Photo: Mike Greene · CC BY-SA 2.0Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in La Palma
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 40 acres are parks and preserves, 2.6 per 1,000 residents. 0.9 miles of mapped trail cross La Palma, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns · #432 of 847 in California. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is La Palma?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does La Palma have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, La Palma is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns, #432 of 847 in California. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
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 El Rancho Verde Park, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Bettencourt Park
Rainbow Park
36 conserved acres
3% of La Palma’s land. Who manages La Palma’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Rancho Verde Open Space Corridor Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 20 | Open |
| Central Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| El Rancho Verde Park, East Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Bettencourt Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Rainbow Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
8 places to go in La Palma
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Plus 7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
8.8 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.
The best walking months in La Palma: 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) | 70 | 69 | 71 | 74 | 75 | 78 | 83 | 85 | 85 | 80 | 75 | 69 |
| Rain (in) | 2.8 | 3.2 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 2.0 |
August is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 3.2 inches fall in February, the wettest month. The climate in La Palma →
La Palma and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Palma | 3% | 0.5 | 3 | 99%+ | B |
| Buena Park | 2% | 0.6 | 2 | 92% | B− |
| Cerritos | 5% | 0.6 | 6 | 99%+ | B+ |
| Cypress | 2% | 0.5 | 2 | 99%+ | B |
| Lakewood | 7% | 0.6 | 3 | 95% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in La Palma
Where can I hike in La Palma?
The longest trail networks: El Rancho Verde Park, 0.4 miles; Central Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of La Palma is conserved land?
3% 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 La Palma’s trails?
El Rancho Verde Park and Central Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in La Palma?
8.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 7.1 of painted or protected lanes and 1.7 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near La Palma?
13,126 acres of parks and open public land lie inside La Palma or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 40 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does La Palma have?
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #432 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 La Palma 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 →