Edgewood Park and Nature Preserve
Managed by San Mateo County Parks
36 acres1.2 mi of trail
Baywood Glen TrailEdgewood TrailSylvan Trail
No dogs
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Bourn-Roth Estate · Photo: Sukuru · CC BY-SA 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Emerald Lake Hills
98% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Emerald Lake Hills
1.3 miles of mapped trail cross Emerald Lake Hills, 1.1 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Edgewood Park and Nature Preserve (1.2 mi). 4% of Emerald Lake Hills’ land is conserved, about 32 acres.
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns · #309 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
32 acres · of 1.2 sq mi of land
Trails
1.3 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
37 ac
8.7 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
98%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.6 mi
0.6 mi lanes
Lakes & rivers
2
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Emerald Lake Hills?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Emerald Lake Hills have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Emerald Lake Hills is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns, #309 of 847 in California. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Emerald Lake Hills’ overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land8.7 acres of park per 1,000 residents (37 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home98% 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%
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 Edgewood Park and Nature Preserve, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
32 conserved acres
4% of Emerald Lake Hills’ land. Who manages Emerald Lake Hills’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County31 ac
Regional agency31 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits1 ac
Local Conservation Area · 31 acConservation Easement · 31 acRecreation or Education Easement · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edgewood Park and Natural Preserve Local Conservation Area | County | 31 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Emerald Lake Hills
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Emerald Lake Hills
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Public pools in Emerald Lake Hills
Emerald Lake Country Club
DirectionsPicnic areas in Emerald Lake Hills
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.0 mi
Baywood Glen Trail0.5 mi
Edgewood Trail0.3 mi
Sylvan Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.6 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.1 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
When to get out
The best walking months in Emerald Lake Hills: 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) | 59 | 61 | 64 | 67 | 71 | 76 | 79 | 79 | 79 | 74 | 65 | 59 |
| Rain (in) | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 4.5 |
July is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and August the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 4.5 inches fall in December, the wettest month. The climate in Emerald Lake Hills →
Next door
Emerald Lake Hills and its neighbors
Emerald Lake Hills has the second most mapped trails of the 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emerald Lake Hills | 4% | 1.1 | 9 | 98% | A− |
| Redwood City | 42% | 0.7 | 7 | 96% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Emerald Lake Hills
Where can I hike in Emerald Lake Hills?
The longest trail networks: Edgewood Park and Nature Preserve, 1.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Emerald Lake Hills 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 Emerald Lake Hills’ trails?
Edgewood Park and Nature Preserve doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Emerald Lake Hills?
0.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.6 of painted or protected lanes and 0.1 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Emerald Lake Hills?
22,708 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Emerald Lake Hills or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 37 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Emerald Lake Hills have?
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #309 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 Emerald Lake Hills 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 →