Centennial Park
Managed by City of Santa Ana
84 acres2.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Coolsheep2 · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Santa Ana
96% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Santa Ana
The biggest trail networks: Centennial Park (2.6 mi), Carl Thornton Park (1.4 mi), Santiago Park (1.3 mi). 645 acres are parks and preserves, 2.1 per 1,000 residents. 16 miles of mapped trail cross Santa Ana, 0.6 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 57% of U.S. towns · #464 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
650 acres · of 27.4 sq mi of land
Trails
16 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
645 ac
2.1 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
96%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
50 mi
26 mi lanes · 20 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Santa Ana?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Santa Ana have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Santa Ana is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns, #464 of 847 in California. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Santa Ana’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (16 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land2.1 acres of park per 1,000 residents (645 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home96% 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 57%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 45%
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Santa Ana ranks #333 on Outdoors.
Park acres per resident are where Santa Ana trails most U.S. towns: 2.1 per 1,000 against 12.6 typical, since 315,586 people share 645 acres.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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 Centennial Park, with 2.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Carl Thornton Park
Managed by City of Santa Ana
35 acres1.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Santiago Park
Park
33 acres1.3 mi of trail
Santiago Creek Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Santa Ana Zoo at Prentice Park
Park
19 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Bomo Koral Park
Managed by City of Santa Ana
9 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Windsor Park
Park
10 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 37 parks & preserves
Centennial Park84 acres · 2.6 mi of trail · City of Santa Ana
DirectionsCarl Thornton Park35 acres · 1.4 mi of trail · City of Santa Ana
DirectionsSantiago Park33 acres · 1.3 mi of trail
DirectionsSanta Ana Zoo at Prentice Park19 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
DirectionsBomo Koral Park9 acres · 0.6 mi of trail · City of Santa Ana
Rosita Park10 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsMabury Park6 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsWindsor Park10 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Portola Park8 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsMorrison Park5 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsMemorial Park14 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · City of Santa Ana
DirectionsLillie King Park11 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Madison Park7 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsCesar Chavez Campesino Park6 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsJerome Park20 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsAdams Park6 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · City of Santa Ana
DirectionsSanta Anita Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsSpurgeon Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsEl Salvador Park8 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsCabrillo Park8 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Santa Ana
DirectionsSandpointe Park6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Edna Park3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsFisher Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Delhi Park11 acres
DirectionsRiverview Park8 acres
DirectionsHeritage Park6 acres
Griset Park6 acres
Flower Street Park3 acres
DirectionsBirch Park2 acres · City of Santa Ana
DirectionsSegerstrom Triangle2 acres
Angels Community Park2 acres · City of Santa Ana
DirectionsWilliam W Eldridge Park1 acres
Sasscer Park1 acres
DirectionsMaple Occidental Exercise Park1 acres · City of Santa Ana
Saddleback View Park1 acres
Fairview Triangle1 acres
French Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
650 conserved acres
4% of Santa Ana’s land. Who manages Santa Ana’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city433 ac
County216 ac
Joint2 ac
Local Park · 372 acLocal Recreation Area · 266 acLocal Other or Unknown · 12 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 51 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Ana River Trail Local Recreation Area | County | 216 | Open |
| Centennial Regional Park Local Park | Town or city | 84 | Open |
| Santiago Creek Park Local Park | Town or city | 32 | Open |
| Carl Thornton Park Local Park | Town or city | 32 | Open |
| Valley High School Field Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 25 | Restricted |
| Jerome Park Local Park | Town or city | 21 | Open |
| Prentice Park Local Park | Town or city | 19 | Open |
| Santa Ana Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
| Spurgeon Intermediate School Field Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 12 | Restricted |
| Windsor Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
107 places to go in Santa Ana
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Santa Ana
91 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Picnic areas in Santa Ana
16 picnic areas without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Santiago Creek Trail0.6 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
50 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
20 mi
off-road bike paths
3.8 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
132Basketball
80Tennis
40Baseball
35Pickleball
26Soccer
14Football
13Volleyball
6Tracks
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →23 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Howe-Waffle House and Carriage HouseBuilding · listed 1977
About itOrange County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1977
About itSmith-Tuthill Funeral ParlorsBuilding · listed 1978
About itSpurgeon BlockBuilding · listed 1979
About itGeorge W. Minter HouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itWalkers Orange County TheaterBuilding · listed 1982
About itBuilders Exchange BuildingBuilding · listed 1982
About itSanta Ana City HallBuilding · listed 1982
About itGeorge L. Wright HouseBuilding · listed 1982
About itSantora BuildingBuilding · listed 1982
About itRankin BuildingBuilding · listed 1983
About itSouthern Counties Gas Co.Building · listed 1983
About it11 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Santa Ana: 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) | 70 | 69 | 71 | 73 | 75 | 78 | 83 | 85 | 84 | 80 | 75 | 69 |
| Rain (in) | 2.7 | 3.0 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 2.2 |
August is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 3.0 inches fall in February, the wettest month. The climate in Santa Ana →
Next door
Santa Ana and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Irvine123 miOrange55 miTustin20 miCosta Mesa19 miSanta Ana16 miFountain Valley9.5 miGarden Grove2.7 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Ana | 4% | 0.6 | 2 | 96% | B |
| Tustin | 4% | 1.8 | 4 | 97% | B+ |
| Orange | 9% | 2.1 | 13 | 91% | A |
| Garden Grove | 1% | 0.2 | 1 | 71% | C |
| Fountain Valley | 12% | 1.0 | 13 | 99%+ | A |
| Costa Mesa | 9% | 1.2 | 7 | 96% | A− |
| Irvine | 22% | 1.9 | 12 | 99% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Santa Ana
Where can I hike in Santa Ana?
The longest trail networks: Centennial Park, 2.6 miles; Carl Thornton Park, 1.4 miles; Santiago Park, 1.3 miles; Santa Ana Zoo at Prentice Park, 0.9 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Santa Ana is conserved land?
4% 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 Santa Ana’s trails?
Centennial Park and Carl Thornton Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Santa Ana?
50 miles of bike routes are on the map: 26 of painted or protected lanes, 20 of off-road paths and 3.8 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Santa Ana?
32,327 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Santa Ana or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 645 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Santa Ana have?
Ahead of 57% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #464 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 Santa Ana 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 →