Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area
Park
1,381 acres12.9 mi of trail
San Gabriel River Trail
Dogs on leash
Directionsto Parking Lot 4
Photo: Shinku Hisaki at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Irwindale
Irwindale has 1,504 acres of parks, 1,092 for every 1,000 residents
23 miles of mapped trail cross Irwindale, 2.6 per square mile of land. 17% of Irwindale’s land is conserved, about 944 acres. 98% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
17%
944 acres · of 8.8 sq mi of land
Trails
23 mi
2.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,504 ac
1,092 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
98%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
11 mi
0.9 mi lanes · 9.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
5
1 beach · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Irwindale?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Irwindale have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Irwindale is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. All four inputs put Irwindale near the top nationally; park acres per resident rank highest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Irwindale’s overall grade.
Conserved land17% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%ATrails2.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (23 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land1,092 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,504 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13A+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)Among the top 1%
LessMore
Water is 8% of Irwindale’s area (1 of 10 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 15%.
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 Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area, with 12.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
KARE Youth League
Park
14 acres0.3 mi of trail
San Gabriel River Trail
Dogs on leash
No trailhead mapped yet
Irwindale Park
Park
10 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Jardin de Roca Park
Managed by City of Irwindale
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area1,381 acres · 12.9 mi of trail
DirectionsKARE Youth League14 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Irwindale Park10 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Jardin de Roca Park5 acres · City of Irwindale
Little Park of Irwindale1 acres · City of Irwindale
Who protects it
944 conserved acres
17% of Irwindale’s land. Water is left out: Irwindale has 8.8 square miles of land and 0.8 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Irwindale’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County886 ac
Regional agency23 ac
Town or city20 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits15 ac
Local Recreation Area · 909 acLocal Park · 19 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 15 acLocal Other or Unknown · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area Local Recreation Area | County | 886 | Open |
| San Gabriel River and Bike Trail Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 23 | Open |
| Kare Park Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 15 | Open |
| Irwindale Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Jarden de Roca Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Little Park of Irwindale Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
7 places to go in Irwindale
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Irwindale
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Public pools in Irwindale
Irwindale Aquatic CenterIn Irwindale Park
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Irwindale
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Irwindale
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Irwindale
Picnic Area 1In Jardin de Roca Park
DirectionsPicnic Area 2In Jardin de Roca Park
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 5.9 miHorses · 5.9 miUnpaved · 9.3 mi
San Gabriel River Trail4.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
11 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.9 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
9.3 mi
off-road bike paths
1.0 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
San Gabriel River TrailBike route
5.9 miCourts & fields
6Basketball
4Baseball
2Football
1Tennis
1Skate park
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Irwindale: April to June
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 | 70 | 72 | 76 | 78 | 83 | 89 | 90 | 88 | 82 | 75 | 68 |
| Rain (in) | 3.8 | 4.4 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 2.7 |
August is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 4.4 inches fall in February, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Irwindale →
Next door
Irwindale and its neighbors
Irwindale has the second most mapped trails of the 8 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Monrovia29 miIrwindale23 miArcadia10 miAzusa7.0 miDuarte6.1 miBaldwin Park1.6 miVincent0.3 miSouth Monrovia Island0.0 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irwindale | 17% | 2.6 | 1,092 | 98% | A+ |
| Baldwin Park | 1% | 0.2 | under 1 | 54% | C− |
| Duarte | 55% | 0.9 | 22 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Azusa | 5% | 0.7 | 6 | 93% | B+ |
| Monrovia | 57% | 2.1 | 45 | 93% | A+ |
| South Monrovia Island | 1% | under 0.1 | under 1 | 99% | C− |
| Vincent | 1% | 0.2 | 1 | 48% | C− |
| Arcadia | 8% | 0.9 | 5 | 95% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Irwindale
Where can I hike in Irwindale?
The longest trail networks: Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area, 12.9 miles; KARE Youth League, 0.3 miles; Irwindale Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Irwindale is conserved land?
17% 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 Irwindale’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area (on leash) and KARE Youth League (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Irwindale?
11 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.9 of painted or protected lanes, 9.3 of off-road paths and 1.0 of shoulders and shared lanes. Named routes: San Gabriel River Trail.
Is there public land near Irwindale?
19,067 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Irwindale or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,504 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Irwindale have?
Among the top 1% 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 Irwindale 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 →