Redwood Grove Nature Preserve
Managed by City of Los Altos
6 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Coolcaesar at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Los Altos
Los Altos has 42 acres of parks, 1.4 for every 1,000 residents
93% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1.4 miles of mapped trail cross Los Altos, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 34% of U.S. towns · #672 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
28 acres · of 6.5 sq mi of land
Trails
1.4 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
42 ac
1.4 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
93%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
39 mi
30 mi lanes · 1.9 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Los Altos?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Los Altos have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Los Altos is ahead of 34% of U.S. towns, #672 of 847 in California. 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 Los Altos’ overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land1.4 acres of park per 1,000 residents (42 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13C−Parks 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 34%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 21%
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
The longest trail network is Redwood Grove Nature Preserve, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 12 parks & preserves
Redwood Grove Nature Preserve6 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · City of Los Altos
DirectionsRosita Park5 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsGrant Park5 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsLincoln Park5 acres
DirectionsMcKenzie Park5 acres
DirectionsShoup Park4 acres
DirectionsMarymeade Park3 acres
DirectionsHeritage Oaks Park2 acres
DirectionsHillview Park1 acres
DirectionsMontclaire Park1 acres
DirectionsThe Turf1 acres
DirectionsVillage Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
28 conserved acres
1% of Los Altos’ land. Who manages Los Altos’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city28 ac
Local Park · 28 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Heritage Oaks Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Montclaire Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Grant Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| McKenzie Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Shoup Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Marymeade Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
58 places to go in Los Altos
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Los Altos
1 public pool without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Los Altos
Los Altos Heritage Orchard Tot Lot
Directions50 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Picnic areas in Los Altos
Patriot Corner Picnic AreaIn Shoup Park
DirectionsPlus 4 picnic areas without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.9 mi
Disused Railroad Access0.1 mi
Biking & sports
39 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
30 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
1.9 mi
off-road bike paths
6.8 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
48Basketball
29Tennis
12Baseball
12Soccer
2Volleyball
1Pickleball
1Football
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).
Paul Shoup HouseBuilding · listed 2011
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Los Altos: 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 | 14.2 | 14.7 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 60 | 62 | 66 | 69 | 73 | 79 | 82 | 82 | 81 | 76 | 66 | 59 |
| Rain (in) | 4.4 | 4.5 | 3.5 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 2.2 | 4.4 |
July is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and August the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 4.5 inches fall in February, the wettest month. The climate in Los Altos →
Next door
Los Altos and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Palo Alto82 miLos Altos Hills28 miCupertino17 miMountain View17 miSunnyvale16 miLoyola4.5 miLos Altos1.4 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Altos | 1% | 0.2 | 1 | 93% | C |
| Palo Alto | 43% | 3.4 | 77 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Los Altos Hills | 4% | 3.1 | 14 | 66% | B+ |
| Loyola | 9% | 3.2 | 23 | 71% | A |
| Mountain View | 10% | 1.4 | 10 | 99% | A |
| Sunnyvale | 13% | 0.7 | 4 | 98% | A− |
| Cupertino | 8% | 1.5 | 10 | 99% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Los Altos
Where can I hike in Los Altos?
The longest trail networks: Redwood Grove Nature Preserve, 0.4 miles; Rosita Park, 0.1 miles; Grant Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Los Altos 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 Los Altos’ trails?
Redwood Grove Nature Preserve and Rosita Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Los Altos?
39 miles of bike routes are on the map: 30 of painted or protected lanes, 1.9 of off-road paths and 6.8 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Los Altos?
44,719 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Los Altos or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 42 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Los Altos have?
Ahead of 34% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #672 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 Los Altos 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 →