Doctor Thomas G Mills Park
Park
5 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: The Front Page Online · CC BY-SA 4.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Carson
Carson has 164 acres of parks, 1.8 for every 1,000 residents
89% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3.0 miles of mapped trail cross Carson, 0.2 per square mile of land. 3% of Carson’s land is conserved, about 317 acres.
Ahead of 38% of U.S. towns · #629 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
317 acres · of 18.7 sq mi of land
Trails
3.0 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
164 ac
1.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
89%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
22 mi
17 mi lanes · 1.9 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Carson?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Carson have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Carson is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns, #629 of 847 in California. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Carson’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land1.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (164 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home89% of residents within a half mile of a park · CA 91% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 38%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 26%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B−. 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 Doctor Thomas G Mills Park, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Vernon Hemingway Memorial Park
Park
16 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Dominguez Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
9 acres0.3 mi of trail
CSUDH Walking Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Victoria Community Regional Park
Park
36 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 15 parks & preserves
Doctor Thomas G Mills Park5 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Vernon Hemingway Memorial Park16 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Dominguez Nature Preserve9 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsVictoria Community Regional Park36 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsCarson Park11 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsDolphin Park13 acres
Veterans Park and Sports Complex12 acres
Stevenson Park12 acres
Foisia Park10 acres
Calas Park10 acres
DirectionsDominguez Park9 acres
DirectionsDel Amo Park9 acres
DirectionsAnderson Park8 acres
Perry Street Mini-park1 acres
Malloy Park1 acres
Who protects it
317 conserved acres
3% of Carson’s land. Who manages Carson’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County200 ac
Town or city116 ac
Local Recreation Area · 177 acLocal Park · 138 acLocal Other or Unknown · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Victoria Golf Course Local Recreation Area | County | 166 | Restricted |
| Victoria Community Regional Park Local Park | County | 34 | Open |
| Dolphin Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Vernon M. Hemingway Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Stevenson Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| James Foisia Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Veterans Park and Sports Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Carson Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| John D. Calas, Sr. Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Del Amo Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
12 places to go in Carson
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Carson
11 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Carson
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
CSUDH Walking Trail1.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
22 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
17 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
1.9 mi
off-road bike paths
3.4 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
38Basketball
37Tennis
18Soccer
16Pickleball
12Baseball
3Softball
1Skate park
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Carson: 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) | 10.1 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.9 | 14.4 | 14.2 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 9.9 |
| High (°F) | 68 | 68 | 69 | 72 | 73 | 76 | 80 | 82 | 82 | 78 | 73 | 68 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 3.3 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 2.1 |
August is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.3 inches fall in February, the wettest month. The climate in Carson →
Next door
Carson and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Los Angeles701 miLong Beach24 miWest Rancho Dominguez5.6 miCarson3.0 miCompton1.0 miWest Carson0.7 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carson | 3% | 0.2 | 2 | 89% | C+ |
| Los Angeles | 15% | 1.5 | 9 | 83% | A− |
| Compton | 1% | 0.1 | 1 | 98% | C |
| Long Beach | 10% | 0.5 | 5 | 93% | B+ |
| West Carson | 1% | 0.3 | under 1 | 83% | C |
| West Rancho Dominguez | 5% | 1.4 | 7 | 83% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Carson
Where can I hike in Carson?
The longest trail networks: Doctor Thomas G Mills Park, 0.4 miles; Vernon Hemingway Memorial Park, 0.3 miles; Dominguez Nature Preserve, 0.3 miles; Victoria Community Regional Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Carson is conserved land?
3% 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 Carson’s trails?
Doctor Thomas G Mills Park and Vernon Hemingway Memorial Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Carson?
22 miles of bike routes are on the map: 17 of painted or protected lanes, 1.9 of off-road paths and 3.4 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Carson?
10,698 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Carson or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 164 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Carson have?
Ahead of 38% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #629 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 Carson 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 →