Lewis and Clark National Historical Park
Managed by National Park Service
82 acres
Dogs usually limited
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Photo: Sam Beebe/Ecotrust · CC BY-SA 3.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Ilwaco
Ilwaco has 4 acres of parks, 2.7 for every 1,000 residents
2.3 miles of mapped trail cross Ilwaco, 1.1 per square mile of land. 51% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 38% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
13 acres · of 2.1 sq mi of land
Trails
2.3 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
4 ac
2.7 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
51%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.7 mi
0.3 mi lanes · 0.9 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Ilwaco?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ilwaco have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ilwaco is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ilwaco’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical WA town 4% · U.S. 4%CTrails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · WA 0.8 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land2.7 acres of park per 1,000 residents (4 acres) · WA 11 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home51% 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 38%
LessMore
Water is more than half of Ilwaco’s area (4 of 6 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 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Cape Disappointment State Park
Managed by Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission
82 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Seashore Conservation Area
Managed by Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
13 conserved acres
1% of Ilwaco’s land. Water is left out: Ilwaco has 2.1 square miles of land and 3.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Ilwaco’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks12 ac
State Conservation Area · 12 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seashore Conservation Area State Conservation Area | State parks | 12 | Restricted |
Things to do
3 places to go in Ilwaco
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Ilwaco
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Ilwaco
Ilwaco Port Boat Launch
DirectionsPicnic areas in Ilwaco
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
4.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.3 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.9 mi
off-road bike paths
3.5 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
1Football
1Basketball
1Baseball
1Soccer
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).
When to get out
The best walking months in Ilwaco: 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) | 9.0 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 15.0 | 15.8 | 15.4 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.6 |
| High (°F) | 49 | 51 | 53 | 56 | 60 | 63 | 66 | 68 | 67 | 61 | 53 | 49 |
| Rain (in) | 13.1 | 8.5 | 9.6 | 6.9 | 4.1 | 2.9 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 3.3 | 8.2 | 12.7 | 13.1 |
July is the driest month (1.0 in) and August the warmest (highs of 68 °F). 13.1 inches fall in December, the wettest month. The climate in Ilwaco →
Questions about parks and trails in Ilwaco
How much of Ilwaco 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 Ilwaco’s trails?
Lewis and Clark National Historical Park and Cape Disappointment State Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Ilwaco?
4.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.3 of painted or protected lanes, 0.9 of off-road paths and 3.5 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Ilwaco?
6,817 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ilwaco or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Ilwaco have?
Ahead of 38% 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 Ilwaco 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 →