VanderYacht Park
Managed by City of Ferndale Parks and Recreation Department
22 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Public domain · Public domainB−Outdoors
Outdoors in Ferndale
Ferndale has 5.6 miles of mapped trails, 0.8 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: VanderYacht Park (0.7 mi). 81% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 92 acres are parks and preserves, 5.7 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 54% of U.S. towns · #200 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
87 acres · of 7.2 sq mi of land
Trails
5.6 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
92 ac
5.7 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
81%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.2 mi
1.2 mi lanes
Lakes & rivers
4
What kind of outdoors town is Ferndale?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ferndale have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ferndale is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns, #200 of 285 in Washington. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ferndale’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical WA town 4% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · WA 0.8 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land5.7 acres of park per 1,000 residents (92 acres) · WA 11 · U.S. 13CParks close to home81% of residents within a half mile of a park · WA 92% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 54%
LessMore
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 30%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B. 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 VanderYacht Park, with 0.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Pioneer Park
Park
25 acres0.1 mi of trail
Hanadori Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Tennant Lake Wildlife Area
Managed by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
8 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 19 parks & preserves
VanderYacht Park22 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · City of Ferndale Parks and Recreation Department
DirectionsCentennial Riverwalk Park1 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · City of Ferndale
DirectionsPioneer Park25 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsFlair Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Ferndale
DirectionsTennant Lake Wildlife Area8 acres · Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Bender Park6 acres
DirectionsCedar Creek Park6 acres · City of Ferndale
DirectionsHovander Homestead Park5 acres · Whatcom County Parks
DirectionsHeron Crest Park4 acres
Griffintown Park4 acres
DirectionsEmerald Terrace Open Space4 acres · City of Ferndale
Michael Moore Park3 acres
Glacier View Park3 acres · City of Ferndale
DirectionsVista Ridge Park2 acres · City of Ferndale
DirectionsShannon Park2 acres · City of Ferndale
Cedarwoods Open Space1 acres · City of Ferndale
Oxford Park1 acres
DirectionsHastings Park1 acres · City of Ferndale
DirectionsHorizon View Park1 acres · City of Ferndale
Who protects it
87 conserved acres
2% of Ferndale’s land. Who manages Ferndale’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city66 ac
State fish & wildlife8 ac
Private owners7 ac
County5 ac
Local Park · 79 acState Conservation Area · 8 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pioneer Park Local Park | Town or city | 26 | Open |
| Vander Yacht Park Local Park | Town or city | 20 | Open |
| Whatcom Wildlife Area Complex State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 8 | Restricted |
| Bender Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Whatcom County Parks & Recreation Local Park | County | 5 | Open |
| Cedar Creek Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Heron Crest Park Local Park | Private owners | 4 | Open |
| Griffintown Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Pacific Heights Park Local Park | Private owners | 3 | Open |
| Centennial Riverwalk Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
19 places to go in Ferndale
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Ferndale
Star Park PlaygroundIn Pioneer Park
DirectionsPlus 16 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Ferndale
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Community gardens in Ferndale
Ferndale Friendship Community Garden
DirectionsTrails & water
4 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.5 mi
Hanadori Trail0.5 mi
Correll Park Trail0.3 mi
Gardiner Terrace Trail0.3 mi
Riverwalk0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.2 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
9Baseball
8Basketball
8Tennis
3Soccer
2Tracks
1Skate park
1Football
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). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Hovander HomesteadDistrict · listed 1974
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Ferndale: 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) | 8.7 | 10.1 | 11.7 | 13.6 | 15.2 | 16.2 | 15.8 | 14.4 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.1 | 8.3 |
| High (°F) | 45 | 48 | 53 | 58 | 64 | 68 | 73 | 74 | 69 | 59 | 50 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 4.7 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 3.7 | 5.1 | 4.5 |
July is the driest month (0.9 in) and August the warmest (highs of 74 °F). 5.1 inches fall in November, the wettest month. The climate in Ferndale →
Next door
Ferndale and its neighbors
Ferndale 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferndale | 2% | 0.8 | 6 | 81% | B− |
| Marietta-Alderwood | 18% | 0.7 | 25 | 83% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Ferndale
Where can I hike in Ferndale?
The longest trail networks: VanderYacht Park, 0.7 miles; Pioneer Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ferndale is conserved land?
2% 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 Ferndale’s trails?
VanderYacht Park and Pioneer Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Ferndale?
1.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.2 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Ferndale?
7,958 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ferndale or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 92 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Ferndale have?
Ahead of 54% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #200 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 Ferndale 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 →