Hercules Village · Photo: Sanfranman59 · CC BY-SA 3.0Hercules has 11 miles of mapped trails, 1.8 for every square mile of land
15% of Hercules’ land is conserved, about 596 acres. 95% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Duck Pond Park (0.9 mi), Foxboro Park (0.5 mi).
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns · #284 of 847 in California. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Hercules?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Hercules have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hercules is ahead of 80% of U.S. towns, #284 of 847 in California. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
Water is more than half of Hercules’ area (14 of 20 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 5%.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Duck Pond Park, with 0.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Foxboro Park
San Pablo Bay Regional Shoreline
All 12 parks & preserves
596 conserved acres
15% of Hercules’ land. Water is left out: Hercules has 6.4 square miles of land and 13.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Hercules’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Canyon Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 470 | Closed |
| San Pablo Bay Regional Shoreline Local Park | Regional agency | 43 | Open |
| Hercules Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 38 | Closed |
| Refugio Valley Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Hanna Ranch Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Shoreline Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Ohlone Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Foxboro Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Woodfield Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Waterfront Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
13 places to go in Hercules
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
11 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Plus 1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
4 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
11 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
The best walking months in Hercules: 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 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.1 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 57 | 60 | 63 | 66 | 70 | 75 | 75 | 76 | 76 | 72 | 64 | 57 |
| Rain (in) | 4.6 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 2.4 | 4.5 |
July is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and August the warmest (highs of 76 °F). 4.6 inches fall in January, the wettest month. The climate in Hercules →
Hercules and its neighbors
Hercules has the second most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Hercules
Where can I hike in Hercules?
The longest trail networks: Duck Pond Park, 0.9 miles; Foxboro Park, 0.5 miles; San Pablo Bay Regional Shoreline, 0.2 miles; Refugio Valley Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hercules is conserved land?
15% 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 Hercules’ trails?
Duck Pond Park and Foxboro Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Hercules?
11 miles of bike routes are on the map: 7.3 of painted or protected lanes, 2.0 of off-road paths and 1.2 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Hercules?
41,472 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hercules or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 77 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Hercules have?
Ahead of 80% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #284 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 Hercules neighbors.
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 →