Bishop Ranch Regional Open Space Preserve
Managed by East Bay Regional Parks District
76 acres0.8 mi of trail
Redtail Hawk Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Norris Canyon
24% of Norris Canyon’s land is conserved: 563 acres
75 acres are parks and preserves, 74 per 1,000 residents. 92% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Bishop Ranch Regional Open Space Preserve (0.8 mi).
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
24%
563 acres · of 3.6 sq mi of land
Trails
1.4 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
75 ac
74 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
92%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.2 mi
1.2 mi lanes
Highest peak
1,854 ft
Wiedemann Hill
What kind of outdoors town is Norris Canyon?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Norris Canyon have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Norris Canyon is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Norris Canyon’s overall grade.
Conserved land24% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4BPark land74 acres of park per 1,000 residents (75 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home92% 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 91%
LessMore
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 Bishop Ranch Regional Open Space Preserve, with 0.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
563 conserved acres
24% of Norris Canyon’s land. Who manages Norris Canyon’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional agency634 ac
Local Conservation Area · 484 acUnknown Easement · 150 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 78 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop Ranch Regional Open Space Preserve Local Conservation Area | Regional agency | 484 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Norris Canyon
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in Norris Canyon
Wiedemann Hill1,854 ft elevation
DirectionsHarlan Hill
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Redtail Hawk Trail0.5 mi
Biking & sports
1.2 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.2 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
When to get out
The best walking months in Norris Canyon: 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 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 56 | 59 | 63 | 67 | 72 | 79 | 84 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 63 | 55 |
| Rain (in) | 4.9 | 4.7 | 3.8 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 2.5 | 4.9 |
July is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and August the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.9 inches fall in December, the wettest month. The climate in Norris Canyon →
Next door
Norris Canyon and its neighbors
Norris Canyon has the second 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norris Canyon | 24% | 0.4 | 74 | 92% | A |
| San Ramon | 22% | 2.2 | 8 | 98% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Norris Canyon
Where can I hike in Norris Canyon?
The longest trail networks: Bishop Ranch Regional Open Space Preserve, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Norris Canyon is conserved land?
24% 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 Norris Canyon’s trails?
Bishop Ranch Regional Open Space Preserve doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Norris Canyon?
1.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.2 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Norris Canyon?
46,199 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Norris Canyon or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 75 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Norris Canyon have?
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Norris Canyon 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 →