Yelm Shoreline Protected Area
Nature preserve
32 acres0.3 mi of trail
HurdFlores
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail signWebsite ↗
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in North Yelm
12% of North Yelm’s land is conserved: 253 acres
6 acres are parks and preserves, 2.4 per 1,000 residents. 69% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1.2 miles of mapped trail cross North Yelm, 0.4 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 53% of U.S. towns · #201 of 285 in Washington. What drives it
Conserved land
12%
253 acres · of 3.3 sq mi of land
Trails
1.2 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
6 ac
2.4 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
69%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.3 mi
0.2 mi lanes · 2.3 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is North Yelm?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does North Yelm have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, North Yelm is ahead of 53% of U.S. towns, #201 of 285 in Washington. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of North Yelm’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical WA town 4% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · WA 0.8 · U.S. 0.4BPark land2.4 acres of park per 1,000 residents (6 acres) · WA 11 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home69% of residents within a half mile of a park · WA 92% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 53%
LessMore
Washington towns of 2,500+ (285)Ahead of 30%
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
The longest trail network is Yelm Shoreline Protected Area, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Nisqually Pines HOA Park
Park
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
253 conserved acres
12% of North Yelm’s land. Who manages North Yelm’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits253 ac
Other Easement · 239 acPrivate Conservation · 14 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 239 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nisqually River Basin Land Trust Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 14 | Closed |
Things to do
4 places to go in North Yelm
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in North Yelm
Nisqually Pines PoolIn Nisqually Pines HOA Park
DirectionsPlaygrounds in North Yelm
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Waterfalls in North Yelm
Nisqually Falls
DirectionsScenic views in North Yelm
Stewart Cliffs Viewpoint
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.5 mi
Flores0.6 mi
Hurd0.3 mi
Biking & sports
3.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.2 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
2.3 mi
off-road bike paths
0.8 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
When to get out
The best walking months in North Yelm: 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 | 13.5 | 15.0 | 15.9 | 15.5 | 14.2 | 12.5 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 8.5 |
| High (°F) | 47 | 50 | 55 | 60 | 67 | 71 | 78 | 78 | 72 | 61 | 52 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 5.3 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 2.3 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 3.8 | 5.9 | 5.7 |
July is the driest month (0.7 in) and August the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 5.9 inches fall in November, the wettest month. The climate in North Yelm →
Next door
North Yelm and its neighbors
North Yelm has the second most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Yelm | 12% | 0.4 | 2 | 69% | B− |
| Yelm | 1% | 3.4 | 6 | 85% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in North Yelm
Where can I hike in North Yelm?
The longest trail networks: Yelm Shoreline Protected Area, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of North Yelm is conserved land?
12% 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 North Yelm’s trails?
Yelm Shoreline Protected Area and Nisqually Pines HOA Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in North Yelm?
3.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.2 of painted or protected lanes, 2.3 of off-road paths and 0.8 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near North Yelm?
2,855 acres of parks and open public land lie inside North Yelm or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 6 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does North Yelm have?
Ahead of 53% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #201 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 North Yelm 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 →