Court House Square Park
Park
8 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Publichall · CC BY-SA 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Merced
Merced has 11 miles of mapped trails, 0.4 for every square mile of land
93% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Court House Square Park (0.6 mi), Rahilly Park (0.5 mi), Applegate Park (0.5 mi). 402 acres are parks and preserves, 4.4 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns · #535 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
310 acres · of 26.0 sq mi of land
Trails
11 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
402 ac
4.4 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
93%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
39 mi
16 mi lanes · 22 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is Merced?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Merced have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Merced is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns, #535 of 847 in California. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Merced’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (11 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4BPark land4.4 acres of park per 1,000 residents (402 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13CParks 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 50%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 37%
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 Court House Square Park, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Rudolph Joseph Merino Park
Park
9 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 34 parks & preserves
Court House Square Park8 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsRahilly Park27 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
Applegate Park27 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsRudolph Joseph Merino Park9 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Elmer Murchie Park4 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Fahrens Park63 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsFlanagan Park3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsBrooks Park3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · City of Merced Parks and Recreation
Merced County Fairgrounds41 acres
Merced Regional Sports Complex37 acres
DirectionsJoe Herb Park23 acres
DirectionsYouth Sports Complex13 acres
DirectionsBear Creek Park10 acres
Dwight Amey Park10 acres
Ada Givens Park9 acres
McNamara Park9 acres
Sante Fe Park8 acres
Richard Bernasconi Neighborhood Park8 acres · City of Merced
Civic Ballpark7 acres
Davenport Park7 acres
Black Rascal Strip Park7 acres
Bob Carpenter Park6 acres
Carol Gabriault Park5 acres
DirectionsGilbert Macias Park5 acres
Burbank Park4 acres
Santa Fe Park4 acres
Stephen Leonard Park3 acres
DirectionsMacready Park3 acres
DirectionsWilliam Lloyd Garrison2 acres
Merced County Preserve1 acres
Benjamin Banneker Memorial Park1 acres
Stephen Gray Park1 acres
Frederick Douglass Park1 acres
Dennis Chavez Park1 acres
Who protects it
310 conserved acres
2% of Merced’s land. Who manages Merced’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city228 ac
Other state land38 ac
Regional agency33 ac
County8 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits1 ac
Local Park · 229 acLocal Historic or Cultural Area · 36 acState Conservation Area · 19 acLocal Recreation Area · 12 acState Other or Unknown · 11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fahrens Park Local Park | Town or city | 46 | Open |
| Merced Cemetery Local Historic or Cultural Area | County | 36 | Open |
| Applegate Park Local Park | Town or city | 25 | Open |
| Joe Herb Park Local Park | Town or city | 25 | Open |
| Merced Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve State Conservation Area | Other state land | 19 | Restricted |
| Rahilly Park Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| Merced Youth Sports Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Strip Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| McNamara Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Rudolph Joseph Merino Neighborhood Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
39 places to go in Merced
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Merced
Aquatic Center
DirectionsSlumber Motel
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Merced
21 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Merced
Merced City Dog Park
DirectionsMerced City Dog Park
DirectionsPlus 3 dog parks without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Merced
10 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Community gardens in Merced
Gardening Club OrchardUCM Gardening Club
DirectionsTrails & water
3 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
39 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
16 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
22 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
46Tennis
43Basketball
16Baseball
14Pickleball
8Soccer
2Softball
1Multi-sport
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →11 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Merced County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1975
About itLeggett HouseBuilding · listed 1979
About itTioga HotelBuilding · listed 1980
About itKaehler-Rector HouseBuilding · listed 1982
About itThomas H. Leggett HouseBuilding · listed 1982
About itU.S. Post OfficeBuilding · listed 1983
About itMaj. George Beecher Cook HouseBuilding · listed 1983
About itMerced County High SchoolBuilding · listed 1984
About itBank of Italy, MercedBuilding · listed 2004
About itMerced TheatreBuilding · listed 2009
About itStrand TheaterBuilding · listed 2021
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Merced: 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) | 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) | 56 | 62 | 68 | 74 | 82 | 90 | 96 | 94 | 90 | 79 | 65 | 56 |
| Rain (in) | 2.5 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 2.0 |
July is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and the warmest (highs of 96 °F). 2.5 inches fall in January, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 96 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Merced →
Next door
Merced and its neighbors
Merced has the 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merced | 2% | 0.4 | 4 | 93% | B− |
| Franklin | under 1% | 1.4 | 1 | 61% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Merced
Where can I hike in Merced?
The longest trail networks: Court House Square Park, 0.6 miles; Rahilly Park, 0.5 miles; Applegate Park, 0.5 miles; Rudolph Joseph Merino Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Merced is conserved land?
2% 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 Merced’s trails?
Court House Square Park and Rahilly Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Merced?
39 miles of bike routes are on the map: 16 of painted or protected lanes and 22 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Merced?
867 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Merced or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 411 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Merced have?
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #535 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 Merced 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 →