The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park
Managed by California Department of Parks and Recreation
4,096 acres11.1 mi of trail
Aptos Creek TrailBig Slide TrailCusack's TrailMonte Vista Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail signWebsite ↗
Valencia Hall · Photo: Mrwrite · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Day Valley
Day Valley has 4,120 acres of parks, 1,151 for every 1,000 residents
41% of Day Valley’s land is conserved, about 4,858 acres. 23 miles of mapped trail cross Day Valley, 1.2 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park (11.1 mi).
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns · #121 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
41%
4,858 acres · of 18.5 sq mi of land
Trails
23 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
4,120 ac
1,151 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
59%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.0 mi
1.0 mi lanes
Highest peak
1,450 ft
Bean Hill
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Day Valley?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Day Valley have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Day Valley is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #121 of 847 in California. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Day Valley’s overall grade.
Conserved land41% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%A+Trails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (23 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land1,151 acres of park per 1,000 residents (4,120 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home59% 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 95%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 86%
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 The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park, with 11.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Valencia Hall Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
4,858 conserved acres
41% of Day Valley’s land. Who manages Day Valley’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks4,098 ac
Other state land614 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits596 ac
County132 ac
State Park · 4,098 acUnknown Easement · 1,340 acLocal Park · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 759 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park State Park | State parks | 4,098 | Open |
| Valencia Hall Park Local Park | County | 1 | Open |
Things to do
16 places to go in Day Valley
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Waterfalls in Day Valley
Fairy FallsIn The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park
DirectionsFive Finger FallsIn The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park
DirectionsPlus 1 waterfall without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in Day Valley
Santa Rosalia ViewpointIn The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park
DirectionsTop of the InclineIn The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park
DirectionsPlus 2 scenic views without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Day Valley
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
7 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 4.3 miUnpaved · 6.4 mi
Aptos Creek Trail2.7 mi
Rusk Grade1.3 mi
Big Slide Trail1.2 mi
Cusack's Trail1.1 mi
Monte Vista Trail1.0 mi
Lower Bacon Trail0.1 mi
White's Lagoon Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.0 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Aptos CreekBike route
3.2 miRidgeBike route
1 miCourts & fields
1Tennis
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).
Valencia HallBuilding · listed 1984
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Day Valley: 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) | 9.9 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 14.1 | 14.7 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 61 | 62 | 64 | 67 | 71 | 76 | 78 | 79 | 79 | 75 | 66 | 60 |
| Rain (in) | 6.4 | 5.9 | 4.6 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 3.1 | 6.2 |
July is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and August the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 6.4 inches fall in January, the wettest month. The climate in Day Valley →
Next door
Day Valley and its neighbors
Day Valley has the most mapped trails of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day Valley | 41% | 1.2 | 1,151 | 59% | A |
| Aptos | 11% | 1.9 | 79 | 94% | A+ |
| Corralitos | 1% | 0.5 | 20 | 22% | C+ |
| Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley | 9% | 0.4 | 33 | 46% | B+ |
| Watsonville | 12% | 0.5 | 8 | 98% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Day Valley
Where can I hike in Day Valley?
The longest trail networks: The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park, 11.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Day Valley is conserved land?
41% 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 Day Valley’s trails?
The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park and Valencia Hall Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Day Valley?
1.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.0 of painted or protected lanes. Named routes: Aptos Creek and Ridge.
Is there public land near Day Valley?
42,746 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Day Valley or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4,120 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Day Valley have?
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #121 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 Day Valley 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 →