Minerva Club of Santa Maria · Photo: ELEAZARCH · CC BY-SA 4.099% of residents live within a half mile of a park in Santa Maria
The biggest trail networks: Minami Park (0.7 mi), Grogan Park (0.5 mi). 362 acres are parks and preserves, 3.3 per 1,000 residents. 11 miles of mapped trail cross Santa Maria, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns · #472 of 847 in California. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Santa Maria?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Santa Maria have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Santa Maria is ahead of 56% of U.S. towns, #472 of 847 in California. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Santa Maria ranks #337 on Outdoors.
Park acres per resident are where Santa Maria trails most U.S. towns: 3.3 per 1,000 against 12.6 typical, since 111,390 people share 362 acres.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Minami Park, with 0.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Grogan Park
Jim May Park
All 31 parks & preserves
359 conserved acres
2% of Santa Maria’s land. Who manages Santa Maria’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Maria Fair Park State Park | Other state land | 38 | Open |
| Preisker Park Local Park | Town or city | 38 | Open |
| Santa Maria Cemetery Local Historic or Cultural Area | Regional agency | 35 | Open |
| Pioneer Park - Santa Maria Public Airport District Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 33 | Open |
| Adam Park/Minami Park Local Park | Town or city | 28 | Open |
| Waller Park Local Park | County | 23 | Open |
| Alice Threfts Park Local Park | Town or city | 23 | Open |
| Jim May Park Local Park | Town or city | 20 | Open |
| Hagerman Sports Complex Local Park | Town or city | 19 | Open |
| Rotary Centennial Park Local Park | Town or city | 14 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
38 places to go in Santa Maria
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Plus 2 public pools without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
32 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
1 community garden without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
86 miles of bike routes
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.
1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
The best walking months in Santa Maria: 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) | 10.0 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 64 | 65 | 67 | 69 | 71 | 75 | 77 | 78 | 78 | 76 | 70 | 64 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 3.2 | 2.8 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 2.3 |
July is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and September the warmest (highs of 78 °F). 3.2 inches fall in February, the wettest month. The climate in Santa Maria →
Santa Maria and its neighbors
Santa Maria has the most mapped trails of the 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Maria | 2% | 0.5 | 3 | 99% | B |
| Orcutt | 10% | 0.5 | 22 | 85% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Santa Maria
Where can I hike in Santa Maria?
The longest trail networks: Minami Park, 0.7 miles; Grogan Park, 0.5 miles; Jim May Park, 0.3 miles; Westgate Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Santa Maria is conserved land?
2% 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 Maria’s trails?
Minami Park and Grogan Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Santa Maria?
86 miles of bike routes are on the map: 68 of painted or protected lanes, 11 of off-road paths and 7.2 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Santa Maria?
10,766 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Santa Maria or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 365 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Santa Maria have?
Ahead of 56% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #472 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 Maria neighbors.
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 →