Leroy Jackson Park
Park
78 acres1.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: JMBeggs'nCali · CC BY-SA 4.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Ridgecrest
Ridgecrest has 35 miles of mapped trails, 1.7 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Leroy Jackson Park (1.3 mi). 172 acres are parks and preserves, 6.1 per 1,000 residents. 61% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns · #537 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
129 acres · of 20.9 sq mi of land
Trails
35 mi
1.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
172 ac
6.1 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
61%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
33 mi
26 mi lanes · 4.6 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Ridgecrest?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ridgecrest have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ridgecrest is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns, #537 of 847 in California. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ridgecrest’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%CTrails1.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (35 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4APark land6.1 acres of park per 1,000 residents (172 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13CParks close to home61% of residents within a half mile of a park · CA 91% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 50%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 37%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. 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 Leroy Jackson Park, with 1.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 7 parks & preserves
Leroy Jackson Park78 acres · 1.3 mi of trail
DirectionsUpjohn Park6 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsPetroglyph Park12 acres
DirectionsStauffer Park11 acres
Freedom Park6 acres · City of Ridgecrest
DirectionsPearson Park4 acres
Hellmer's Park3 acres
Who protects it
129 conserved acres
1% of Ridgecrest’s land. Who manages Ridgecrest’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County97 ac
Town or city43 ac
Local Park · 129 acLocal Recreation Area · 12 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leroy Jackson Park Local Park | County | 80 | Open |
| Petroglyph Park Local Park | County | 18 | Open |
| Kerr McGee Baseball Fields Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Stauffer Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Upjohn Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Freedom Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| James M. Pearson Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Hellmers Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
Things to do
29 places to go in Ridgecrest
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Ridgecrest
2 public pools without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Ridgecrest
18 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks in Ridgecrest
Kern County Dog ParkIn Leroy Jackson Park
DirectionsPicnic areas in Ridgecrest
6 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Community gardens in Ridgecrest
Herbal Zen GardenRidgecrest Community Garden
DirectionsRidgecrest Community Garden
DirectionsTrails & water
7 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 8.7 miHorses · 4.8 miUnpaved · 19.9 mi
RC701.0 mi
RC740.9 mi
RC40.7 mi
RC960.6 mi
RC750.5 mi
College Heights Parking Lot0.1 mi
College Heights Boulevard (RC10)0.1 mi
Biking & sports
33 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
26 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
4.6 mi
off-road bike paths
2.6 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
29Tennis
20Basketball
9Baseball
5Softball
3Football
2Soccer
1Skate park
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Ridgecrest
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) | 10.0 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 14.6 | 14.3 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.2 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 59 | 64 | 71 | 78 | 87 | 97 | 103 | 102 | 95 | 83 | 69 | 58 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.5 |
June is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 103 °F). 0.9 inches fall in February, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 103 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Ridgecrest →
Questions about parks and trails in Ridgecrest
Where can I hike in Ridgecrest?
The longest trail networks: Leroy Jackson Park, 1.3 miles; Upjohn Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ridgecrest is conserved land?
1% 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 Ridgecrest’s trails?
Leroy Jackson Park and Petroglyph Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Ridgecrest?
33 miles of bike routes are on the map: 26 of painted or protected lanes, 4.6 of off-road paths and 2.6 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Ridgecrest?
93,058 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ridgecrest or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,021 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Ridgecrest have?
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #537 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 Ridgecrest 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 →