McCormick Forest Park
Park
19 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, NV, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Gig Harbor
99% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Gig Harbor
5.9 miles of mapped trail cross Gig Harbor, 1.0 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: McCormick Forest Park (0.8 mi), Grandview Forest Park (0.5 mi). 290 acres are parks and preserves, 23 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns · #71 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
185 acres · of 5.9 sq mi of land
Trails
5.9 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
290 ac
23 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
10 mi
5.1 mi lanes · 4.6 mi paths
Highest peak
315 ft
Kinbee Hill
What kind of outdoors town is Gig Harbor?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Gig Harbor have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Gig Harbor is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns, #71 of 285 in Washington. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, conserved land lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Gig Harbor’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical WA town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · WA 0.8 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land23 acres of park per 1,000 residents (290 acres) · WA 11 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home99% of residents within a half mile of a park · WA 92% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 86%
LessMore
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 75%
Water is 6% of Gig Harbor’s area (0 of 6 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 5%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 McCormick Forest Park, with 0.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Wilkinson Farm Park
Park
13 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Wilkinson Farm ParkingWebsite ↗
Adam Tallman Park
Park
13 acres0.3 mi of trail
Adam Tallman Nature Park Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 18 parks & preserves
McCormick Forest Park19 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
Grandview Forest Park10 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsWilkinson Farm Park13 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsAdam Tallman Park13 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsDoris Heritage Park3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · City of Gig Harbor
Kenneth Leo Marvin Veterans Memorial Park5 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsAustin Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Gig Harbor
Directionstxʷaalqəł Conservation Area50 acres · City of Gig Harbor
DirectionsPeninsula Recreation Area31 acres
DirectionsCrescent Creek Park6 acres
DirectionsDonkey Creek Park2 acres
DirectionsShaw Park1 acres · City of Gig Harbor
Soundview Forest Park1 acres · City of Gig Harbor
DirectionsEddon Boat Park1 acres
DirectionsSkate Park1 acres
DirectionsSkansie Brothers Park1 acres
DirectionsCivic Center Green1 acres
DirectionsRussel Investments Business Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
185 conserved acres
5% of Gig Harbor’s land. Water is left out: Gig Harbor has 5.9 square miles of land and 0.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Gig Harbor’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city134 ac
Regional agency81 ac
County28 ac
Local Park · 104 acLocal Other or Unknown · 95 acLocal Conservation Area · 28 acLocal Recreation Area · 16 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 20 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loth152 Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 53 | Open |
| Cushman Powerline Trail Local Park | Regional agency | 41 | Open |
| Loth223 Local Other or Unknown | County | 28 | Unknown |
| Mccormick Forest Park Local Park | Regional agency | 25 | Open |
| Peninsula Recreation Area Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 16 | Open |
| Wilkinson Farm Park Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Loth58 Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Civic Center Green Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Grandview Forest Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Scofield Tidelands Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
28 places to go in Gig Harbor
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Gig Harbor
21 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Gig Harbor
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Gig Harbor
Kinbee Hill315 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Gig Harbor
3 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Gig Harbor
Gig Harbor RV Resort
DirectionsCommunity gardens in Gig Harbor
1 community garden without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Unpaved · 3.3 mi
Adam Tallman Nature Park Trail0.3 mi
Biking & sports
10 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
4.6 mi
off-road bike paths
0.6 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
8Baseball
7Basketball
6Tennis
3Pickleball
2Football
2Soccer
1Skate park
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Gig Harbor: 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) | 8.9 | 10.2 | 11.8 | 13.6 | 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) | 7.5 | 4.9 | 5.4 | 3.7 | 2.1 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 4.9 | 7.7 | 7.8 |
July is the driest month (0.7 in) and August the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 7.8 inches fall in December, the wettest month. The climate in Gig Harbor →
Next door
Gig Harbor and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gig Harbor | 5% | 1.0 | 23 | 99% | A |
| Maplewood | 3% | 1.7 | 17 | 38% | B |
| Rosedale | 10% | 1.9 | 72 | 90% | A |
| Wollochet | 6% | 0.7 | 29 | 69% | B+ |
| Canterwood | 1% | 2.8 | 3 | 64% | B− |
| Artondale | 7% | 0.3 | 14 | 45% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Gig Harbor
Where can I hike in Gig Harbor?
The longest trail networks: McCormick Forest Park, 0.8 miles; Grandview Forest Park, 0.5 miles; Wilkinson Farm Park, 0.4 miles; Adam Tallman Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Gig Harbor is conserved land?
5% 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 Gig Harbor’s trails?
McCormick Forest Park and Grandview Forest Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Gig Harbor?
10 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.1 of painted or protected lanes, 4.6 of off-road paths and 0.6 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Gig Harbor?
13,613 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Gig Harbor or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 290 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Gig Harbor have?
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #71 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 Gig Harbor 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 →