Prime Desert Woodland Preserve
Managed by City of Lancaster
112 acres3.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail sign
Photo: USEPA Environmental-Protection-Agency · Public domainCOutdoors
Outdoors in Lancaster
Lancaster has 71 miles of mapped trails, 0.8 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Prime Desert Woodland Preserve (3.2 mi), Apollo Park (1.6 mi), Sgt. Steve Owen Memorial Park (0.9 mi). 446 acres are parks and preserves, 2.6 per 1,000 residents. 36% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 30% of U.S. towns · #693 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
441 acres · of 94.3 sq mi of land
Trails
71 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
446 ac
2.6 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
36%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
58 mi
45 mi lanes · 12 mi paths
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lancaster have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lancaster is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns, #693 of 847 in California. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lancaster’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (71 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land2.6 acres of park per 1,000 residents (446 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home36% 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 30%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 18%
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Lancaster ranks #396 on Outdoors.
Park acres per resident are where Lancaster trails most U.S. towns: 2.6 per 1,000 against 12.6 typical, since 170,084 people share 446 acres.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. 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 Prime Desert Woodland Preserve, with 3.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Sgt. Steve Owen Memorial Park
Park
61 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 14 parks & preserves
Prime Desert Woodland Preserve112 acres · 3.2 mi of trail · City of Lancaster
DirectionsApollo Park56 acres · 1.6 mi of trail
DirectionsSgt. Steve Owen Memorial Park61 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
DirectionsTierra Bonita Park25 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsForrest E. Hull, M.D. Park10 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsAmerican Heroes Park12 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · City of Lancaster
DirectionsWhit Carter Park12 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsAntelope Valley Fairgrounds139 acres
Deputy Pierre W. Bain Park/East Side Pool24 acres
DirectionsRawley Duntley Park21 acres
DirectionsSkytower Park10 acres
DirectionsEl Dorado Park10 acres
DirectionsJane Reynolds Park7 acres · City of Lancaster Parks, Recreation and Arts Department
DirectionsMariposa Park2 acres
Who protects it
441 conserved acres
1% of Lancaster’s land. Who manages Lancaster’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city376 ac
County55 ac
Regional agency10 ac
Local Park · 248 acLocal Recreation Area · 137 acLocal Conservation Area · 45 acLocal Historic or Cultural Area · 10 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lancaster National Soccer Center Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 137 | Restricted |
| Sgt. Steve Owen Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 60 | Open |
| Apollo Community Regional Park Local Park | County | 55 | Open |
| Prime Desert Woodland Preserve Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 45 | Open |
| Tierra Bonita Park Local Park | Town or city | 26 | Open |
| Rawley Duntley Park Local Park | Town or city | 20 | Open |
| Deputy Pierre W. Bain Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Mariposa Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Whit Carter Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Forrest E. Hull Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
81 places to go in Lancaster
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Lancaster
CastleIn Sgt. Steve Owen Memorial Park
DirectionsClimbing RocksIn Sgt. Steve Owen Memorial Park
Directions36 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Dog parks in Lancaster
2 dog parks without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Picnic areas in Lancaster
43 picnic areas are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Trails & water
25 named trails
Named trails
Unpaved · 11.4 mi
West Avenue E3.7 mi
40th Street West2.5 mi
85th Street West1.7 mi
West Avenue K 121.5 mi
25th Street West1.3 mi
West Avenue G 81.0 mi
West Avenue G 41.0 mi
West Avenue K 81.0 mi
105th Street West1.0 mi
15th Street West1.0 mi
15 more trails
West Avenue K 14
0.5 mi42nd Street West
0.5 mi26th Street West
0.4 mi50th Street West
0.4 miEast Avenue H 8
0.3 mi75th Street East
0.3 mi103rd Street West
0.3 miWest Avenue L 4
0.3 miEast Avenue J 8
0.3 miWest Avenue F 6
0.2 mi36th Street West
0.2 mi55th Street West
0.2 miWest Avenue L
0.2 mi45th Street West
0.2 mi7th Street East
0.2 miBiking & sports
58 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
45 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
12 mi
off-road bike paths
1.9 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
54Basketball
53Baseball
45Tennis
34Soccer
11Football
9Volleyball
2Pickleball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 5 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Cedar Avenue ComplexDistrict · listed 1993
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Lancaster: April and May
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 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 59 | 62 | 67 | 73 | 81 | 90 | 97 | 97 | 91 | 79 | 67 | 58 |
| Rain (in) | 1.5 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 1.2 |
August is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and the warmest (highs of 97 °F). 1.9 inches fall in February, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 97 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Lancaster →
Next door
Lancaster and its neighbors
Lancaster has the second most mapped trails of the 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lancaster | 1% | 0.8 | 3 | 36% | C |
| Quartz Hill | 1% | under 0.1 | 1 | 34% | D |
| Palmdale | 8% | 1.8 | 31 | 66% | A− |
| Leona Valley | 10% | 1.0 | 57 | 11% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Lancaster
Where can I hike in Lancaster?
The longest trail networks: Prime Desert Woodland Preserve, 3.2 miles; Apollo Park, 1.6 miles; Sgt. Steve Owen Memorial Park, 0.9 miles; Tierra Bonita Park, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lancaster 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 Lancaster’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Forrest E. Hull, M.D. Park. For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Lancaster?
58 miles of bike routes are on the map: 45 of painted or protected lanes, 12 of off-road paths and 1.9 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Lancaster?
58,621 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lancaster or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 446 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Lancaster have?
Ahead of 30% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #693 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 Lancaster 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 →