Adam Ryan Wildlife Preserve
Managed by Bear Yuba Land Trust
32 acres1.7 mi of trail
Alan Theisen Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
C−Outdoors
Outdoors in Alta Sierra
Few parks or trails are on the map in Alta Sierra
The biggest trail networks: Adam Ryan Wildlife Preserve (1.7 mi). 16% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 37 acres are parks and preserves, 5.0 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 22% of U.S. towns · #738 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
41 acres · of 8.3 sq mi of land
Trails
2.8 mi
0.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
37 ac
5.0 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
16%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Alta Sierra have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Alta Sierra is ahead of 22% of U.S. towns, #738 of 847 in California. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Alta Sierra’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4B−Park land5.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (37 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13CParks close to home16% of residents within a half mile of a park · CA 91% · U.S. 72%C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 22%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 13%
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Alta Sierra. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C. 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 Adam Ryan Wildlife Preserve, with 1.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lodestar Park
Park
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
41 conserved acres
1% of Alta Sierra’s land. Who manages Alta Sierra’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits74 ac
Unknown Easement · 39 acPrivate Conservation · 34 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adam Ryan Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 33 | Open |
| Mathis Pond Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Alta Sierra
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Alta Sierra
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.0 mi
Alan Theisen Trail1.0 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
1Tennis
1Equestrian
1Tracks
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Alta Sierra: May and June
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) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 54 | 56 | 60 | 65 | 74 | 83 | 91 | 90 | 85 | 74 | 60 | 53 |
| Rain (in) | 8.5 | 8.3 | 7.4 | 4.0 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 2.4 | 5.1 | 9.2 |
July is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and the warmest (highs of 91 °F). 9.2 inches fall in December, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 91 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Alta Sierra →
Questions about parks and trails in Alta Sierra
Where can I hike in Alta Sierra?
The longest trail networks: Adam Ryan Wildlife Preserve, 1.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Alta Sierra is conserved land?
1% 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 Alta Sierra’s trails?
Adam Ryan Wildlife Preserve and Lodestar Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Alta Sierra?
24,706 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Alta Sierra or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 79 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Alta Sierra have?
Ahead of 22% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #738 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 Alta Sierra 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 →