Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Ranchomirageca · CC BY-SA 4.032 miles of mapped trail cross Rancho Mirage, 1.3 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument (8.4 mi). 40% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 67% of U.S. towns · #384 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, Rancho Mirage is ahead of 67% of U.S. towns, #384 of 847 in California. Conserved land holds 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 8.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
31% of Rancho Mirage’s land. Who manages Rancho Mirage’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 22 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magnesia Spring Ecological Reserve State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 2,506 | Open |
| Santa Rosa Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 1,293 | Open |
| Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1,169 | Open |
| Whitewater Park Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| Blixseth Mountain Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Magnesia Falls Neighborhood Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Unnamed site - City of Rancho Mirage Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Wolfson Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Bloch Cancer Survivors Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
3 waterfalls without a name on the map.
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
5 peaks 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 1 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 | 79 | 85 | 92 | 102 | 106 | 106 | 100 | 90 | 78 | 68 |
| Rain (in) | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.6 |
June is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 106 °F). 0.9 inches fall in January, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 106 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Rancho Mirage →
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rancho Mirage | 31% | 1.3 | 5 | 40% | B+ |
| Cathedral City | 8% | 0.9 | 2 | 56% | B− |
| Palm Desert | 7% | 2.1 | 4 | 50% | B |
| Palm Springs | 32% | 1.3 | 8 | 62% | 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, 8.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
31% 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 Blixseth Mountain Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
38 miles of bike routes are on the map: 34 of painted or protected lanes, 1.1 of off-road paths and 3.0 of shoulders and shared lanes.
39,072 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Rancho Mirage or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 89 of them inside the city line.
Ahead of 67% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #384 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 Rancho Mirage 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 →