Thornton State Beach
Nature preserve
67 acres2.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: User:Stilfehler · Public domainA−Outdoors
Outdoors in Daly City
9% of Daly City’s land is conserved, and 96% of residents live within a half mile of a park
8.6 miles of mapped trail cross Daly City, 1.1 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Thornton State Beach (2.9 mi), Mussel Rock City Park (1.3 mi), Gellert Park (0.8 mi). 9% of Daly City’s land is conserved, about 454 acres.
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns · #305 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
9%
454 acres · of 7.7 sq mi of land
Trails
8.6 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
435 ac
4.3 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
96%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
28 mi
9.7 mi lanes · 2.5 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Daly City?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Daly City have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Daly City is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns, #305 of 847 in California. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Daly City’s overall grade.
Conserved land9% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land4.3 acres of park per 1,000 residents (435 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13CParks close to home96% 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 76%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 64%
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Daly City ranks #225 on Outdoors.
Park acres per resident are where Daly City trails most U.S. towns: 4.3 per 1,000 against 12.6 typical, since 101,261 people share 435 acres.
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 Thornton State Beach, with 2.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Mussel Rock City Park
Park
197 acres1.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 18 parks & preserves
Thornton State Beach67 acres · 2.9 mi of trail
DirectionsMussel Rock City Park197 acres · 1.3 mi of trail
DirectionsGellert Park21 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsWestlake Park16 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsMarchbank Park6 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsHillside Park5 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Broderick-Terry Duel Landmark Park3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Westmoor Park6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Bayshore Heights Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsLincoln Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsEdgewood Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Thornton State Beach Overlook1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsNorthridge City Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsSan Bruno Mountain State and County Park36 acres · San Mateo County Parks Department
DirectionsClay Avenue Park2 acres
DirectionsPalisades Park1 acres
Mission Hills Park1 acres
Frankfort Park1 acres
Who protects it
454 conserved acres
9% of Daly City’s land. Who manages Daly City’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city257 ac
National Park Service95 ac
State parks62 ac
County38 ac
Local Park · 257 acNational Recreation Area · 95 acState Park · 62 acLocal Other or Unknown · 37 acLocal Recreation Area · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mussel Rock Park Local Park | Town or city | 147 | Open |
| Golden Gate National Recreation Area National Recreation Area | National Park Service | 95 | Open |
| Thornton State Beach State Park | State parks | 62 | Closed |
| San Bruno Mountain State and County Park Local Park | County | 35 | Open |
| Alto Loma Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 28 | Open |
| Gellert Park Local Park | Town or city | 20 | Open |
| Hillside Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Bobby Bonds Memorial Field Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Westmoor Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Marchbank Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
44 places to go in Daly City
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Daly City
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Daly City
Alta Loma Tot Lot
DirectionsBayshore Heights Park PlaygroundIn Bayshore Heights Park
DirectionsCamelot PlaygroundIn Camelot Tot Lot
DirectionsCameo Tot Lot
DirectionsCanterbury PlaygroundIn Canterbury Tot Lot
DirectionsEdgewood PlaygroundIn Edgewood Park
DirectionsFrankfort PlaygroundIn Frankfort Park
DirectionsGellert PlaygroundIn Gellert Park
Directions11 more playgrounds
Hillside PlaygroundIn Hillside Park
DirectionsJohn Daly Tot Lot PlaygroundIn John Daly Tot Lot
DirectionsLincoln PlaygroundIn Lincoln Park
DirectionsLycett Playground
DirectionsMarchbank PlaygroundIn Marchbank Park
DirectionsMission Hills PlaygroundIn Mission Hills Park
DirectionsNorthridge PlaygroundIn Northridge City Park
DirectionsNorwood Tot Lot
DirectionsPalisades Park PlaygroundIn Palisades Park
DirectionsPolaris Playground
DirectionsWestlake PlaygroundIn Westlake Park
Directions39 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Dog parks in Daly City
2 dog parks without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Daly City
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Biking & sports
28 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
9.7 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
2.5 mi
off-road bike paths
16 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
57Basketball
30Tennis
9Baseball
8Soccer
4Volleyball
2Football
1Softball
1Tracks
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Daly City: 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) | 57 | 59 | 61 | 62 | 64 | 67 | 67 | 69 | 70 | 68 | 62 | 57 |
| Rain (in) | 4.8 | 4.9 | 3.6 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 2.7 | 5.4 |
July is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and September the warmest (highs of 70 °F). 5.4 inches fall in December, the wettest month. The climate in Daly City →
Next door
Daly City 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daly City | 9% | 1.1 | 4 | 96% | A− |
| San Francisco | 23% | 3.3 | 8 | 99%+ | A |
| South San Francisco | 5% | 0.5 | 5 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Pacifica | 42% | 3.4 | 68 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Brisbane | 5% | 1.7 | 23 | 99% | A |
| Colma | under 1% | 0.1 | 2 | 99%+ | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Daly City
Where can I hike in Daly City?
The longest trail networks: Thornton State Beach, 2.9 miles; Mussel Rock City Park, 1.3 miles; Gellert Park, 0.8 miles; Westlake Park, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Daly City is conserved land?
9% 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 Daly City’s trails?
Thornton State Beach and Mussel Rock City Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Daly City?
28 miles of bike routes are on the map: 9.7 of painted or protected lanes, 2.5 of off-road paths and 16 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Daly City?
24,282 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Daly City or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 435 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Daly City have?
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #305 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 Daly City 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 →