Albany Bulb
Managed by City of Albany
34 acres2.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Peterson House · Photo: Sanfranman59 · CC BY-SA 3.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Albany
More than half of Albany’s land is conserved: 55%
55% of Albany’s land is conserved, about 632 acres. 6.4 miles of mapped trail cross Albany, 3.6 per square mile of land. Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns · #88 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
55%
632 acres · of 1.8 sq mi of land
Trails
6.4 mi
3.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
191 ac
9.9 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
15 mi
2.6 mi lanes · 4.9 mi paths
Highest peak
299 ft
Albany Hill
What kind of outdoors town is Albany?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Albany have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Albany is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #88 of 847 in California. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Albany’s overall grade.
Conserved land55% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%A+Trails3.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land9.9 acres of park per 1,000 residents (191 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · CA 91% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 96%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 90%
Water is more than half of Albany’s area (4 of 5 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 18%.
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 Albany Bulb, with 2.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Albany Hill Park
Managed by City of Albany
22 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Creekside Park
Managed by City of Albany
6 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 13 parks & preserves
Albany Bulb34 acres · 2.1 mi of trail · City of Albany
Albany Plateau26 acres · 1.3 mi of trail
DirectionsAlbany Neck15 acres · 1.3 mi of trail
DirectionsAlbany Hill Park22 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · City of Albany
Creekside Park6 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · City of Albany
DirectionsMemorial Park6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Ocean View Park4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsMcLaughlin Eastshore State Park475 acres · East Bay Regional Park District
DirectionsOhlone Greenway10 acres
DirectionsUniversity Park6 acres
DirectionsHarrison Park4 acres
DirectionsPeggy Thomsen Pierce Street Park2 acres
Terrace Park1 acres
Who protects it
632 conserved acres
55% of Albany’s land. Water is left out: Albany has 1.8 square miles of land and 3.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Albany’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency590 ac
Town or city42 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 590 acLocal Park · 32 acLocal Recreation Area · 9 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| McLaughlin Eastshore State Park Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 411 | Open |
| Albany State Marine Reserve Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 180 | Restricted |
| Albany Hill Park Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Ohlone Greenway Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Albany Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Ocean View Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| University Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Terrace Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
26 places to go in Albany
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Albany
Albany BeachIn Albany Plateau
DirectionsPlus 2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Public pools in Albany
1 public pool without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Albany
Log parkIn Ohlone Greenway
DirectionsMarin School Playground
DirectionsPlus 16 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Peaks in Albany
Albany Hill299 ft elevation · In Albany Hill Park
DirectionsPicnic areas in Albany
3 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Biking & sports
15 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.6 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
4.9 mi
off-road bike paths
7.1 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
San Francisco Bay TrailBike route
0.4 miCourts & fields
13Basketball
7Tennis
7Baseball
2Soccer
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).
Peterson HouseBuilding · listed 1982
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Albany: April to August
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) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.1 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 56 | 60 | 63 | 66 | 70 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 77 | 73 | 64 | 57 |
| Rain (in) | 4.9 | 4.7 | 3.6 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 2.6 | 5.0 |
July is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and September the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 5.0 inches fall in December, the wettest month. The climate in Albany →
Next door
Albany and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albany | 55% | 3.6 | 10 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Berkeley | 14% | 1.6 | 5 | 98% | A− |
| El Cerrito | 6% | 3.3 | 8 | 99%+ | A |
| Richmond | 34% | 2.2 | 37 | 98% | A+ |
| Kensington | 4% | 0.8 | 6 | 91% | B+ |
| San Francisco | 23% | 3.3 | 8 | 99%+ | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Albany
Where can I hike in Albany?
The longest trail networks: Albany Bulb, 2.1 miles; Albany Plateau, 1.3 miles; Albany Neck, 1.3 miles; Albany Hill Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Albany is conserved land?
55% of its land, against a typical 4% for a California town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Albany’s trails?
Albany Bulb and Albany Plateau don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Albany?
15 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.6 of painted or protected lanes, 4.9 of off-road paths and 7.1 of shoulders and shared lanes. Named routes: San Francisco Bay Trail.
Is there public land near Albany?
33,156 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Albany or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 191 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Albany have?
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #88 of 847 in California. 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 Albany 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 →