San Diego County Fairgrounds
Managed by 22nd District Agricultural Association
212 acres4.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Green Parking LotWebsite ↗
Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Intersofia assumed (based on copyright claims). · CC BY-SA 3.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Del Mar
11% of Del Mar’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 12 miles of mapped trail cross Del Mar, 7.2 per square mile of land. 259 acres are parks and preserves, 66 per 1,000 residents.
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns · #39 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
11%
121 acres · of 1.7 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
7.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
259 ac
66 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
9.6 mi
8.8 mi lanes · 0.4 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Del Mar?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Del Mar have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Del Mar is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #39 of 847 in California. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, conserved land lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Del Mar’s overall grade.
Conserved land11% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%A−Trails7.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land66 acres of park per 1,000 residents (259 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 96%
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 County Fairgrounds, with 4.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
San Dieguito Lagoon Ecological Reserve
Nature preserve
26 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve
Managed by California Department of Parks and Recreation
9 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Crest Canyon Open Space Park
Nature preserve
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
San Diego County Fairgrounds212 acres · 4.5 mi of trail · 22nd District Agricultural Association
DirectionsSan Dieguito Lagoon Ecological Reserve26 acres
DirectionsTorrey Pines State Natural Reserve9 acres · California Department of Parks and Recreation
Crest Canyon Open Space Park5 acres
Seagrove Park3 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
121 conserved acres
11% of Del Mar’s land. Who manages Del Mar’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city37 ac
Regional agency35 ac
State fish & wildlife24 ac
State parks18 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government5 ac
Local Park · 64 acState Conservation Area · 35 acState Park · 7 acUnknown Easement · 5 acLocal Conservation Area · 4 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Dieguito River Park Local Park | Regional agency | 35 | Closed |
| San Dieguito Lagoon Ecological Reserve State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 24 | Restricted |
| Del Mar City Beach Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Torrey Pines State Reserve State Conservation Area | State parks | 11 | Open |
| Del Mar Public Parkland Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Torrey Pines State Beach State Park | State parks | 7 | Open |
| Del Mar North Beach Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| James Scripps Bluff Preserve Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Powerhouse Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Seagrove Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
7 places to go in Del Mar
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Del Mar
2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Del Mar
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Dog parks in Del Mar
Del Mar Dog Beach
DirectionsScenic views in Del Mar
3 scenic views without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 named trails
Named trails
Horses · 3.6 miUnpaved · 3.6 mi
Coast to Crest Trail0.4 mi
South Camino del Mar0.2 mi
San Dieguito Lagoon Boardwalk0.1 mi
Biking & sports
9.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
8.8 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.4 mi
off-road bike paths
0.4 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
11Tennis
4Pickleball
1Basketball
1Equestrian
1Baseball
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).
Canfield-Wright HouseBuilding · listed 2004
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Del Mar: 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) | 10.2 | 11.0 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.8 | 14.3 | 14.1 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 10.0 |
| High (°F) | 66 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 70 | 73 | 76 | 75 | 73 | 70 | 65 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 2.5 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.6 |
August is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and the warmest (highs of 76 °F). 2.5 inches fall in February, the wettest month. The climate in Del Mar →
Next door
Del Mar and its neighbors
Del Mar has the second 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Del Mar | 11% | 7.2 | 66 | 99%+ | A+ |
| San Diego | 26% | 2.2 | 28 | 97% | A+ |
| Solana Beach | 3% | 1.7 | 2 | 88% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Del Mar
Where can I hike in Del Mar?
The longest trail networks: San Diego County Fairgrounds, 4.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Del Mar is conserved land?
11% 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 Del Mar’s trails?
San Diego County Fairgrounds and San Dieguito Lagoon Ecological Reserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Del Mar?
9.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 8.8 of painted or protected lanes, 0.4 of off-road paths and 0.4 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Del Mar?
19,521 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Del Mar or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 259 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Del Mar have?
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #39 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 Del Mar 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 →