Z's Reef Marine Preserve
Managed by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
32 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: Joe Mabel · CC BY-SA 3.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Fox Island
Fox Island has 30 acres of parks, 8.6 for every 1,000 residents
1% of Fox Island’s land is conserved, about 51 acres. 0.5 miles of mapped trail cross Fox Island, 0.1 per square mile of land. 54% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 30% of U.S. towns · #246 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
51 acres · of 5.2 sq mi of land
Trails
0.5 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
30 ac
8.6 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
54%
of residents within ½ mile
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Fox Island have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Fox Island is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns, #246 of 285 in Washington. All four inputs are below most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park comes closest.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Fox Island’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical WA town 4% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · WA 0.8 · U.S. 0.4CPark land8.6 acres of park per 1,000 residents (30 acres) · WA 11 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home54% 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 30%
LessMore
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 14%
Water is more than half of Fox Island’s area (10 of 15 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read under 1%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be C. 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.
Fox Island Fishing Pier
Park
9 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Nichols Community Center
Park
5 acres0.2 mi of trail
Nichols Center Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Tacoma DeMolay Sandspit Nature Preserve
Managed by PenMet Parks
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 5 parks & preserves
Fox Island Fishing Pier9 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Nichols Community Center5 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Z's Reef Marine Preserve32 acres · Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Tacoma DeMolay Sandspit Nature Preserve3 acres · PenMet Parks
DirectionsTowhead Island Park2 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
51 conserved acres
1% of Fox Island’s land. Water is left out: Fox Island has 5.2 square miles of land and 9.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Fox Island’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County25 ac
Regional agency21 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits10 ac
Town or city5 ac
Other or Unknown Federal Land2 ac
Local Park · 26 acLocal Other or Unknown · 25 acLocal Conservation Area · 5 acUnknown Easement · 5 acAccess Area · 2 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 7 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loth223 Local Other or Unknown | County | 25 | Unknown |
| Fox Island Sand Spit Local Park | Regional agency | 11 | Open |
| Fox Island Fishing Pier Local Park | Regional agency | 9 | Open |
| Fox Island Nature Center Local Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 5 | Open |
| Nichols Community Center Local Park | Land trusts & nonprofits | 5 | Open |
| Towhead Island Boat Launch Access Area | Other or Unknown Federal Land | 2 | Open |
Things to do
7 places to go in Fox Island
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Fox Island
Fox Island Sand Spit
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Fox Island
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Fox Island
Towhead Island Boat Launch
DirectionsPlus 2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Campgrounds in Fox Island
Cascadia Marine Trail Campsite - Fox Island Fishing PierFee · In Fox Island Fishing Pier
DirectionsCascadia Marine Trail Campsite - Tacoma DeMolay Sandspit Nature PreserveFee
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Nichols Center Trail0.2 mi
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
3Tennis
1Baseball
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 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Fox Island SchoolBuilding · listed 1987
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Fox Island: 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 | 15.1 | 15.9 | 15.6 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.2 | 8.5 |
| High (°F) | 47 | 50 | 54 | 59 | 66 | 70 | 77 | 77 | 71 | 60 | 51 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 7.3 | 4.8 | 5.3 | 3.7 | 2.1 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 4.8 | 7.5 | 7.6 |
July is the driest month (0.7 in) and August the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 7.6 inches fall in December, the wettest month. The climate in Fox Island →
Next door
Fox Island and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Fox Island
Where can I hike in Fox Island?
The longest trail networks: Fox Island Fishing Pier, 0.2 miles; Nichols Community Center, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Fox Island is conserved land?
1% 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 Fox Island’s trails?
Z's Reef Marine Preserve and Fox Island Fishing Pier don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Fox Island?
9,612 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Fox Island or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 30 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Fox Island have?
Ahead of 30% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #246 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 Fox Island 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 →