Northwest Trek Wildlife Park
Managed by Metro Parks Tacoma
708 acres1.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Photo: Joe Mabel · CC BY-SA 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Clear Lake
Clear Lake has 717 acres of parks, 564 for every 1,000 residents
13% of Clear Lake’s land is conserved, about 709 acres. The biggest trail networks: Northwest Trek Wildlife Park (1.4 mi). 46% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
709 acres · of 8.5 sq mi of land
Trails
2.6 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
717 ac
564 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
46%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.4 mi
Lakes & rivers
6
3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Clear Lake?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Clear Lake have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Clear Lake is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Clear Lake’s overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical WA town 4% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · WA 0.8 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land564 acres of park per 1,000 residents (717 acres) · WA 11 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home46% of residents within a half mile of a park · WA 92% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 76%
LessMore
Water is 8% of Clear Lake’s area (1 of 9 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 12%.
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 Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, with 1.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Tanwax Public Access Area
Managed by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail sign
Clear Lake Access Area
Managed by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
709 conserved acres
13% of Clear Lake’s land. Water is left out: Clear Lake has 8.5 square miles of land and 0.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Clear Lake’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city1,302 ac
County1 ac
Local Park · 708 acLocal Other or Unknown · 595 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 3 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Trek Wildlife Park Local Park | Town or city | 708 | Open |
| Loth152 Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 594 | Open |
| Loth223 Local Other or Unknown | County | 1 | Unknown |
Things to do
6 places to go in Clear Lake
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Swimming spots in Clear Lake
1 swimming spot without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Clear Lake
Kids' TrekIn Northwest Trek Wildlife Park
DirectionsBoat launches in Clear Lake
3 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Clear Lake
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
6 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.4 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
2Basketball
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Clear Lake: 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) | 8.9 | 10.2 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 15.0 | 15.9 | 15.5 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.5 |
| High (°F) | 47 | 49 | 53 | 59 | 66 | 70 | 77 | 78 | 71 | 60 | 51 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 5.6 | 4.1 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 3.0 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 4.1 | 6.4 | 6.2 |
July is the driest month (0.8 in) and August the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 6.4 inches fall in November, the wettest month. The climate in Clear Lake →
Next door
Clear Lake and its neighbors
Clear Lake 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clear Lake | 13% | 0.3 | 564 | 46% | A− |
| Kapowsin | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Clear Lake
Where can I hike in Clear Lake?
The longest trail networks: Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, 1.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Clear Lake is conserved land?
13% 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 Clear Lake’s trails?
Northwest Trek Wildlife Park and Tanwax Public Access Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Clear Lake?
0.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.4 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Clear Lake?
27,580 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Clear Lake or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 717 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Clear Lake have?
Ahead of 76% 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 Clear Lake 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 →