Camino Corto Open Space
Managed by Isla Vista Recreation and Park District
22 acres1.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Alanmak~commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims). · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Isla Vista
17% of Isla Vista’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 3.7 miles of mapped trail cross Isla Vista, 6.7 per square mile of land. 17% of Isla Vista’s land is conserved, about 58 acres.
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns · #175 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
17%
58 acres · of 0.6 sq mi of land
Trails
3.7 mi
6.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
61 ac
4.4 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.9 mi
1.2 mi lanes · 0.7 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Isla Vista?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Isla Vista have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Isla Vista is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #175 of 847 in California. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Isla Vista’s overall grade.
Conserved land17% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%ATrails6.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land4.4 acres of park per 1,000 residents (61 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13CParks 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)Ahead of 91%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 79%
Water is 7% of Isla Vista’s area (0 of 1 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 range from A− 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 Camino Corto Open Space, with 1.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Del Sol Vernal Pool Preserve
Managed by Isla Vista Recreation and Park District
12 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Estero Park
Managed by Isla Vista Recreation & Park District
4 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Campus Point State Marine Conservation Area
Nature preserve
43 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 12 parks & preserves
Camino Corto Open Space22 acres · 1.2 mi of trail · Isla Vista Recreation and Park District
DirectionsDel Sol Vernal Pool Preserve12 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · Isla Vista Recreation and Park District
DirectionsEstero Park4 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Isla Vista Recreation & Park District
DirectionsAnisq'Oyo' Park3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsPerfect Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsIsla Vista "DS" Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsGaffney Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsPelican Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsCampus Point State Marine Conservation Area43 acres
DirectionsWalter Capps Park1 acres
DirectionsChildren's Park1 acres · Isla Vista Recreation and Park District
DirectionsSueño Orchard1 acres · Isla Vista Recreation & Park District
DirectionsWho protects it
58 conserved acres
17% of Isla Vista’s land. Water is left out: Isla Vista has 0.6 square miles of land and 0.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Isla Vista’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency46 ac
County6 ac
Local Park · 22 acLocal Recreation Area · 18 acLocal Conservation Area · 12 acLocal Other or Unknown · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camino Corto Open Space Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 18 | Open |
| Del Sol Vernal Pool Reserve Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 12 | Open |
| Estero Park Local Park | Regional agency | 7 | Open |
| Tierra De Fortuna Park Local Park | Regional agency | 4 | Open |
| Isla Vista Beach Local Park | County | 3 | Open |
| Anisq'Oyo Park Local Park | Regional agency | 3 | Open |
| Walter Capps Park Local Park | County | 2 | Open |
| Sea Lookout Park Local Park | County | 1 | Open |
| Perfect Park Local Park | Regional agency | 1 | Open |
| Sueño Orchard Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 1 | Open |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
14 places to go in Isla Vista
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Isla Vista
Isla Vista BeachIn Campus Point State Marine Conservation Area
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Isla Vista
11 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Isla Vista
Sueño Bark Park
DirectionsPicnic areas in Isla Vista
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Biking & sports
1.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.2 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.7 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
10Basketball
6Beach volleyball
3Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Isla Vista: 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) | 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) | 64 | 64 | 64 | 66 | 67 | 69 | 72 | 73 | 73 | 72 | 68 | 64 |
| Rain (in) | 4.2 | 4.4 | 3.3 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 3.0 |
July is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and September the warmest (highs of 73 °F). 4.4 inches fall in February, the wettest month. The climate in Isla Vista →
Next door
Isla Vista and its neighbors
Isla Vista 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isla Vista | 17% | 6.7 | 4 | 99%+ | A |
| University of California-Santa Barbara | 9% | 6.8 | 3 | 99%+ | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Isla Vista
Where can I hike in Isla Vista?
The longest trail networks: Camino Corto Open Space, 1.2 miles; Del Sol Vernal Pool Preserve, 0.7 miles; Estero Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Isla Vista 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 Isla Vista’s trails?
Camino Corto Open Space and Del Sol Vernal Pool Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Isla Vista?
1.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.2 of painted or protected lanes and 0.7 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Isla Vista?
21,428 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Isla Vista or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 61 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Isla Vista have?
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #175 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 Isla Vista 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 →