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2009-0724-CA-OldTownAuburnPhoto: Bobak Ha'Eri · CC BY 3.0
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Auburn

Auburn has 12 miles of mapped trails, 1.7 for every square mile of land

91% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 9% of Auburn’s land is conserved, about 389 acres. 341 acres are parks and preserves, 25 per 1,000 residents.

Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns · #176 of 847 in California. What drives it

Conserved land
9%
389 acres · of 7.2 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
1.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
341 ac
25 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
91%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.2 mi
0.2 mi lanes
Lakes & rivers
2

What kind of outdoors town is Auburn?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

A trail town1.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 91% of U.S. towns.Parks close to home91% of residents live within a half mile of a park.History along the way14 places on the National Register.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Auburn have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Auburn is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #176 of 847 in California. 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 Auburn’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4APark land25 acres of park per 1,000 residents (341 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home91% of residents within a half mile of a park · CA 91% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 90%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 79%
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.

1234
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 Auburn Recreation Park, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Auburn Recreation Park

Park
23 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet

Railhead Park

Park
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

American River Canyon Overlook Park

Park
6 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Folsom Lake State Recreation Area

Managed by California Department of Parks and Recreation
3 acres0.1 mi of trail
Pioneer Express Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it

389 conserved acres

9% of Auburn’s land. Who manages Auburn’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

State parks233 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits76 ac
Town or city40 ac
Regional agency40 ac
County2 ac
State Recreation Area · 233 acUnknown Easement · 59 acLocal Other or Unknown · 43 acLocal Recreation Area · 21 acLocal Park · 19 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 55 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Auburn State Recreation Area
State Recreation Area
State parks230Open
American River Canyon Overlook
Local Other or Unknown
Town or city29Open
Recreation Park
Local Recreation Area
Regional agency21Open
Railhead Park
Local Park
Regional agency11Open
Aeolia Preserve
Private Conservation
Land trusts & nonprofits7Open
Ashford Park
Local Park
Regional agency7Open
Stagecoach Preserve
Private Conservation
Land trusts & nonprofits6Open
Unnamed Site - Auburn, City of
Local Other or Unknown
Town or city5Open
Auburn School Park Preserve
Private Other or Unknown
Land trusts & nonprofits4Open
Folsom Lake State Recreation Area
State Recreation Area
State parks3Open

5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.

Things to do

5 places to go in Auburn

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Playgrounds in Auburn

3 playgrounds without a name on the map.

Trails & water

18 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.0 miHorses · 4.6 miUnpaved · 9.9 mi
Western States Trail1.5 mi
Shirland Canal Trail1.2 mi
WST - Pioneer Express Trail0.7 mi
Robie Point Fire Break Trail0.6 mi
Olive Orchard Trail0.6 mi
Overlook Trail0.5 mi
Gold Street Trail0.4 mi
Eagles Nest Connector Trail0.4 mi
Cardiac Trail0.4 mi
Robie Point Fuel Break Trail0.4 mi
8 more trails
Train Track Trail
0.4 mi
Pioneer Express Trail
0.4 mi
Contour Trail
0.4 mi
Canal Connector
0.3 mi
Dead End Trail
0.2 mi
Rio Camino Spur Trail
0.2 mi
Vista Del Lago - Pioneer Express Connector
0.2 mi
Spinal Tap
0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Wise ForebayreservoirAuburn Ravine
Biking & sports

0.2 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
Courts & fields
8Baseball
7Tennis
1Basketball
1Soccer
1Softball
1Football
1Skate park

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

14 places on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.

History →
Old Auburn Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1970
About it
Mountain Quarries BridgeStructure · listed 2004
About it
El ToyonBuilding · listed 2010
About it
Auburn Public LibraryBuilding · listed 2011
About it
Auburn Fire House No. 1Building · listed 2011
About it
Auburn Fire House No. 2Building · listed 2011
About it
Auburn Masonic TempleBuilding · listed 2011
About it
Oddfellows HallBuilding · listed 2011
About it
Placer County BankBuilding · listed 2011
About it
Auburn Grammar SchoolBuilding · listed 2012
About it
Auburn City Hall and Fire HouseBuilding · listed 2012
About it
Irene Burns HouseBuilding · listed 2013
About it

2 more on the History page.

When to get out

May is the best month for walking in Auburn

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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.710.711.813.214.314.914.613.712.411.110.09.5
High (°F)565963687786949387776355
Rain (in)6.46.05.52.91.60.40.00.00.31.73.56.2

July is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and the warmest (highs of 94 °F). 6.4 inches fall in January, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 94 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Auburn →

Next door

Auburn and its neighbors

Auburn has the most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Auburn12 miNorth Auburn11 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Auburn9%1.72591%A
North Auburn12%1.54382%A

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in Auburn

Where can I hike in Auburn?

The longest trail networks: Auburn Recreation Park, 0.4 miles; American River Canyon Overlook Park, 0.2 miles; Folsom Lake State Recreation Area, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Auburn is conserved land?

9% 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 Auburn’s trails?

Auburn Recreation Park and Railhead Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Where can I bike in Auburn?

0.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.2 of painted or protected lanes.

Is there public land near Auburn?

46,329 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Auburn or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 344 of them inside the city line.

How much outdoors does Auburn have?

Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #176 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 Auburn neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →