Shadow Lake Nature Preserve
Park
89 acres1.1 mi of trail
The Woods TrailThe Boardwalk TrailOwl TrailThe Wetlands Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Shadow Lake Nature Preserve Parking
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Shadow Lake
Shadow Lake has 98 acres of parks, 40 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Shadow Lake Nature Preserve (1.1 mi). 68% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1.3 miles of mapped trail cross Shadow Lake, 0.3 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 59% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
91 acres · of 5.2 sq mi of land
Trails
1.3 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
98 ac
40 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
68%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.4 mi
0.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Shadow Lake have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Shadow Lake is ahead of 59% of U.S. towns. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Shadow Lake’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical WA town 4% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · WA 0.8 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land40 acres of park per 1,000 residents (98 acres) · WA 11 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home68% 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 59%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− 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 Shadow Lake Nature Preserve, with 1.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
91 conserved acres
3% of Shadow Lake’s land. Who manages Shadow Lake’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County69 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits18 ac
Joint4 ac
Conservation Easement · 67 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 18 acLocal Park · 6 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 67 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 6 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shadow Lake Bog I-III Private Recreation or Education | Land trusts & nonprofits | 18 | Closed |
| Peterson Lake Natural Area Local Park | County | 6 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Shadow Lake
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Shadow Lake
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Shadow Lake
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Picnic areas in Shadow Lake
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
4 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
The Woods Trail0.3 mi
The Boardwalk Trail0.2 mi
Owl Trail0.1 mi
The Wetlands Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
6Tennis
3Baseball
2Tracks
1Football
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Shadow Lake: 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) | 8.9 | 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 | 49 | 53 | 58 | 65 | 69 | 76 | 76 | 70 | 60 | 51 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 6.9 | 4.8 | 5.3 | 4.4 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 5.0 | 7.5 | 6.7 |
July is the driest month (1.0 in) and August the warmest (highs of 76 °F). 7.5 inches fall in November, the wettest month. The climate in Shadow Lake →
Next door
Shadow Lake and its neighbors
Shadow Lake 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shadow Lake | 3% | 0.3 | 40 | 68% | B |
| Covington | 6% | 1.2 | 14 | 99%+ | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Shadow Lake
Where can I hike in Shadow Lake?
The longest trail networks: Shadow Lake Nature Preserve, 1.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Shadow Lake is conserved land?
3% 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 Shadow Lake’s trails?
Shadow Lake Nature Preserve and Peterson Lake Natural Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Shadow Lake?
0.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Shadow Lake?
39,051 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Shadow Lake or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 114 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Shadow Lake have?
Ahead of 59% 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 Shadow Lake 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 →