Camino Alto Open Space Preserve
Managed by Marin County Parks
56 acres1.5 mi of trail
Octopus TrailHarvfey Warne Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail signWebsite ↗
A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Corte Madera
More than half of Corte Madera’s land is conserved: 52%
52% of Corte Madera’s land is conserved, about 1,045 acres. 11 miles of mapped trail cross Corte Madera, 3.4 per square mile of land. Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park.
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns · #22 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
52%
1,045 acres · of 3.2 sq mi of land
Trails
11 mi
3.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
406 ac
40 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
11 mi
5.0 mi lanes · 2.7 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Corte Madera?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Corte Madera have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Corte Madera is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #22 of 847 in California. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Corte Madera’s overall grade.
Conserved land52% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%A+Trails3.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (11 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land40 acres of park per 1,000 residents (406 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · CA 91% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Among the top 1%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 98%
Water is 28% of Corte Madera’s area (1 of 4 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 37%.
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 Camino Alto Open Space Preserve, with 1.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Ring Mountain Open Space Preserve
Managed by Marin County Parks
75 acres1.3 mi of trail
Phyllis Ellman TrailLoop TrailPath closed at Phyllis Ellman Trail for restoration
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Corte Madera Town Park
Park
22 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Tiburon Ridge Open Space Preserve
Managed by Marin County Parks
20 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Blithedale Summit Open Space Preserve
Managed by Marin County Parks
11 acres0.3 mi of trail
Huckleberry Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 8 parks & preserves
Camino Alto Open Space Preserve56 acres · 1.5 mi of trail · Marin County Parks
DirectionsRing Mountain Open Space Preserve75 acres · 1.3 mi of trail · Marin County Parks
DirectionsCorte Madera Town Park22 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsTiburon Ridge Open Space Preserve20 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Marin County Parks
DirectionsBlithedale Summit Open Space Preserve11 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Marin County Parks
San Clemente Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsHorse Hill Open Space Preserve2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Marin County Parks
Parkview Circle Park2 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
1,045 conserved acres
52% of Corte Madera’s land. Water is left out: Corte Madera has 3.2 square miles of land and 1.2 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Corte Madera’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife556 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits280 ac
Regional agency235 ac
Town or city191 ac
County5 ac
State Conservation Area · 556 acLocal Other or Unknown · 227 acConservation Easement · 206 acLocal Conservation Area · 155 acPrivate Conservation · 74 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corte Madera Marsh Ecological Reserve State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 556 | Open |
| Water Lots Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 81 | Open |
| Muzzi Marsh Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 77 | Restricted |
| Ring Mountain Open Space Preserve Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 70 | Open |
| Camino Alto Open Space Preserve Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 57 | Open |
| Shorebird Marsh Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 45 | Restricted |
| Triangle Marsh Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 34 | Closed |
| Bay Area Tidelands Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 20 | Restricted |
| San Francisco Bay Tidelands Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 20 | Closed |
| Corte Madera Town Park Local Park | Town or city | 20 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
8 places to go in Corte Madera
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Corte Madera
Corte Madera Town Park PlaygroundIn Corte Madera Town Park
DirectionsSkunk Hollow
DirectionsPlus 5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Corte Madera
Christmas Tree Hill
DirectionsTrails & water
8 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.0 miHorses · 1.1 miUnpaved · 3.0 mi
Phyllis Ellman Trail0.5 mi
Loop Trail0.3 mi
Octopus Trail0.2 mi
Harvfey Warne Trail0.2 mi
Path closed at Phyllis Ellman Trail for restoration0.1 mi
Huckleberry Trail0.1 mi
S Trail 10.1 mi
Horse Hill Trail0.1 mi
Biking & sports
11 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.0 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
2.7 mi
off-road bike paths
2.8 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
San Francisco Bay TrailBike route
0.4 miCourts & fields
7Tennis
4Soccer
4Basketball
3Baseball
1Skate park
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Corte Madera: 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 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 56 | 59 | 61 | 63 | 66 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 70 | 62 | 56 |
| Rain (in) | 6.2 | 6.2 | 4.4 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 1.4 | 3.3 | 6.8 |
July is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and September the warmest (highs of 73 °F). 6.8 inches fall in December, the wettest month. The climate in Corte Madera →
Next door
Corte Madera 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corte Madera | 52% | 3.4 | 40 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Larkspur | 26% | 3.5 | 38 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Mill Valley | 25% | 4.7 | 54 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Tiburon | 56% | 3.8 | 115 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Strawberry | 22% | 2.0 | 22 | 99%+ | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Corte Madera
Where can I hike in Corte Madera?
The longest trail networks: Camino Alto Open Space Preserve, 1.5 miles; Ring Mountain Open Space Preserve, 1.3 miles; Corte Madera Town Park, 0.6 miles; Tiburon Ridge Open Space Preserve, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Corte Madera is conserved land?
52% 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 Corte Madera’s trails?
Camino Alto Open Space Preserve and Ring Mountain Open Space Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Corte Madera?
11 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.0 of painted or protected lanes, 2.7 of off-road paths and 2.8 of shoulders and shared lanes. Named routes: San Francisco Bay Trail.
Is there public land near Corte Madera?
76,386 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Corte Madera or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 406 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Corte Madera have?
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #22 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 Corte Madera 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 →