Furman Park
Park
15 acres1.1 mi of trail
Furman Park Walking Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
James C. Rives House · Photo: Floatjon · CC BY-SA 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Downey
Downey has 13 miles of mapped trails, 1.0 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Furman Park (1.1 mi), Apollo Park (0.7 mi), Independence Park (0.6 mi). 147 acres are parks and preserves, 1.3 per 1,000 residents. 4% of Downey’s land is conserved, about 356 acres.
Ahead of 53% of U.S. towns · #511 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
356 acres · of 12.4 sq mi of land
Trails
13 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
147 ac
1.3 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
70%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
11 mi
2.3 mi lanes · 6.2 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Downey?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Downey have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Downey is ahead of 53% of U.S. towns, #511 of 847 in California. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Downey’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (13 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land1.3 acres of park per 1,000 residents (147 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home70% 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 53%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 40%
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Downey ranks #346 on Outdoors.
Park acres per resident are where Downey trails most U.S. towns: 1.3 per 1,000 against 12.6 typical, since 108,468 people share 147 acres.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. 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 Furman Park, with 1.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Discovery Sports Complex
Park
10 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Wilderness Park
Managed by Downey
22 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Rio San Gabriel Park
Park
16 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 13 parks & preserves
Furman Park15 acres · 1.1 mi of trail
DirectionsApollo Park12 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsIndependence Park11 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsDiscovery Sports Complex10 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsWilderness Park22 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Downey
DirectionsGolden Park8 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsRio San Gabriel Park16 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsTreasure Island Park3 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsDennis the Menace Park6 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsBrookshire Children's Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Rancho Los Amigos Sports Center5 acres
DirectionsCrawford Park2 acres
DirectionsSanta Fe Springs Park1 acres · City of Santa Fe Springs
DirectionsWho protects it
356 conserved acres
4% of Downey’s land. Who manages Downey’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city204 ac
County120 ac
Regional agency30 ac
Local Recreation Area · 252 acLocal Park · 83 acLocal Conservation Area · 19 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Amigos Golf Course Local Recreation Area | County | 120 | Restricted |
| Rio Hondo Golf Club Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 100 | Restricted |
| San Gabriel River and Bike Trail Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 24 | Open |
| Wilderness Park Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 19 | Open |
| Rio San Gabriel Park Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Apollo Park Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Furman Park Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| Independence Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Discovery Sports Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Golden Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
48 places to go in Downey
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Downey
45 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Dog parks in Downey
David R. Gafin Dog ParkIn Rio San Gabriel Park
DirectionsPicnic areas in Downey
2 picnic areas without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.4 mi
Furman Park Walking Trail0.7 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.
2.3 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
6.2 mi
off-road bike paths
2.9 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
60Basketball
30Baseball
30Tennis
9Multi-sport
8Soccer
7Volleyball
4Football
2Golf
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Downey: 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) | 10.1 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.9 | 14.4 | 14.2 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.3 | 9.9 |
| High (°F) | 69 | 69 | 71 | 74 | 76 | 79 | 84 | 86 | 85 | 80 | 75 | 68 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 3.4 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 2.1 |
August is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and the warmest (highs of 86 °F). 3.4 inches fall in February, the wettest month. The climate in Downey →
Next door
Downey and its neighbors
Downey has the most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Downey13 miBellflower7.0 miPico Rivera6.7 miBell Gardens4.3 miNorwalk3.7 miParamount3.6 miSouth Gate2.9 miSanta Fe Springs0.9 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downey | 4% | 1.0 | 1 | 70% | B− |
| South Gate | 3% | 0.4 | 2 | 86% | B− |
| Bellflower | 3% | 1.1 | 1 | 94% | B |
| Norwalk | 2% | 0.4 | 1 | 91% | C+ |
| Santa Fe Springs | 2% | 0.1 | 5 | 91% | C+ |
| Bell Gardens | 4% | 1.7 | 2 | 96% | B+ |
| Paramount | 3% | 0.8 | 1 | 97% | B |
| Pico Rivera | 7% | 0.8 | 2 | 85% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Downey
Where can I hike in Downey?
The longest trail networks: Furman Park, 1.1 miles; Apollo Park, 0.7 miles; Independence Park, 0.6 miles; Discovery Sports Complex, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Downey is conserved land?
4% 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 Downey’s trails?
Furman Park and Apollo Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Downey?
11 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.3 of painted or protected lanes, 6.2 of off-road paths and 2.9 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Downey?
13,077 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Downey or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 147 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Downey have?
Ahead of 53% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #511 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 Downey 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 →