River Bluff Regional Park
Managed by City of Ceres Parks & Recreation
72 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Ryanx7 · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Ceres
98% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Ceres
The biggest trail networks: River Bluff Regional Park (0.8 mi), Smyrna Park (0.6 mi). 6.1 miles of mapped trail cross Ceres, 0.6 per square mile of land. 186 acres are parks and preserves, 3.8 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns · #436 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
172 acres · of 9.5 sq mi of land
Trails
6.1 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
186 ac
3.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
98%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.9 mi
0.7 mi lanes · 1.2 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Ceres?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ceres have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ceres is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns, #436 of 847 in California. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ceres’ overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land3.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (186 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13CParks close to home98% 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 60%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 49%
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 River Bluff Regional Park, with 0.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Roeding Heights Park
Managed by City of Ceres
7 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Neel Park
Park
7 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 16 parks & preserves
River Bluff Regional Park72 acres · 0.8 mi of trail · City of Ceres Parks & Recreation
DirectionsSmyrna Park28 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsRoeding Heights Park7 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · City of Ceres
DirectionsDon Pedro Park5 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Independence Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · City of Ceres Stanislaus County
Ceres Dog Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Neel Park7 acres
Gillermo Ochoa park7 acres
DirectionsSam Ryno Park5 acres
Riverview Park5 acres
DirectionsStrawberry Field Park5 acres
Berry Grove Park4 acres
Persephone Park3 acres · City of Ceres
Whitmore Park2 acres
DirectionsRedwood Park1 acres
DirectionsWaynesboro-Suffolk Park1 acres
Who protects it
172 conserved acres
3% of Ceres’ land. Who manages Ceres’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city172 ac
Local Park · 167 acLocal Recreation Area · 5 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ceres River Bluff Regional Park Local Park | Town or city | 72 | Open |
| Smyrna Park Local Park | Town or city | 28 | Open |
| Ceres Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| Neel Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Roeding Heights Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Sam Ryno Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Don Pedro Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Riverview Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Strawberry Fields Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Independence Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
4 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
16 places to go in Ceres
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Ceres
1 public pool without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Ceres
Lucas Playground
DirectionsPlus 12 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Ceres
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Biking & sports
1.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.7 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
1.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
13Baseball
12Tennis
10Basketball
9Soccer
2Softball
1Football
1Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Daniel Whitmore HouseBuilding · listed 1989
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Ceres: 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) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.7 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 56 | 62 | 68 | 74 | 82 | 90 | 95 | 93 | 89 | 79 | 66 | 57 |
| Rain (in) | 2.6 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 2.2 |
July is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and the warmest (highs of 95 °F). 2.6 inches fall in January, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 95 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Ceres →
Questions about parks and trails in Ceres
Where can I hike in Ceres?
The longest trail networks: River Bluff Regional Park, 0.8 miles; Smyrna Park, 0.6 miles; Roeding Heights Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ceres 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 Ceres’ trails?
River Bluff Regional Park and Smyrna Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Ceres?
1.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.7 of painted or protected lanes and 1.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Ceres?
3,815 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ceres or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 186 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Ceres have?
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #436 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 Ceres 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 →