New Brighton State Beach
Managed by California Department of Parks and Recreation
77 acres1.2 mi of trail
Beach TrailVisitor Center TrailSunset TrailOak Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Day Use Beach LotWebsite ↗
Photo: Don DeBold from San Jose, CA, USA · CC BY 2.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Capitola
12% of Capitola’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 2.3 miles of mapped trail cross Capitola, 1.4 per square mile of land. 12% of Capitola’s land is conserved, about 123 acres.
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns · #156 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
12%
123 acres · of 1.6 sq mi of land
Trails
2.3 mi
1.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
123 ac
13 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
9.8 mi
8.0 mi lanes · 0.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
5 beaches
What kind of outdoors town is Capitola?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Capitola have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Capitola is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #156 of 847 in California. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Capitola’s overall grade.
Conserved land12% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4APark land13 acres of park per 1,000 residents (123 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 92%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 82%
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 New Brighton State Beach, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Managed by National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
48 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Peery Park
Managed by Capitola, City of
12 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 10 parks & preserves
New Brighton State Beach77 acres · 1.2 mi of trail · California Department of Parks and Recreation
DirectionsMonterey Avenue Park4 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsPeery Park12 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Capitola, City of
DirectionsJade Street Park10 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsEsplanade Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Capitola, City of
DirectionsMonterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary48 acres · National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
DirectionsNew Brighton City Park5 acres · Capitola, City of
DirectionsSoquel Creek Park2 acres · Capitola, City of
DirectionsNoble Gulch Park2 acres
DirectionsCortez Park1 acres
Who protects it
123 conserved acres
12% of Capitola’s land. Who manages Capitola’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks77 ac
Town or city43 ac
State fish & wildlife1 ac
County1 ac
State Park · 77 acLocal Park · 28 acLocal Recreation Area · 12 acLocal Other or Unknown · 5 acState Resource Management Area · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Brighton State Beach State Park | State parks | 82 | Open |
| Soquel Creek Open Space Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Jade Street Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Capitola Beach Local Park | County | 9 | Open |
| Monterey Avenue Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Noble Gulch Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Peery Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Escalona Gulch State Resource Management Area | State fish & wildlife | 1 | Closed |
| Cortez Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Esplanade Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
12 places to go in Capitola
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Capitola
Plus 2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Capitola
Jade Street Park PlaygroundIn Jade Street Park
DirectionsPlus 2 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Waterfalls in Capitola
1 waterfall without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in Capitola
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Capitola
Special Events RamadaIn New Brighton State Beach
DirectionsCampgrounds in Capitola
New Brighton State Beach CampgroundFee · In New Brighton State Beach
DirectionsTrails & water
4 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.5 mi
Beach Trail0.5 mi
Visitor Center Trail0.2 mi
Sunset Trail0.2 mi
Oak Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
9.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
8.0 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.3 mi
off-road bike paths
1.5 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
4Tennis
2Baseball
1Basketball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →5 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Capitola: 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) | 9.9 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 14.1 | 14.7 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 61 | 62 | 63 | 65 | 67 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 72 | 71 | 65 | 60 |
| Rain (in) | 5.7 | 5.5 | 4.0 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 2.9 | 5.4 |
July is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and September the warmest (highs of 72 °F). 5.7 inches fall in January, the wettest month. The climate in Capitola →
Next door
Capitola 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capitola | 12% | 1.4 | 13 | 99%+ | A |
| Live Oak | 2% | 1.1 | 4 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Pleasure Point | 4% | 1.6 | 6 | 99%+ | A− |
| Soquel | 4% | 1.5 | 11 | 87% | A− |
| Seacliff | 27% | 5.5 | 40 | 99%+ | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Capitola
Where can I hike in Capitola?
The longest trail networks: New Brighton State Beach, 1.2 miles; Monterey Avenue Park, 0.3 miles; Peery Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Capitola is conserved land?
12% 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 Capitola’s trails?
New Brighton State Beach and Monterey Avenue Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Capitola?
9.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 8.0 of painted or protected lanes, 0.3 of off-road paths and 1.5 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Capitola?
31,587 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Capitola or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 123 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Capitola have?
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #156 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 Capitola 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 →