Veterans Park
Park
15 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Bruce Fingerhood from Springfield, Oregon, US · CC BY 2.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Colton
Colton has 17 miles of mapped trails, 1.1 for every square mile of land
74 acres are parks and preserves, 1.4 per 1,000 residents. 75% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 3% of Colton’s land is conserved, about 273 acres.
Ahead of 51% of U.S. towns · #524 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
273 acres · of 15.6 sq mi of land
Trails
17 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
74 ac
1.4 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
75%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
19 mi
8.3 mi lanes · 7.6 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Colton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Colton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Colton is ahead of 51% of U.S. towns, #524 of 847 in California. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Colton’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%B−Trails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (17 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land1.4 acres of park per 1,000 residents (74 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home75% 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 51%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 38%
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Cesar Chavez Park
Park
13 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
George Brown Park
Park
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Elizabeth Davis Park
Park
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 11 parks & preserves
Cooley Ranch Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Veterans Park15 acres
Cesar Chavez Park13 acres
George Brown Park10 acres
Elizabeth Davis Park6 acres
Rich Dauer Park4 acres
McKinley Park3 acres
Max J. Lofy Park2 acres
Fleming Park1 acres
DirectionsN Street Park1 acres
Prado Park1 acres
Who protects it
273 conserved acres
3% of Colton’s land. Who manages Colton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits161 ac
Town or city57 ac
Regional agency51 ac
County3 ac
Unknown Easement · 129 acLocal Park · 56 acLocal Other or Unknown · 55 acPrivate Conservation · 33 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 129 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lytle-Cajon Channel/Warm Creek Confluence Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 47 | Closed |
| Boruchin Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 33 | Closed |
| Cesar Chavez Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Veterans Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| George E. Brown Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Davis Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Unnamed Site - Colton, City of Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Lytle-Cajon Channel Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 4 | Closed |
| McKinley Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Rich Dauer Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
8 places to go in Colton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Colton
McDonald's PlayPlace
DirectionsPlus 4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Colton
3 peaks without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 named trails
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.0 mi
Utility Access Road West2.2 mi
Utility Access Road North0.7 mi
Utility Access Road South0.3 mi
Biking & sports
19 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
8.3 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
7.6 mi
off-road bike paths
3.0 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
12Tennis
3Baseball
2Soccer
1Football
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).
Carnegie Public Library BuildingBuilding · listed 1988
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Colton: 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) | 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) | 68 | 69 | 72 | 77 | 81 | 89 | 96 | 97 | 93 | 84 | 75 | 67 |
| Rain (in) | 2.6 | 3.2 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 1.8 |
June is the driest month (0.1 in) and August the warmest (highs of 97 °F). 3.2 inches fall in February, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 97 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Colton →
Next door
Colton 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colton | 3% | 1.1 | 1 | 75% | B− |
| Grand Terrace | 1% | 1.1 | 2 | 99%+ | B |
| San Bernardino | 3% | 0.7 | 3 | 68% | B− |
| Rialto | 1% | 0.1 | 2 | 73% | C |
| Loma Linda | 1% | 2.9 | 4 | 86% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Colton
How much of Colton 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 Colton’s trails?
Veterans Park and Cesar Chavez Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Colton?
19 miles of bike routes are on the map: 8.3 of painted or protected lanes, 7.6 of off-road paths and 3.0 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Colton?
36,233 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Colton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 74 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Colton have?
Ahead of 51% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #524 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 Colton 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 →