Harford Springs Reserve
Managed by Riverside County Regional Park and Open-Space District
527 acres9.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Lake Mathews
Lake Mathews has 57 miles of mapped trails, 3.6 for every square mile of land
733 acres are parks and preserves, 112 per 1,000 residents. 16% of Lake Mathews’ land is conserved, about 1,684 acres. The biggest trail networks: Harford Springs Reserve (9.7 mi).
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns · #199 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
16%
1,684 acres · of 15.9 sq mi of land
Trails
57 mi
3.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
733 ac
112 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
33%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.2 mi
0.2 mi lanes
Highest peak
2,418 ft
Gavilan Peak
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Lake Mathews?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lake Mathews have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lake Mathews is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #199 of 847 in California. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lake Mathews’ overall grade.
Conserved land16% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%ATrails3.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (57 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land112 acres of park per 1,000 residents (733 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13AParks close to home33% 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 88%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 77%
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 Harford Springs Reserve, with 9.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
1,684 conserved acres
16% of Lake Mathews’ land. Who manages Lake Mathews’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency1,682 ac
County785 ac
Local Conservation Area · 1,467 acUnknown Easement · 785 acLocal Other or Unknown · 215 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Mathews - Estelle Mountain Reserve Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 914 | Closed |
| Hanford Springs Reserve Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 522 | Open |
| Western Riverside County Regional Conservation Authority Conserved Land Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 215 | Open |
| Mockingbird Canyon Archeological Preserve Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 30 | Closed |
Things to do
1 places to go in Lake Mathews
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in Lake Mathews
Gavilan Peak2,418 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.5 mi
Cabletina Circle0.5 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.2 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
When to get out
The best walking months in Lake Mathews: 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) | 10.1 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.9 | 14.4 | 14.2 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 9.9 |
| High (°F) | 65 | 65 | 68 | 72 | 77 | 85 | 92 | 94 | 89 | 80 | 72 | 65 |
| Rain (in) | 2.2 | 2.5 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 1.6 |
June is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and August the warmest (highs of 94 °F). 2.5 inches fall in February, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 94 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Lake Mathews →
Next door
Lake Mathews and its neighbors
Lake Mathews 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Mathews | 16% | 3.6 | 112 | 33% | A |
| Woodcrest | under 1% | 1.4 | 1 | 45% | C |
| Mead Valley | 3% | 1.5 | 1 | 18% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Lake Mathews
Where can I hike in Lake Mathews?
The longest trail networks: Harford Springs Reserve, 9.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lake Mathews 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 Lake Mathews’ trails?
Harford Springs Reserve doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Lake Mathews?
0.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.2 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Lake Mathews?
50,823 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lake Mathews or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 733 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Lake Mathews have?
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #199 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 Lake Mathews 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 →