San Francisco Peninsula Watershed
Managed by San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
364 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Us Census Bureau · Public domainA−Outdoors
Outdoors in Highlands
36% of Highlands’ land is conserved: 296 acres
2.1 miles of mapped trail cross Highlands, 1.6 per square mile of land. 10 acres are parks and preserves, 3.9 per 1,000 residents. 67% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
36%
296 acres · of 1.3 sq mi of land
Trails
2.1 mi
1.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
10 ac
3.9 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
67%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.4 mi
1.4 mi lanes
What kind of outdoors town is Highlands?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Highlands have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Highlands is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Highlands’ overall grade.
Conserved land36% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%A+Trails1.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4APark land3.9 acres of park per 1,000 residents (10 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13CParks close to home67% 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 76%
LessMore
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
296 conserved acres
36% of Highlands’ land. Who manages Highlands’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County292 ac
Regional agency4 ac
Local Resource Management Area · 292 acLocal Recreation Area · 4 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| SFPUC Peninsula Watershed Local Resource Management Area | County | 292 | Restricted |
| Highlands Recreation Center Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 4 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Highlands
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Highlands
Main Pool
DirectionsShallow Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Highlands
Highlands Recreation Center Playground
DirectionsPlus 1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
3 named trails
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.1 mi
Summit0.8 mi
Olde Highlands0.6 mi
Foster's0.2 mi
Biking & sports
1.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.4 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
3Tennis
2Basketball
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).
X-100Building · listed 2016
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Highlands: 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) | 58 | 61 | 64 | 66 | 70 | 74 | 77 | 77 | 77 | 73 | 64 | 58 |
| Rain (in) | 4.8 | 4.7 | 3.6 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 2.4 | 4.9 |
July is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and August the warmest (highs of 77 °F). 4.9 inches fall in December, the wettest month. The climate in Highlands →
Next door
Highlands and its neighbors
Highlands has the second most mapped trails of the 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highlands | 36% | 1.6 | 4 | 67% | A− |
| San Mateo | 10% | 1.7 | 7 | 97% | A− |
| Hillsborough | under 1% | 0.3 | under 1 | 35% | C− |
| Baywood Park | 10% | under 0.1 | under 1 | 67% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Highlands
How much of Highlands is conserved land?
36% 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 Highlands’ trails?
San Francisco Peninsula Watershed and Phoenix Garden don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Highlands?
1.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.4 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Highlands?
23,733 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Highlands or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 10 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Highlands have?
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Highlands 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 →