Zumaya Canyon
Park
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Abby Lanes · CC BY-SA 3.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Palos Verdes Estates
26% of Palos Verdes Estates’ 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. 20 miles of mapped trail cross Palos Verdes Estates, 4.3 per square mile of land. 26% of Palos Verdes Estates’ land is conserved, about 785 acres.
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns · #29 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
26%
785 acres · of 4.8 sq mi of land
Trails
20 mi
4.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
556 ac
43 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.8 mi
3.5 mi lanes · 0.4 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Palos Verdes Estates?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Palos Verdes Estates have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Palos Verdes Estates is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #29 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 Palos Verdes Estates’ overall grade.
Conserved land26% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%ATrails4.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (20 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land43 acres of park per 1,000 residents (556 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 97%
Water is more than half of Palos Verdes Estates’ area (13 of 18 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 7%.
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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Coronel Plaza
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
785 conserved acres
26% of Palos Verdes Estates’ land. Water is left out: Palos Verdes Estates has 4.8 square miles of land and 12.9 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Palos Verdes Estates’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city784 ac
Local Park · 641 acLocal Conservation Area · 89 acLocal Other or Unknown · 53 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palos Verdes Estates City Parkland Local Park | Town or city | 407 | Open |
| Palos Verdes Golf Club and City Parkland Local Park | Town or city | 211 | Restricted |
| Palos Verdes Shoreline Preserve Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 89 | Open |
| Bluff Cove Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 28 | Open |
| Palos Verdes Estates Stable and City Parkland Local Park | Town or city | 20 | Open |
| RAT Beach / Malaga Cove Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| Lunada Bay Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Bluff Cove North Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 3 | Closed |
| Palos Verdes Estates City Hall and Parkland Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Bluff Cove South Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 1 | Closed |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
5 places to go in Palos Verdes Estates
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Palos Verdes Estates
3 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Waterfalls in Palos Verdes Estates
1 waterfall without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in Palos Verdes Estates
Valkyrie View
DirectionsTrails & water
6 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.2 miUnpaved · 18.1 mi
Boundary Trail1.8 mi
Palos Verdes Cross Country Course1.5 mi
Apsley Trail. aka Palos Verdes Loop Trail Segments 74–770.7 mi
Valmonte Trail0.3 mi
Bluff Cove Trail0.3 mi
Red Tail Sand Trap Trail0.1 mi
Biking & sports
3.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.5 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
112Tennis
21Basketball
9Baseball
6Multi-sport
3Soccer
3Equestrian
2Beach volleyball
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 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 Palos Verdes Estates: 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) | 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) | 65 | 65 | 67 | 69 | 71 | 74 | 78 | 80 | 79 | 75 | 70 | 65 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 3.4 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 2.3 |
August is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 3.4 inches fall in February, the wettest month. The climate in Palos Verdes Estates →
Next door
Palos Verdes Estates and its neighbors
Palos Verdes Estates 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palos Verdes Estates | 26% | 4.3 | 43 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Rancho Palos Verdes | 22% | 4.0 | 35 | 98% | A+ |
| Rolling Hills Estates | 16% | 4.7 | 16 | 99% | A+ |
| Torrance | 3% | 0.5 | 3 | 97% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Palos Verdes Estates
How much of Palos Verdes Estates is conserved land?
26% 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 Palos Verdes Estates’ trails?
Zumaya Canyon and Coronel Plaza don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Palos Verdes Estates?
3.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.5 of painted or protected lanes and 0.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Palos Verdes Estates?
5,566 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Palos Verdes Estates or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 556 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Palos Verdes Estates have?
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #29 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 Palos Verdes Estates 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 →