachview Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Clarkston?
1.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Clarkston?
4,772 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Clarkston or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 59 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Clarkston have?
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #183 of 285 in Washington. 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 Clarkston 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 →