May Creek Park
Managed by City of Newcastle
145 acres2.6 mi of trail
May Creek Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Pacific Coast Company House No. 75 · Photo: Jon Roanhaus · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Newcastle
8% of Newcastle’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 31 miles of mapped trail cross Newcastle, 6.9 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: May Creek Park (2.6 mi), Coal Creek Natural Area (1.1 mi).
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns · #27 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
231 acres · of 4.4 sq mi of land
Trails
31 mi
6.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
213 ac
16 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
7.0 mi
4.7 mi lanes · 1.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Newcastle?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Newcastle have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Newcastle is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #27 of 285 in Washington. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Newcastle’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical WA town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails6.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (31 mi) · WA 0.8 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land16 acres of park per 1,000 residents (213 acres) · WA 11 · U.S. 13BParks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · WA 92% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 94%
LessMore
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 91%
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 May Creek Park, with 2.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Coal Creek Natural Area
Nature preserve
64 acres1.1 mi of trail
Coal Creek TrailPrimrose Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Hazelwood Park
Managed by City of Newcastle
8 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 13 parks & preserves
May Creek Park145 acres · 2.6 mi of trail · City of Newcastle
DirectionsCoal Creek Natural Area64 acres · 1.1 mi of trail
DirectionsHazelwood Park8 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · City of Newcastle
China Creek Open Space21 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Lake Boren Park22 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsCougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · King County Parks and Recreation
Highlands Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsTralee Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
China Creek Park5 acres
Donegal Park2 acres
Redman Park2 acres
Gleneagles Garden Park1 acres
Madison Lane Park1 acres
Who protects it
231 conserved acres
8% of Newcastle’s land. Who manages Newcastle’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city227 ac
County4 ac
Local Conservation Area · 129 acLocal Park · 91 acRecreation or Education Easement · 4 acLocal Other or Unknown · 4 acLocal Historic or Cultural Area · 3 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 4 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 18 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public Open Space Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 71 | Unknown |
| May Creek Park Local Park | Town or city | 60 | Open |
| China Creek Open Space Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 57 | Unknown |
| Redman Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Hazelwood Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| China Creek Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Loth122 Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Newcastle Historic Cemetery Local Historic or Cultural Area | Town or city | 3 | Restricted |
| Donegal Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Highlands Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
24 places to go in Newcastle
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Newcastle
Heritage Morgan Park
DirectionsPlus 17 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Newcastle
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in Newcastle
De Leo Wall Viewpoint
DirectionsPlus 1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Peaks in Newcastle
1 peak without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Newcastle
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
17 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 5.4 miHorses · 0.9 miUnpaved · 18.0 mi
Highlands Trail1.9 mi
May Creek Trail1.8 mi
Cross Town Trail1.7 mi
Golf Course Trail1.3 mi
Coal Creek Trail1.0 mi
Waterline Trail1.0 mi
Olympus Trail0.8 mi
Lower Crock Trail0.5 mi
Cougar Access Trail0.5 mi
Terrace Trail0.5 mi
7 more trails
Horse Trail
0.4 mi84th Street Trail
0.4 miHeritage Trail
0.4 miViewpoint #2 Trail
0.3 miPrimrose Trail
0.2 miChina Creek Trail
0.2 miBallybunion Trail
0.2 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
7.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.7 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
1.4 mi
off-road bike paths
1.0 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Waterline TrailBike route
1 miCourts & fields
5Basketball
2Baseball
2Soccer
2Tennis
1Volleyball
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.
Pacific Coast Company House No. 75Building · listed 1979
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Newcastle: 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) | 8.8 | 10.2 | 11.8 | 13.6 | 15.1 | 15.9 | 15.6 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.7 | 9.2 | 8.5 |
| High (°F) | 48 | 50 | 54 | 59 | 66 | 70 | 77 | 77 | 71 | 61 | 52 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 5.4 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 3.2 | 2.1 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 3.9 | 6.0 | 5.5 |
July is the driest month (0.7 in) and August the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 6.0 inches fall in November, the wettest month. The climate in Newcastle →
Next door
Newcastle and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Newcastle
Where can I hike in Newcastle?
The longest trail networks: May Creek Park, 2.6 miles; Coal Creek Natural Area, 1.1 miles; Hazelwood Park, 0.4 miles; Lake Boren Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Newcastle is conserved land?
8% 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 Newcastle’s trails?
May Creek Park and Coal Creek Natural Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Newcastle?
7.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.7 of painted or protected lanes, 1.4 of off-road paths and 1.0 of shoulders and shared lanes. Named routes: Waterline Trail.
Is there public land near Newcastle?
32,012 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Newcastle or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 213 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Newcastle have?
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #27 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 Newcastle 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 →