Seascape Park
Managed by Santa Cruz County
7 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Cristiano Tomás · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Rio del Mar
16% of Rio del Mar’s land is conserved: 306 acres
93% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Seascape Park (0.7 mi). 2.0 miles of mapped trail cross Rio del Mar, 0.7 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns · #205 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
16%
306 acres · of 3.0 sq mi of land
Trails
2.0 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
210 ac
23 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
93%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.5 mi
0.3 mi lanes · 0.3 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Rio del Mar?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Rio del Mar have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Rio del Mar is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #205 of 847 in California. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Rio del Mar’s overall grade.
Conserved land16% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land23 acres of park per 1,000 residents (210 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home93% 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 88%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 76%
Water is 35% of Rio del Mar’s area (2 of 5 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 10%.
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 Seascape Park, with 0.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Managed by National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
967 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Seascape Uplands Preserve
Managed by Center for Natural Lands Management
135 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Manresa State Beach
Nature preserve
24 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 7 parks & preserves
Seascape Park7 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · Santa Cruz County
DirectionsManresa State Beach24 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsHidden Beach Park9 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Santa Cruz, County of
DirectionsHidden Beach Park (ASD)4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Aptos Sanitation District
DirectionsMonterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary967 acres · National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
DirectionsSeascape Uplands Preserve135 acres · Center for Natural Lands Management
DirectionsTrestle at Hidden Beach13 acres · Santa Cruz County
DirectionsWho protects it
306 conserved acres
16% of Rio del Mar’s land. Water is left out: Rio del Mar has 3.0 square miles of land and 1.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Rio del Mar’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits141 ac
State fish & wildlife77 ac
State parks50 ac
County40 ac
Private Conservation · 135 acState Conservation Area · 73 acState Park · 50 acLocal Park · 40 acConservation Easement · 5 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Center For Natural Lands Management Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 134 | Open |
| Santa Cruz Long-Toed Salamander Ecological Reserve State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 73 | Closed |
| Seacliff State Beach State Park | State parks | 38 | Open |
| Hidden Beach Park Local Park | County | 18 | Open |
| Trestle at Hidden Beach Local Park | County | 13 | Open |
| Manresa State Beach State Park | State parks | 12 | Open |
| Seascape Park Local Park | County | 9 | Open |
| Unnamed site - Center for Natural Lands Management Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 2 | Open |
| Unknown Local Conservation Area | Land trusts & nonprofits | 2 | Open |
| Seascape Uplands Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1 | Open |
Things to do
21 places to go in Rio del Mar
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Rio del Mar
Beer Can Beach
DirectionsRio Del Mar Beach
DirectionsSeascape Beach Resort
DirectionsSeascape Beach Resort
DirectionsPlus 5 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Rio del Mar
Hidden Beach Park PlaygroundIn Hidden Beach Park (ASD)
DirectionsSeascape Park PlaygroundIn Seascape Park
DirectionsPlus 2 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Rio del Mar
7 scenic views without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Rio del Mar
Camp Saint FrancisCamp SEA Lab
DirectionsBiking & sports
0.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.3 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
16Tennis
1Beach volleyball
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Rio del Mar: 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) | 9.9 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 14.1 | 14.7 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 61 | 61 | 63 | 66 | 68 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 73 | 71 | 65 | 60 |
| Rain (in) | 6.0 | 5.6 | 4.2 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 3.0 | 5.7 |
July is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and September the warmest (highs of 73 °F). 6.0 inches fall in January, the wettest month. The climate in Rio del Mar →
Next door
Rio del Mar and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rio del Mar | 16% | 0.7 | 23 | 93% | A |
| La Selva Beach | 18% | 2.2 | 179 | 88% | A+ |
| Seacliff | 27% | 5.5 | 40 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Aptos | 11% | 1.9 | 79 | 94% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Rio del Mar
Where can I hike in Rio del Mar?
The longest trail networks: Seascape Park, 0.7 miles; Manresa State Beach, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Rio del Mar is conserved land?
16% 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 Rio del Mar’s trails?
Seascape Park and Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Rio del Mar?
0.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.3 of painted or protected lanes and 0.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Rio del Mar?
26,565 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Rio del Mar or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 210 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Rio del Mar have?
Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #205 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 Rio del Mar 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 →