Blithedale Summit Open Space Preserve
Managed by Marin County Parks
275 acres5.5 mi of trail
Warner Canyon TrailMaytag TrailTartan Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: SWENOWENSON · CC BY-SA 4.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Mill Valley
25% of Mill Valley’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 23 miles of mapped trail cross Mill Valley, 4.7 per square mile of land. 25% of Mill Valley’s land is conserved, about 785 acres.
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns · #22 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
25%
785 acres · of 4.8 sq mi of land
Trails
23 mi
4.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
756 ac
54 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
16 mi
6.9 mi lanes · 2.3 mi paths
Highest peak
289 ft
Kite Hill
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Mill Valley?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Mill Valley have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Mill Valley is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #22 of 847 in California. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Mill Valley’s overall grade.
Conserved land25% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%ATrails4.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (23 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land54 acres of park per 1,000 residents (756 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · CA 91% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Among the top 1%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 98%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 Blithedale Summit Open Space Preserve, with 5.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Camino Alto Open Space Preserve
Managed by Marin County Parks
110 acres2.9 mi of trail
Val Vista TrailBay Vista Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail signWebsite ↗
Horse Hill Open Space Preserve
Managed by Marin County Parks
62 acres1.3 mi of trail
Horse Hill Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Alto Bowl Open Space Preserve
Managed by Marin County Parks
35 acres1.1 mi of trail
Bob Midagh TrailHorse Hill Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Edgewood Park
Park
11 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 16 parks & preserves
Blithedale Summit Open Space Preserve275 acres · 5.5 mi of trail · Marin County Parks
DirectionsCamino Alto Open Space Preserve110 acres · 2.9 mi of trail · Marin County Parks
DirectionsHorse Hill Open Space Preserve62 acres · 1.3 mi of trail · Marin County Parks
Alto Bowl Open Space Preserve35 acres · 1.1 mi of trail · Marin County Parks
Hauke Park14 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsBayfront Park13 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
DirectionsEdgewood Park11 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Boyle Park7 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Old Mill Park5 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Mount Tamalpais Watershed11 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Marin Municipal Water District
DirectionsSycamore Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsEarnscliffe Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Norris Memorial Park3 acres
Miller Grove2 acres
Mill Valley Depot1 acres
DirectionsFreeman Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
785 conserved acres
25% of Mill Valley’s land. Who manages Mill Valley’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency525 ac
Town or city230 ac
County18 ac
Regional Water Districts16 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits2 ac
Local Conservation Area · 579 acLocal Park · 102 acLocal Recreation Area · 62 acLocal Other or Unknown · 35 acLocal Resource Management Area · 9 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blithedale Summit Open Space Preserve Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 286 | Open |
| Camino Alto Open Space Preserve Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 114 | Open |
| Cascade Canyon Open Space Preserve Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 54 | Open |
| Horse Hill Open Space Preserve Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 51 | Open |
| Bayfront Park Local Park | Town or city | 48 | Open |
| Mill Valley Golf Course Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 42 | Restricted |
| Bothin Marsh Open Space Preserve Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 38 | Open |
| Alta Bowl Open Space Preserve Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 37 | Open |
| Mill Valley/Sausalito Path Local Recreation Area | County | 18 | Open |
| Mill Valley Lands 001 Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 12 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
15 places to go in Mill Valley
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Mill Valley
Tamalpais High School Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Mill Valley
Boyle Park PlaygroundIn Boyle Park
DirectionsFreeman Park PlaystructuresIn Freeman Park
DirectionsHauke Park PlaygroundIn Hauke Park
DirectionsMolino Park PlaygroundIn Molino Park
DirectionsOld Mill Park PlaygroundIn Old Mill Park
DirectionsSycamore Park PlaygroundIn Sycamore Park
DirectionsSycamore Park PlaygroundIn Sycamore Park
DirectionsPlus 2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Mill Valley
Mayor's LookoutIn Blithedale Summit Open Space Preserve
DirectionsRed Autumn Trees Formation
DirectionsPlus 1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Mill Valley
Kite Hill289 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Mill Valley
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
25 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.9 miHorses · 1.2 miUnpaved · 7.6 mi
Cypress Trail1.5 mi
Tenderfoot Trail1.1 mi
Horse Hill Trail0.7 mi
Bob Midagh Trail0.5 mi
Myrtle Avenue Firetrail0.5 mi
Warner Canyon Trail0.4 mi
Monte Vista Trail0.4 mi
Val Vista Trail0.4 mi
Maytag Trail0.3 mi
Zig Zag Trail0.2 mi
15 more trails
SLP 101
0.2 miBay Vista Trail
0.2 miSLP 331
0.2 miTartan Trail
0.2 miEarnscliffe Canyon Trail - SLP 37
0.1 miCascade Trail
0.1 miThree Wells Trail - SLP 131
0.1 miPipeline Trail
0.1 miSLP 140
0.1 miSLP 44
0.1 miSLP 341
0.1 miSLP 38
0.1 miSLP 243
0.1 miCatalpa Lane - SLP 74
0.1 miSLP 22
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
16 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
6.9 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
2.3 mi
off-road bike paths
7.0 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
San Francisco Bay TrailBike route
0.8 miCourts & fields
27Tennis
8Basketball
6Baseball
4Soccer
1Skate park
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 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.
When to get out
The best walking months in Mill Valley: 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 | 58 | 61 | 63 | 65 | 70 | 72 | 73 | 73 | 70 | 62 | 56 |
| Rain (in) | 6.8 | 6.8 | 5.0 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 1.7 | 3.9 | 7.8 |
July is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and September the warmest (highs of 73 °F). 7.8 inches fall in December, the wettest month. The climate in Mill Valley →
Next door
Mill Valley and its neighbors
Mill Valley has the second most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Tamalpais-Homestead Valley24 miMill Valley23 miCorte Madera11 miLarkspur11 miKentfield9.9 miStrawberry2.6 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mill Valley | 25% | 4.7 | 54 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Tamalpais-Homestead Valley | 49% | 5.1 | 117 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Corte Madera | 52% | 3.4 | 40 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Strawberry | 22% | 2.0 | 22 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Larkspur | 26% | 3.5 | 38 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Kentfield | 21% | 3.3 | 44 | 99%+ | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Mill Valley
Where can I hike in Mill Valley?
The longest trail networks: Blithedale Summit Open Space Preserve, 5.5 miles; Camino Alto Open Space Preserve, 2.9 miles; Horse Hill Open Space Preserve, 1.3 miles; Alto Bowl Open Space Preserve, 1.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Mill Valley is conserved land?
25% 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 Mill Valley’s trails?
Blithedale Summit Open Space Preserve and Camino Alto Open Space Preserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Mill Valley?
16 miles of bike routes are on the map: 6.9 of painted or protected lanes, 2.3 of off-road paths and 7.0 of shoulders and shared lanes. Named routes: San Francisco Bay Trail.
Is there public land near Mill Valley?
73,840 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Mill Valley or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 756 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Mill Valley have?
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #22 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 Mill Valley 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 →