Lafayette Community Park
Park
49 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Stacey Baca · CC BY-SA 3.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Lafayette
Lafayette has 28 miles of mapped trails, 1.8 for every square mile of land
16% of Lafayette’s land is conserved, about 1,545 acres. 1,528 acres are parks and preserves, 60 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Lafayette Community Park (1.1 mi).
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns · #109 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
16%
1,545 acres · of 15.0 sq mi of land
Trails
28 mi
1.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,528 ac
60 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
88%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
23 mi
12 mi lanes · 9.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Lafayette?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lafayette have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lafayette is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #109 of 847 in California. 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 Lafayette’s overall grade.
Conserved land16% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (28 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4APark land60 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,528 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13A−Parks 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 95%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 87%
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 Lafayette Community Park, with 1.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Acalanes Ridge
Managed by John Muir Land Trust
23 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Land Bank
Managed by East Bay Regional Park District
34 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Saint Marys Ballfield
Park
12 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 9 parks & preserves
Lafayette Community Park49 acres · 1.1 mi of trail
DirectionsAcalanes Ridge23 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · John Muir Land Trust
Olympic Blvd. Staging Area6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · East Bay Regional Park District
DirectionsMeher Park4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsLeigh Creekside Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsLand Bank34 acres · East Bay Regional Park District
DirectionsSaint Marys Ballfield12 acres
Stanley Park7 acres
Russell Research Station1 acres · University of California, Berkeley, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Who protects it
1,545 conserved acres
16% of Lafayette’s land. Who manages Lafayette’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency1,460 ac
Town or city82 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits23 ac
Local Recreation Area · 924 acLocal Park · 562 acLocal Resource Management Area · 33 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 23 acUnknown Easement · 22 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lafayette Reservoir Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 906 | Open |
| Briones Regional Park Local Park | Regional agency | 480 | Open |
| Lafayette Community Park Local Park | Town or city | 70 | Open |
| Briones/Las Trampas Trail - land bank Local Resource Management Area | Regional agency | 33 | Restricted |
| Acalanes Ridge Open Space Private Recreation or Education | Land trusts & nonprofits | 23 | Open |
| Lafayette/Moraga Trail Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 17 | Open |
| 711 St. Mary's Road Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Restricted |
| Briones/Las Trampas Trail Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 1 | Open |
Things to do
11 places to go in Lafayette
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Lafayette
Springbrook pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Lafayette
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Lafayette
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Lafayette
2 scenic views without a name on the map.
Peaks in Lafayette
1 peak without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Picnic areas in Lafayette
Upper Reserved Picnic Area
DirectionsCommunity gardens in Lafayette
Lafayette Community Garden
DirectionsTrails & water
24 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 6.6 miHorses · 6.5 miUnpaved · 17.4 mi
Rim Trail4.5 mi
Lafayette Ridge Trail2.1 mi
Mariposa Trail1.2 mi
Canyon Trail0.8 mi
Briones to Mt. Diablo Regional Trail0.7 mi
Moraga Road Trail0.6 mi
Sunrise Trail0.6 mi
Campolindo Trail0.5 mi
Petar Jakovina Trail0.5 mi
Sunset Trail0.5 mi
14 more trails
Westview Trail
0.4 miMontecello Rd Trail
0.4 miRheem Trail
0.4 miBig Oak Trail
0.4 miPipeline Trail
0.4 miJohn Kiefer Trail
0.3 miLas Trampas to Briones Trail
0.2 miBuckeye Ranch Trail
0.2 miHidden Oaks Creek Trail
0.2 miClyde Wood Trail
0.2 miNew Rose Ln Path
0.2 miNew Rose Ln path
0.1 miRose Lane Path
0.1 miPipeine Trail
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
23 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
12 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
9.4 mi
off-road bike paths
1.5 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
26Tennis
12Baseball
3Basketball
2Softball
1Soccer
1Pickleball
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Lafayette: 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 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.1 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 56 | 61 | 65 | 69 | 75 | 81 | 85 | 85 | 83 | 76 | 64 | 56 |
| Rain (in) | 4.5 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 4.6 |
July is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.6 inches fall in December, the wettest month. The climate in Lafayette →
Next door
Lafayette and its neighbors
Lafayette has the second most mapped trails of the 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lafayette | 16% | 1.8 | 60 | 88% | A+ |
| Moraga | 4% | 1.6 | 16 | 61% | B+ |
| Reliez Valley | 13% | 2.0 | 62 | 89% | A+ |
| Orinda | 15% | 1.4 | 11 | 58% | A− |
| Walnut Creek | 24% | 4.1 | 42 | 83% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Lafayette
Where can I hike in Lafayette?
The longest trail networks: Lafayette Community Park, 1.1 miles; Acalanes Ridge, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lafayette is conserved land?
16% 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 Lafayette’s trails?
Lafayette Community Park and Acalanes Ridge don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Lafayette?
23 miles of bike routes are on the map: 12 of painted or protected lanes, 9.4 of off-road paths and 1.5 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Lafayette?
59,776 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lafayette or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,528 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Lafayette have?
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #109 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 Lafayette 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 →