Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Thomas Camargo · CC BY 3.095% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 11% of Carpinteria’s land is conserved, about 175 acres. The biggest trail networks: Carpinteria Bluffs Nature Preserve (2.7 mi), Carpinteria Bluffs III (1.4 mi), Carpinteria State Beach (0.8 mi).
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns · #206 of 847 in California. What drives it
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Carpinteria is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #206 of 847 in California. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
Water is more than half of Carpinteria’s area (7 of 9 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 3%.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
The longest trail network is Carpinteria Bluffs Nature Preserve, with 2.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
11% of Carpinteria’s land. Water is left out: Carpinteria has 2.6 square miles of land and 6.7 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Carpinteria’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 22 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carpinteria State Beach State Park | State parks | 58 | Open |
| Carpinteria Bluffs Nature Preserve Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 46 | Open |
| Rincon Bluffs Preserve Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 21 | Open |
| El Carro Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Tar Pits Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve Local Conservation Area | Regional Water Districts | 7 | Restricted |
| Viola Fields Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Carpinteria Creek Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 6 | Unknown |
| Monte Vista Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Rincon Beach Park Local Park | County | 3 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Plus 1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Plus 7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
7 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
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) | 10.1 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.9 | 14.4 | 14.2 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.3 | 9.9 |
| High (°F) | 64 | 63 | 65 | 67 | 68 | 70 | 73 | 74 | 74 | 72 | 68 | 64 |
| Rain (in) | 4.1 | 4.4 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 2.8 |
July is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and August the warmest (highs of 74 °F). 4.4 inches fall in February, the wettest month. The climate in Carpinteria →
Carpinteria has the most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carpinteria | 11% | 3.3 | 10 | 95% | A |
| Toro Canyon | 3% | 0.5 | 61 | 7% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
The longest trail networks: Carpinteria Bluffs Nature Preserve, 2.7 miles; Carpinteria Bluffs III, 1.4 miles; Carpinteria State Beach, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
11% 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.
Carpinteria Bluffs Nature Preserve and Carpinteria Bluffs III don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
11 miles of bike routes are on the map: 7.4 of painted or protected lanes, 3.1 of off-road paths and 0.3 of shoulders and shared lanes.
44,669 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Carpinteria or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 125 of them inside the city line.
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #206 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.
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Carpinteria neighbors.
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 →