San Diego National Wildlife Refuge
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
79 acres0.3 mi of trail
Oak Glen Circle
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Crest
33% of Crest’s land is conserved: 1,378 acres
327 acres are parks and preserves, 118 per 1,000 residents. 5.2 miles of mapped trail cross Crest, 0.8 per square mile of land. 91% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns · #102 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
33%
1,378 acres · of 6.5 sq mi of land
Trails
5.2 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
327 ac
118 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
91%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Crest?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Crest have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Crest is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #102 of 847 in California. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Crest’s overall grade.
Conserved land33% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land118 acres of park per 1,000 residents (327 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13AParks 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 96%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 88%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A 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 San Diego National Wildlife Refuge, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
South Lane County Park
Managed by San Diego County
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Nancy Jane County Park
Managed by San Diego County
2 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
1,378 conserved acres
33% of Crest’s land. Who manages Crest’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits835 ac
State fish & wildlife300 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service157 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government101 ac
County81 ac
Other or Unknown Federal Land2 ac
Private Conservation · 835 acState Conservation Area · 300 acUnknown Easement · 161 acNational Wildlife Refuge · 157 acLocal Park · 12 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 140 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Crest Properties Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 583 | Closed |
| Crestridge Ecological Reserve State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 300 | Open |
| San Diego National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 157 | Restricted |
| Ulrich Property Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 94 | Closed |
| Michelson Property Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 91 | Closed |
| Harbison Canyon Property Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 35 | Closed |
| Walker Priest/La Cresta Property Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 14 | Closed |
| La Cresta Hills Property Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 13 | Closed |
| Stoneridge Preserve Local Conservation Area | County | 12 | Open |
| South Lane Park Local Park | County | 10 | Open |
3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
2 places to go in Crest
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Crest
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
4 named trails
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.4 mi
Cross Timbers Trail0.3 mi
Rutzville Trail0.3 mi
Tank to Tail Trail0.2 mi
Oak Glen Circle0.2 mi
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
1Baseball
1Tennis
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Crest: April to June
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) | 10.2 | 11.0 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.8 | 14.3 | 14.1 | 13.3 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 10.0 |
| High (°F) | 68 | 67 | 70 | 73 | 77 | 83 | 89 | 91 | 89 | 81 | 74 | 67 |
| Rain (in) | 2.9 | 3.4 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 2.2 |
July is the driest month (0.1 in) and August the warmest (highs of 91 °F). 3.4 inches fall in February, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 91 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Crest →
Next door
Crest and its neighbors
Crest has the most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crest | 33% | 0.8 | 118 | 91% | A+ |
| Harbison Canyon | 37% | 0.3 | 420 | 76% | A |
| Rancho San Diego | 14% | 0.5 | 7 | 84% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Crest
Where can I hike in Crest?
The longest trail networks: San Diego National Wildlife Refuge, 0.3 miles; Nancy Jane County Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Crest is conserved land?
33% 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 Crest’s trails?
San Diego National Wildlife Refuge and South Lane County Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Crest?
68,830 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Crest or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 327 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Crest have?
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #102 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 Crest 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 →