Quarry Park
Managed by County of San Mateo Parks Department
500 acres7.7 mi of trail
DolphineSouth RidgeMeadow TrailMiddle Ridge+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Princeton Hotel · Photo: Sanfranman59 · CC BY-SA 3.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in El Granada
More than half of El Granada’s land is conserved: 59%
59% of El Granada’s land is conserved, about 1,857 acres. 16 miles of mapped trail cross El Granada, 3.2 per square mile of land. 1,778 acres are parks and preserves, 340 per 1,000 residents.
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns · #12 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
59%
1,857 acres · of 4.9 sq mi of land
Trails
16 mi
3.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,778 ac
340 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.8 mi
1.9 mi lanes · 0.9 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is El Granada?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does El Granada have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, El Granada is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #12 of 847 in California. All four inputs put El Granada near the top nationally; conserved land ranks highest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of El Granada’s overall grade.
Conserved land59% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%A+Trails3.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (16 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land340 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,778 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13AParks 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)#12 of 847
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 Quarry Park, with 7.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Rancho Corral de Tierra
Managed by National Park Service
1,323 acres5.6 mi of trail
French Trail (God's)Clipper Ridge Trail (God's)Clipper Ridge TrailFlat Top Trail+1
Dogs usually limited
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Mirada Surf
Park
36 acres0.8 mi of trail
California Coastal TrailMirada East
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Princeton by the Sea Park
Park
2 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
1,857 conserved acres
59% of El Granada’s land. Who manages El Granada’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
National Park Service1,226 ac
County536 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits102 ac
National Recreation Area · 1,226 acLocal Park · 536 acPrivate Conservation · 87 acUnknown Easement · 15 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Gate National Recreation Area National Recreation Area | National Park Service | 1,226 | Open |
| Quarry Park Local Park | County | 502 | Open |
| Gregerson Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 85 | Closed |
| Mirada Surf Park Local Park | County | 35 | Open |
| Scarper Ridge Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 2 | Closed |
Things to do
9 places to go in El Granada
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in El Granada
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in El Granada
Princeton by the Sea Park PlaygroundIn Princeton by the Sea Park
DirectionsQuarry Park PlaygroundIn Quarry Park
DirectionsBoat launches in El Granada
2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in El Granada
3 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Community gardens in El Granada
Quarry Park Community GardenIn Quarry Park
DirectionsTrails & water
25 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.6 miUnpaved · 8.2 mi
French Trail (God's)1.3 mi
Dolphine1.2 mi
Clipper Ridge Trail (God's)0.8 mi
Clipper Ridge Trail0.8 mi
Flat Top Trail0.8 mi
Mirada East0.6 mi
South Ridge0.6 mi
San Carlos Trail0.6 mi
Meadow Trail0.5 mi
Almeria Trail0.4 mi
15 more trails
California Coastal Trail
0.4 miMiddle Ridge
0.4 miDirt Jumps
0.3 miVista Point Trail
0.3 mi700 Club
0.3 miCaveman
0.2 miVista Point
0.2 miJump Line
0.2 miQuarry Trail
0.2 miConsolation Prize Vista Point
0.1 miLoam Depot
0.1 miMidcoast Multi-Modal Trail
0.1 miFrench Trail
0.1 miRangi
0.1 miEG Bus
0.1 miBiking & sports
2.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.9 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.9 mi
off-road bike paths
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Princeton HotelBuilding · listed 1979
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in El Granada: 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 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.7 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 57 | 58 | 60 | 61 | 63 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 68 | 61 | 57 |
| Rain (in) | 5.5 | 5.4 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 2.8 | 5.8 |
July is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and September the warmest (highs of 69 °F). 5.8 inches fall in December, the wettest month. The climate in El Granada →
Next door
El Granada and its neighbors
El Granada 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Granada | 59% | 3.2 | 340 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Moss Beach | 30% | 5.5 | 159 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Half Moon Bay | 16% | 2.5 | 34 | 92% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in El Granada
Where can I hike in El Granada?
The longest trail networks: Quarry Park, 7.7 miles; Rancho Corral de Tierra, 5.6 miles; Mirada Surf, 0.8 miles; Princeton by the Sea Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of El Granada is conserved land?
59% 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 El Granada’s trails?
Quarry Park and Rancho Corral de Tierra don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in El Granada?
2.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.9 of painted or protected lanes and 0.9 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near El Granada?
20,071 acres of parks and open public land lie inside El Granada or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,778 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does El Granada have?
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #12 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 El Granada 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 →