Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve
Managed by Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Ladera
Ladera has 1 acre of parks, 0.7 for every 1,000 residents
93% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 0.2 miles of mapped trail cross Ladera, 0.5 per square mile of land. 1% of Ladera’s land is conserved, about 3 acres.
Ahead of 42% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
3 acres · of 0.4 sq mi of land
Trails
0.2 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
1 ac
0.7 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
93%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.1 mi
0.6 mi lanes · 0.5 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Ladera?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ladera have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ladera is ahead of 42% of U.S. towns. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ladera’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4BPark land0.7 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1 acre) · CA 5 · U.S. 13DParks close to home93% of residents within a half mile of a park · CA 91% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 42%
LessMore
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Ladera. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
3 conserved acres
1% of Ladera’s land. Who manages Ladera’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits2 ac
Regional agency1 ac
Private Conservation · 2 acLocal Recreation Area · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jasper Ridge Reserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 2 | Restricted |
| Ladera Recreation Center Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 1 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Ladera
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Ladera
Kids swimming pool
DirectionsLadera Oaks Lower Pool
DirectionsLadera Oaks Upper Pool
DirectionsMain swimming pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Ladera
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Biking & sports
1.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.6 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
3Tennis
2Basketball
1Beach volleyball
1Pickleball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Ladera: 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) | 9.8 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.7 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 60 | 62 | 65 | 68 | 72 | 78 | 81 | 81 | 80 | 75 | 65 | 59 |
| Rain (in) | 5.1 | 4.9 | 3.8 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 2.6 | 5.1 |
July is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and August the warmest (highs of 81 °F). 5.1 inches fall in January, the wettest month. The climate in Ladera →
Next door
Ladera and its neighbors
Ladera 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ladera | 1% | 0.5 | 1 | 93% | C+ |
| Portola Valley | 29% | 5.9 | 308 | 71% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Ladera
How much of Ladera is conserved land?
1% 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 Ladera’s trails?
Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Ladera?
1.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.6 of painted or protected lanes and 0.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Ladera?
37,748 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ladera or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), almost none of it inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Ladera have?
Ahead of 42% 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 Ladera 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 →