Desert Tortoise Preserve
Nature preserve
684 acres0.6 mi of trail
Hacienda Boulevard
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Craig Dietrich · CC BY 2.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in California City
California City has 4,067 acres of parks, 282 for every 1,000 residents
243 miles of mapped trail cross California City, 1.2 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Desert Tortoise Preserve (0.6 mi). 22% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns · #336 of 847 in California State. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
5,774 acres · of 203.6 sq mi of land
Trails
243 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
4,067 ac
282 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
22%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.0 mi
1.0 mi lanes · 0.8 mi paths
Highest peak
3,301 ft
Galileo Hill
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is California City?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does California City have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, California City is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns, #336 of 847 in California State. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of California City’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (243 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land282 acres of park per 1,000 residents (4,067 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13AParks close to home22% 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 73%
LessMore
California State towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 60%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B 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 Desert Tortoise Preserve, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Silver Saddle Ranch and Club
Park
28 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Galileo Hill Park
Park
54 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 9 parks & preserves
Desert Tortoise Preserve684 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
Silver Saddle Ranch and Club28 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Central Park34 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsEast Park32 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Galileo Hill Park54 acres
Borax Bill Park34 acres
B Park21 acres
H Park20 acres
Balsitis Park9 acres
Who protects it
5,774 conserved acres
4% of California City’s land. Who manages California City’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife4,665 ac
Town or city643 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits477 ac
State Conservation Area · 3,687 acState Resource Management Area · 861 acUnknown Easement · 594 acLocal Other or Unknown · 498 acLocal Park · 145 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 594 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fremont Valley Ecological Reserve State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 3,687 | Open |
| Desert Tortoise Habitat State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 861 | Closed |
| Tierra Del Sol Golf Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 173 | Restricted |
| Unnamed Site - California City, City of Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 120 | Open |
| California City Central Park/Tierra Del Sol Golf Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 61 | Restricted |
| California City Holding 11 Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 32 | Open |
| E Park Local Park | Town or city | 32 | Open |
| California City Holding 20 Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 25 | Open |
| Borax Bill Park Local Park | Town or city | 24 | Open |
| California City Holding 7 Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 24 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
4 places to go in California City
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in California City
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in California City
Galileo Hill3,301 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in California City
Rawhyde 2nd Location
DirectionsWasteland WeekendIn H Park
DirectionsTrails & water
25 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 9.7 mi
Lindbergh Boulevard6.8 mi
Redwood Boulevard5.3 mi
Yerba Boulevard4.7 mi
Hacienda Boulevard3.7 mi
Rudnick Boulevard3.6 mi
Forest Boulevard3.5 mi
Joshua Boulevard3.5 mi
Airway Boulevard3.0 mi
Sequoia Boulevard2.9 mi
Gordon Boulevard2.6 mi
15 more trails
Rosewood Boulevard
1.5 miWashburn Boulevard
1.4 miCalvin Circle
1.4 miIsabella Boulevard
1.4 miPalisades Boulevard
1.0 miRidge Boulevard
1.0 miTift Circle
0.9 miNelda Boulevard
0.7 miBent Court
0.7 miPoppy Boulevard
0.6 miConklin Boulevard
0.5 miLong Court
0.5 miBaron Boulevard
0.5 miSaunders Boulevard
0.4 miSand Court
0.3 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.0 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.8 mi
off-road bike paths
0.2 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
10Baseball
5Basketball
2Tennis
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in California City: April and May
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) | 10.0 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 59 | 62 | 68 | 74 | 83 | 94 | 100 | 99 | 92 | 80 | 67 | 57 |
| Rain (in) | 1.5 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 1.0 |
June is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 100 °F). 1.7 inches fall in February, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 100 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in California City →
Questions about parks and trails in California City
Where can I hike in California City?
The longest trail networks: Desert Tortoise Preserve, 0.6 miles; Silver Saddle Ranch and Club, 0.4 miles; Central Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of California City is conserved land?
4% of its land, against a typical 4% for a California State town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on California City’s trails?
Desert Tortoise Preserve and Silver Saddle Ranch and Club don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in California City?
2.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.0 of painted or protected lanes, 0.8 of off-road paths and 0.2 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near California City?
91,984 acres of parks and open public land lie inside California City or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 8,553 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does California City have?
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #336 of 847 in California State. 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 California City 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 →