Grace Cole Nature Park
Managed by City of Lake Forest Park
13 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Joe Mabel · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Lake Forest Park
96% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Lake Forest Park
3.7 miles of mapped trail cross Lake Forest Park, 1.1 per square mile of land. 60 acres are parks and preserves, 4.5 per 1,000 residents. 2% of Lake Forest Park’s land is conserved, about 48 acres.
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns · #170 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
48 acres · of 3.5 sq mi of land
Trails
3.7 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
60 ac
4.5 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
96%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.1 mi
0.8 mi lanes · 1.9 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
3 beaches
What kind of outdoors town is Lake Forest Park?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lake Forest Park have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lake Forest Park is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns, #170 of 285 in Washington. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lake Forest Park’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical WA town 4% · U.S. 4%C+Trails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · WA 0.8 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land4.5 acres of park per 1,000 residents (60 acres) · WA 11 · U.S. 13CParks close to home96% 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 63%
LessMore
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 40%
Water is 15% of Lake Forest Park’s area (1 of 4 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 2%.
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
The longest trail network is Grace Cole Nature Park, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
5 Acre Wood
Managed by City of Lake Forest Park
6 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Pfingst Animal Acres Park
Managed by City of Lake Forest Park
5 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 7 parks & preserves
Grace Cole Nature Park13 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · City of Lake Forest Park
Directions5 Acre Wood6 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · City of Lake Forest Park
Pfingst Animal Acres Park5 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · City of Lake Forest Park
DirectionsHorizon View Park8 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsLyon Creek Waterfront Preserve1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsBlue Heron Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Lake Forest Park
DirectionsLake Forest Park Legacy Green Space3 acres · City of Lake Forest Park
Who protects it
48 conserved acres
2% of Lake Forest Park’s land. Water is left out: Lake Forest Park has 3.5 square miles of land and 0.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Lake Forest Park’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city35 ac
County13 ac
Local Park · 45 acLocal Conservation Area · 3 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burke Gilman Trail Site Local Park | County | 13 | Open |
| Grace Cole Nature Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Lake Forest Park Reservoir Dam Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Animal Acres Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Lake Forest Park Legacy Green Space Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Lake Forest Park Civic Club Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Horizon View Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Lyon Creek Waterfront Preserve Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Blue Heron Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Whispering Willow Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
12 places to go in Lake Forest Park
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Lake Forest Park
3 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Lake Forest Park
9 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.7 mi
Tolt Pipeline Trail0.5 mi
McKinnon Creek Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
4.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.8 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
1.9 mi
off-road bike paths
1.4 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
7Tennis
3Basketball
2Pickleball
1Soccer
1Multi-sport
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.
Harry Vanderbilt Wurdemann HouseBuilding · listed 1990
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Lake Forest Park: 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) | 8.8 | 10.2 | 11.8 | 13.6 | 15.1 | 16.0 | 15.6 | 14.3 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.2 | 8.4 |
| High (°F) | 47 | 49 | 53 | 58 | 65 | 69 | 75 | 76 | 70 | 59 | 51 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 5.1 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 3.0 | 2.2 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 4.0 | 5.7 | 5.6 |
July is the driest month (0.9 in) and August the warmest (highs of 76 °F). 5.7 inches fall in November, the wettest month. The climate in Lake Forest Park →
Next door
Lake Forest Park and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Lake Forest Park
Where can I hike in Lake Forest Park?
The longest trail networks: Grace Cole Nature Park, 0.4 miles; 5 Acre Wood, 0.3 miles; Pfingst Animal Acres Park, 0.3 miles; Horizon View Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lake Forest Park 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 Lake Forest Park’s trails?
Grace Cole Nature Park and 5 Acre Wood don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Lake Forest Park?
4.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.8 of painted or protected lanes, 1.9 of off-road paths and 1.4 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Lake Forest Park?
13,936 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lake Forest Park or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 60 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Lake Forest Park have?
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #170 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 Lake Forest Park 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 →