Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Visitor7 · CC BY-SA 3.0The biggest trail networks: Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument (13.8 mi), Civic Center Park (1.4 mi), Ironwood Park (0.8 mi). 7% of Palm Desert’s land is conserved, about 1,273 acres. 206 acres are parks and preserves, 4.0 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns · #425 of 847 in California. What drives it
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Palm Desert is ahead of 62% of U.S. towns, #425 of 847 in California. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
The longest trail network is Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument, with 13.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
7% of Palm Desert’s land. Who manages Palm Desert’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 395 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 319 | Open |
| Santa Rosa Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 275 | Open |
| Palm Desert Civic Center Park Local Park | Town or city | 51 | Open |
| Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research Center State Other or Unknown | Other state land | 51 | Restricted |
| The Living Desert Zoo & Gardens Local Park | Town or city | 36 | Open |
| Cahuilla Hills Park Local Park | Regional agency | 29 | Open |
| Freedom Park Local Park | Town or city | 24 | Open |
| Hovley Soccer Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 20 | Open |
| Cook Fields Sports Complex Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 19 | Open |
| Ironwood Park Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Plus 1 public pool without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Plus 6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
5 dog parks without a name on the map.
13 waterfalls without a name on the map.
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
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) | 10.1 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.9 | 14.4 | 14.2 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 9.9 |
| High (°F) | 70 | 73 | 80 | 86 | 93 | 102 | 107 | 106 | 101 | 90 | 78 | 69 |
| Rain (in) | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.6 |
June is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 107 °F). 0.9 inches fall in January, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 107 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Palm Desert →
Palm Desert has the second most mapped trails of the 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palm Desert | 7% | 2.1 | 4 | 50% | B |
| Indian Wells | 44% | 4.0 | 67 | 18% | A |
| Rancho Mirage | 31% | 1.3 | 5 | 40% | B+ |
| Thousand Palms | 44% | 1.3 | 242 | 59% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
The longest trail networks: Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument, 13.8 miles; Civic Center Park, 1.4 miles; Ironwood Park, 0.8 miles; Cahuilla Hills Park, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
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.
Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument and Civic Center Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
66 miles of bike routes are on the map: 53 of painted or protected lanes, 5.2 of off-road paths and 8.1 of shoulders and shared lanes.
45,801 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Palm Desert or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 207 of them inside the city line.
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #425 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.
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Palm Desert neighbors.
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 →