Five Canyons Open Space
Managed by Multi-agency Collaboration
209 acres2.9 mi of trail
Shady Canyon TrailDeer Canyon TrailChabot to Garin Regional TrailNewt Pond Trail+1
Dogs allowed
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Lights and freedom · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Castro Valley
Castro Valley has 29 miles of mapped trails, 1.7 for every square mile of land
18% of Castro Valley’s land is conserved, about 1,888 acres. 91% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Five Canyons Open Space (2.9 mi), Garin Regional Park (1.3 mi), Greenridge Park (0.5 mi).
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns · #128 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
18%
1,888 acres · of 16.8 sq mi of land
Trails
29 mi
1.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,838 ac
28 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
91%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
36 mi
27 mi lanes · 1.9 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
1 beach · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Castro Valley?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Castro Valley have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Castro Valley is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #128 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 Castro Valley’s overall grade.
Conserved land18% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (29 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4APark land28 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,838 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 94%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 85%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 Five Canyons Open Space, with 2.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Garin Regional Park
Managed by East Bay Regional Park District
103 acres1.3 mi of trail
Chabot to Garin Regional Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Parsons Park
Park
3 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 13 parks & preserves
Five Canyons Open Space209 acres · 2.9 mi of trail · Multi-agency Collaboration
DirectionsGarin Regional Park103 acres · 1.3 mi of trail · East Bay Regional Park District
Greenridge Park18 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsParsons Park3 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
San Leandro Watershed6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · East Bay Municipal Utility District
Bay Trees Community Park11 acres
DirectionsCastro Valley Community Park10 acres
DirectionsDon Castro Regional Recreation Area8 acres · East Bay Regional Park District
Carlos Bee Park7 acres
DirectionsPalomares Hills Park4 acres
Hillcrest Knolls Park2 acres · Hayward Area Recreation and Park District
DirectionsAdobe Art Center Park2 acres
DirectionsFairmont Terrace Park2 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
1,888 conserved acres
18% of Castro Valley’s land. Who manages Castro Valley’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency1,864 ac
Town or city24 ac
Local Park · 1,474 acLocal Recreation Area · 311 acLocal Conservation Area · 92 acLocal Other or Unknown · 12 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Chabot Regional Park Local Park | Regional agency | 1,040 | Open |
| Cull Canyon Regional Recreation Area Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 292 | Open |
| Garin Regional Park Local Park | Regional agency | 274 | Open |
| Chabot - Garin Trail Corridor Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 63 | Closed |
| Greenridge Park Local Park | Regional agency | 45 | Open |
| Earl Warren Park Local Park | Regional agency | 31 | Open |
| Five Canyons trail corridor Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 29 | Restricted |
| East Bay Mud Open Space Local Park | Town or city | 24 | Open |
| Valley View Park Local Park | Regional agency | 24 | Open |
| Castro Valley Park and Community Center Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 11 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
78 places to go in Castro Valley
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Castro Valley
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Swimming spots in Castro Valley
Cull Canyon Swim ComplexFee
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Castro Valley
52 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Dog parks in Castro Valley
2 dog parks without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Castro Valley
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Fishing spots in Castro Valley
1 fishing spot without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Castro Valley
2 scenic views without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Castro Valley
18 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
24 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 8.0 miHorses · 5.6 miUnpaved · 12.2 mi
Chabot to Garin Trail3.4 mi
Chabot to Garin Regional Trail2.6 mi
Cameron Loop Trail1.0 mi
Ten Hills Trail1.0 mi
Shady Canyon Trail0.9 mi
Deer Canyon Trail0.7 mi
McGregor George Trail0.7 mi
Indian Cove Trail0.6 mi
Proctor Trail0.5 mi
Lower Edwin Markham0.5 mi
14 more trails
Chabot-to-Garin Regional Trail
0.4 miLake View Trail
0.3 miNewt Pond Trail
0.3 miBay Area Ridge Trail
0.3 miUpper Crestwood
0.2 miLower Crestwood
0.2 miKit Trident
0.1 miCarson to Jensen
0.1 miEast Shore Trail
0.1 miVista Trail
0.1 miSandstone Trail
0.1 miSherman to Denison
0.1 miElbridge to Pineville
0.1 miDinosaur Trail
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
36 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
27 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
1.9 mi
off-road bike paths
7.5 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
42Basketball
31Tennis
20Baseball
4Equestrian
3Soccer
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 Castro Valley: 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) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 58 | 62 | 65 | 69 | 74 | 80 | 82 | 82 | 82 | 76 | 65 | 58 |
| Rain (in) | 3.8 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 2.0 | 3.9 |
July is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and August the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.9 inches fall in December, the wettest month. The climate in Castro Valley →
Next door
Castro Valley 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castro Valley | 18% | 1.7 | 28 | 91% | A |
| Hayward | 42% | 1.5 | 54 | 98% | A+ |
| Fairview | 10% | 3.0 | 17 | 99%+ | A |
| Ashland | under 1% | 0.1 | under 1 | 98% | C |
| Oakland | 15% | 1.9 | 11 | 99% | A |
| San Leandro | 4% | 1.2 | 4 | 96% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Castro Valley
Where can I hike in Castro Valley?
The longest trail networks: Five Canyons Open Space, 2.9 miles; Garin Regional Park, 1.3 miles; Greenridge Park, 0.5 miles; Parsons Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Castro Valley is conserved land?
18% 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 Castro Valley’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Five Canyons Open Space. For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Castro Valley?
36 miles of bike routes are on the map: 27 of painted or protected lanes, 1.9 of off-road paths and 7.5 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Castro Valley?
49,850 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Castro Valley or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,838 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Castro Valley have?
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #128 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 Castro Valley 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 →