Manresa State Beach
Nature preserve
141 acres2.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
A+Outdoors
Outdoors in La Selva Beach
La Selva Beach has 12 miles of mapped trails, 2.2 for every square mile of land
412 acres are parks and preserves, 179 per 1,000 residents. 18% of La Selva Beach’s land is conserved, about 600 acres. The biggest trail networks: Manresa State Beach (2.6 mi).
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
18%
600 acres · of 5.3 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
2.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
412 ac
179 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
88%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.1 mi
4.1 mi lanes
What kind of outdoors town is La Selva Beach?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does La Selva Beach have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, La Selva Beach is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of La Selva Beach’s overall grade.
Conserved land18% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%ATrails2.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4APark land179 acres of park per 1,000 residents (412 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13AParks close to home88% 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 97%
LessMore
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 Manresa State Beach, with 2.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Manresa State Beach - Soquel Creek Water District
Managed by Soquel Creek Water District
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
La Selva Open Space
Managed by La Selva Beach Recreation District
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
600 conserved acres
18% of La Selva Beach’s land. Who manages La Selva Beach’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife427 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service268 ac
State parks111 ac
County29 ac
Regional agency6 ac
Regional Water Districts1 ac
State Conservation Area · 317 acNational Wildlife Refuge · 264 acState Park · 111 acState Other or Unknown · 111 acUnknown Easement · 23 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 29 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ellicott Slough National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 374 | Restricted |
| Watsonville Slough Ecological Reserve State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 288 | Open |
| Manresa State Beach State Park | State parks | 111 | Open |
| Santa Cruz Long-Toed Salamander Ecological Reserve State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 29 | Closed |
| Place de Mer Park Local Park | County | 2 | Open |
| Unnamed site - La Selva Beach Recreation District Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 2 | Open |
| Robin'S Park Local Park | Regional agency | 1 | Open |
| Florida Lawn Local Park | Regional agency | 1 | Open |
| Unknown park - La Selva Beach Parks and Recreation District Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 1 | Open |
| Unknown park - Santa Cruz, County of Local Other or Unknown | County | 1 | Open |
3 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
6 places to go in La Selva Beach
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in La Selva Beach
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in La Selva Beach
Manresa OverlookIn Manresa State Beach
DirectionsPlus 2 scenic views without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Campgrounds in La Selva Beach
2 campgrounds without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Sanderling Hill0.1 mi
Biking & sports
4.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
9Tennis
2Basketball
2Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in La Selva Beach: 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) | 9.9 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 14.1 | 14.7 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 61 | 61 | 63 | 65 | 67 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 71 | 65 | 60 |
| Rain (in) | 5.3 | 5.1 | 3.9 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 2.6 | 5.1 |
July is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and September the warmest (highs of 73 °F). 5.3 inches fall in January, the wettest month. The climate in La Selva Beach →
Next door
La Selva Beach and its neighbors
La Selva Beach has the most mapped trails of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Selva Beach | 18% | 2.2 | 179 | 88% | A+ |
| Rio del Mar | 16% | 0.7 | 23 | 93% | A |
| Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley | 9% | 0.4 | 33 | 46% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in La Selva Beach
Where can I hike in La Selva Beach?
The longest trail networks: Manresa State Beach, 2.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of La Selva Beach is conserved land?
18% 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 Selva Beach’s trails?
Manresa State Beach and Place De Mer Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in La Selva Beach?
4.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.1 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near La Selva Beach?
24,396 acres of parks and open public land lie inside La Selva Beach or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 412 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does La Selva Beach have?
Ahead of 97% 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 La Selva Beach 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 →