San Diego National Wildlife Refuge
Managed by United States Fish and Wildlife Service
2,100 acres10.8 mi of trail
Calle del Sol Dirt ExtentionLorrel Place
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Jamul
34% of Jamul’s land is conserved: 3,623 acres
1,126 acres are parks and preserves, 171 per 1,000 residents. 22 miles of mapped trail cross Jamul, 1.3 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: San Diego National Wildlife Refuge (10.8 mi).
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns · #178 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
34%
3,623 acres · of 16.8 sq mi of land
Trails
22 mi
1.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,126 ac
171 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
43%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.3 mi
1.3 mi lanes
Highest peak
1,394 ft
Jamul Butte
What kind of outdoors town is Jamul?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Jamul have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Jamul is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #178 of 847 in California. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Jamul’s overall grade.
Conserved land34% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%A+Trails1.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (22 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4APark land171 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,126 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13AParks close to home43% of residents within a half mile of a park · CA 91% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 90%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 79%
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 San Diego National Wildlife Refuge, with 10.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Steele Canyon Park
Park
6 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
3,623 conserved acres
34% of Jamul’s land. Who manages Jamul’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service4,404 ac
State fish & wildlife1,112 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government293 ac
Other state land17 ac
County8 ac
National Wildlife Refuge · 4,404 acState Conservation Area · 1,112 acUnknown Easement · 293 acState Other or Unknown · 17 acLocal Park · 8 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 296 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 4,420 | Restricted |
| Hollenbeck Canyon Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 1,112 | Open |
| Steele Canyon Park Local Park | County | 8 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Jamul
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Jamul
Steele Canyon High School Swimming Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Jamul
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Jamul
Jamul Butte1,394 ft elevation
DirectionsCampgrounds in Jamul
Indian Hills CampFee
DirectionsTrails & water
4 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.4 miHorses · 1.6 miUnpaved · 17.1 mi
Daley Ranch Truck Trail1.0 mi
Calle del Sol Dirt Extention0.8 mi
Lorrel Place0.4 mi
Daley Truck Trail0.1 mi
Biking & sports
1.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.3 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
22Tennis
12Basketball
8Baseball
7Equestrian
2Beach volleyball
1Football
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Jamul: 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) | 10.2 | 11.0 | 11.9 | 12.9 | 13.8 | 14.3 | 14.1 | 13.3 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 10.0 |
| High (°F) | 68 | 68 | 70 | 73 | 77 | 83 | 88 | 91 | 88 | 81 | 74 | 67 |
| Rain (in) | 2.9 | 3.4 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 2.2 |
July is the driest month (0.1 in) and August the warmest (highs of 91 °F). 3.4 inches fall in February, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 91 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Jamul →
Next door
Jamul and its neighbors
Jamul has the 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamul | 34% | 1.3 | 171 | 43% | A |
| Rancho San Diego | 14% | 0.5 | 7 | 84% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Jamul
Where can I hike in Jamul?
The longest trail networks: San Diego National Wildlife Refuge, 10.8 miles; Steele Canyon Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Jamul is conserved land?
34% 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 Jamul’s trails?
San Diego National Wildlife Refuge and Steele Canyon Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Jamul?
1.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.3 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Jamul?
72,343 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Jamul or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,207 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Jamul have?
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #178 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 Jamul 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 →