Hirschman's Pond
Managed by Nevada City
37 acres0.7 mi of trail
Hirschman's Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Frank Schulenburg · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Nevada City
Nevada City has 6.8 miles of mapped trails, 3.0 for every square mile of land
94% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Hirschman's Pond (0.7 mi). 102 acres are parks and preserves, 32 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns · #150 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
101 acres · of 2.2 sq mi of land
Trails
6.8 mi
3.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
102 ac
32 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
94%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.2 mi
0.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Nevada City?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Nevada City have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Nevada City is ahead of 93% of U.S. towns, #150 of 847 in California. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, conserved land lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Nevada City’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails3.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land32 acres of park per 1,000 residents (102 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home94% 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 93%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 82%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A to 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 Hirschman's Pond, with 0.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
101 conserved acres
7% of Nevada City’s land. Who manages Nevada City’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city90 ac
County10 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 38 acLocal Recreation Area · 36 acLocal Park · 26 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deer Creek Tribute Trail Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 36 | Open |
| Hirschman's Pond Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 36 | Open |
| Pioneer Park Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Tobiassen Park Local Park | County | 10 | Open |
| Stiles Mill Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Nevada City
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Nevada City
1 public pool without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Nevada City
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Campgrounds in Nevada City
Inn Town Campground
DirectionsTrails & water
7 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.6 miUnpaved · 3.6 mi
Nisenan Loop Trail (Lower Trail)0.7 mi
Hirschman's Trail0.5 mi
Nisenan Loop Trail (Ditch Trail)0.3 mi
Deer Creek Tribute Trail0.2 mi
Little Deer Creek Trail0.2 mi
Miner's Trail0.1 mi
Providence Mine Spur Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
5Baseball
2Tennis
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →9 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 9 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Nevada TheatreBuilding · listed 1973
About itMartin Luther Marsh HouseBuilding · listed 1973
About itNational Exchange HotelBuilding · listed 1973
About itNevada City Firehouse No. 2Building · listed 1974
About itOtt's Assay OfficeBuilding · listed 1975
About itAaron A. Sargent HouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itNevada BreweryBuilding · listed 1985
About itNevada City Downtown Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1985
About itNevada City Free Public LibraryBuilding · listed 1990
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Nevada City: May and June
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) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 53 | 54 | 58 | 63 | 72 | 81 | 89 | 88 | 83 | 72 | 59 | 51 |
| Rain (in) | 9.8 | 9.4 | 8.5 | 4.6 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 2.8 | 5.8 | 11.0 |
July is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 11.0 inches fall in December, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Nevada City →
Questions about parks and trails in Nevada City
Where can I hike in Nevada City?
The longest trail networks: Hirschman's Pond, 0.7 miles; Pioneer Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Nevada City is conserved land?
7% 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 Nevada City’s trails?
Hirschman's Pond and Pioneer Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Nevada City?
0.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Nevada City?
51,513 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Nevada City or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 102 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Nevada City have?
Ahead of 93% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #150 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 Nevada City 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 →