Old School Park
Managed by Town of Darrington
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail sign
Photo: Jake_T53 · CC BY-SA 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Darrington
7% of Darrington’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 7% of Darrington’s land is conserved, about 82 acres. 0.8 miles of mapped trail cross Darrington, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 75% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
82 acres · of 1.9 sq mi of land
Trails
0.8 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
13 ac
9.4 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.8 mi
0.5 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Darrington?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Darrington have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Darrington is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Darrington’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical WA town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · WA 0.8 · U.S. 0.4BPark land9.4 acres of park per 1,000 residents (13 acres) · WA 11 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · WA 92% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 75%
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Nels Bruseth Memorial Garden
Managed by Town of Darrington
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Harold Engles Park
Managed by Town of Darrington
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 5 parks & preserves
Old School Park5 acres · Town of Darrington
DirectionsDepot Park1 acres · Town of Darrington
DirectionsNels Bruseth Memorial Garden1 acres · Town of Darrington
DirectionsHarold Engles Park1 acres · Town of Darrington
DirectionsDOT City Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
82 conserved acres
7% of Darrington’s land. Who manages Darrington’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County42 ac
U.S. Forest Service31 ac
Town or city8 ac
Bureau of Land Management1 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 39 acNational Forest · 31 acLocal Park · 11 acNational Public Lands · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 6 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loth232 Local Other or Unknown | County | 39 | Unknown |
| Mt. Baker National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 31 | Open |
| Nels Bruseth Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Spokane Wenatchee Field Office National Public Lands | Bureau of Land Management | 1 | Open |
| Dot City Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Darrington
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Darrington
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Darrington
Darrington Mill Boat Launch
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.5 mi
off-road bike paths
1.3 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
3Basketball
2Football
2Tennis
1Softball
1Baseball
1Skate park
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).
Darrington Ranger StationDistrict · listed 1991
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Darrington: 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) | 8.7 | 10.1 | 11.7 | 13.6 | 15.2 | 16.1 | 15.7 | 14.3 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.1 | 8.4 |
| High (°F) | 43 | 47 | 53 | 59 | 67 | 71 | 78 | 78 | 72 | 59 | 48 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 11.6 | 7.2 | 8.6 | 5.3 | 3.6 | 2.6 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 3.3 | 8.3 | 12.9 | 11.0 |
July is the driest month (1.2 in) and August the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 12.9 inches fall in November, the wettest month. The climate in Darrington →
Questions about parks and trails in Darrington
How much of Darrington is conserved land?
7% 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 Darrington’s trails?
Old School Park and Depot Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Darrington?
1.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.5 of off-road paths and 1.3 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Darrington?
112,689 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Darrington or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 50 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Darrington have?
Ahead of 75% 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 Darrington 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 →