Rancho Corral de Tierra
Managed by National Park Service
861 acres9.4 mi of trail
Alta Vista TrailSan Vicente TrailFarallone Road Trail
Dogs usually limited
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Public domain · Public domainA+Outdoors
Outdoors in Montara
More than half of Montara’s land is conserved: 53%
53% of Montara’s land is conserved, about 1,294 acres. 14 miles of mapped trail cross Montara, 3.7 per square mile of land. Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park.
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns · #4 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
53%
1,294 acres · of 3.9 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
3.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
973 ac
333 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.7 mi
0.7 mi lanes
Highest peak
1,870 ft
Montara Mountain North Peak
What kind of outdoors town is Montara?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Montara have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Montara is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #4 of 847 in California. All four inputs put Montara near the top nationally; conserved land ranks highest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Montara’s overall grade.
Conserved land53% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%A+Trails3.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (14 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land333 acres of park per 1,000 residents (973 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13AParks 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)#4 of 847
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 Rancho Corral de Tierra, with 9.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
San Francisco Peninsula Watershed
Managed by San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
299 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Montara State Beach
Managed by California Department of Parks and Recreation
2 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
1,294 conserved acres
53% of Montara’s land. Who manages Montara’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
National Park Service863 ac
County326 ac
State parks97 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits27 ac
Other or Unknown Federal Land8 ac
National Recreation Area · 855 acLocal Resource Management Area · 301 acState Park · 91 acPrivate Agricultural · 27 acLocal Park · 25 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Gate National Recreation Area National Recreation Area | National Park Service | 855 | Open |
| SFPUC Peninsula Watershed Local Resource Management Area | County | 301 | Restricted |
| Montara State Beach State Park | State parks | 91 | Open |
| Ocean View Farms Private Agricultural | Land trusts & nonprofits | 27 | Restricted |
| San Pedro Valley Park Local Park | County | 25 | Open |
Things to do
7 places to go in Montara
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Montara
Montara State Beach
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Montara
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in Montara
Montara
DirectionsPeaks in Montara
Montara Mountain North Peak1,870 ft elevation · In San Francisco Peninsula Watershed
DirectionsPeak Mountain1,788 ft elevation
DirectionsSouth Peak1,788 ft elevation · In Rancho Corral de Tierra
DirectionsMontara Knob1,598 ft elevation · In Rancho Corral de Tierra
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.6 miHorses · 1.6 miUnpaved · 0.6 mi
Alta Vista Trail1.5 mi
San Vicente Trail0.8 mi
Farallone Road Trail0.5 mi
Biking & sports
0.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.7 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
1Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Montara: 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 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.7 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 57 | 58 | 60 | 62 | 64 | 67 | 69 | 71 | 71 | 69 | 62 | 57 |
| Rain (in) | 5.7 | 5.7 | 4.3 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 1.4 | 3.1 | 6.2 |
July is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and September the warmest (highs of 71 °F). 6.2 inches fall in December, the wettest month. The climate in Montara →
Next door
Montara and its neighbors
Montara 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montara | 53% | 3.7 | 333 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Moss Beach | 30% | 5.5 | 159 | 99%+ | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Montara
Where can I hike in Montara?
The longest trail networks: Rancho Corral de Tierra, 9.4 miles; San Francisco Peninsula Watershed, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Montara is conserved land?
53% 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 Montara’s trails?
Rancho Corral de Tierra and San Francisco Peninsula Watershed don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Montara?
0.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.7 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Montara?
16,033 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Montara or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 973 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Montara have?
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #4 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 Montara 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 →