Spring Lake Park
Park
301 acres8.2 mi of trail
Canyon Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Wulfnoth of English Wikipedia · CC BY 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Santa Rosa
Santa Rosa has 69 miles of mapped trails, 1.6 for every square mile of land
96% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 11% of Santa Rosa’s land is conserved, about 3,068 acres. The biggest trail networks: Spring Lake Park (8.2 mi), Howarth Memorial Park (5 mi), A Place To Play (3.2 mi).
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns · #247 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
11%
3,068 acres · of 42.6 sq mi of land
Trails
69 mi
1.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,307 ac
7.4 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
96%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
114 mi
78 mi lanes · 35 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
10
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Santa Rosa?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Santa Rosa have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Santa Rosa is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #247 of 847 in California. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Santa Rosa’s overall grade.
Conserved land11% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (69 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4APark land7.4 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,307 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 84%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 71%
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Santa Rosa ranks #142 on Outdoors.
Park acres per resident are where Santa Rosa trails most U.S. towns: 7.4 per 1,000 against 12.6 typical, since 179,437 people share 1,307 acres.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ 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 Spring Lake Park, with 8.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Skyhawk Park
Park
26 acres1.8 mi of trail
Skyhawk Park Nature WalkSkyhawk Park Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 74 parks & preserves
Spring Lake Park301 acres · 8.2 mi of trail
DirectionsHowarth Memorial Park138 acres · 5 mi of trail
DirectionsA Place To Play75 acres · 3.2 mi of trail
DirectionsSkyhawk Park26 acres · 1.8 mi of trail
DirectionsFinley Community Park21 acres · 1.7 mi of trail
DirectionsGalvan Community Park28 acres · 1.5 mi of trail
DirectionsYouth Community Park23 acres · 1.4 mi of trail
DirectionsSkyhawk Open Space22 acres · 1.4 mi of trail
DirectionsNagasawa Community Park19 acres · 1.2 mi of trail
Bayer Park6 acres · 1.1 mi of trail · City of Santa Rosa
DirectionsTrione-Annadel State Park194 acres · 1 mi of trail
DirectionsNorthwest Community Park36 acres · 1 mi of trail
DirectionsDoyle Park25 acres · 1 mi of trail
DirectionsJulliard Park8 acres · 0.9 mi of trail · City of Santa Rosa
DirectionsParktrail Open Space35 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
Southwest Community Park19 acres · 0.8 mi of trail · City Of Santa Rosa
DirectionsRincon Valley Community Park18 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsRicon Ridge Park5 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · Santa Rosa City
Finali Park3 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · City of Santa Rosa
Roseland Creek Community Park19 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · City of Santa Rosa
DirectionsOwls Nest Open Space12 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Directions4th & Farmers Creek Trail7 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsStrawberry School Park5 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Bicentennial Park5 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Mesquite Park5 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
Tanglewood Park9 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Frances Nielsen Ranch Park5 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Peterson Lane Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsRinconda Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Steele Lane Park3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsDutch Flohr Park3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsFremont Park2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Old Courthouse Square1 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsOlive Park1 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Franklin Park12 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsMartin Luther King Junior Park5 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsPrince Memorial Greenway3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Airfield Park3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Santa Rosa
DirectionsColgan Creek Park3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsPeter Springs Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
North Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Taylor Mountain Regional Park and Open Space Preserve57 acres · Sonoma County Regional Parks
DirectionsUpper Brush Creek Neighborhood Park9 acres
Hidden Valley Park8 acres
Jacobs Park8 acres
DirectionsJennings Park7 acres
DirectionsCoffey Park7 acres
Pioneer Park5 acres · City of Santa Rosa
DirectionsOaklake Green Park5 acres · City of Santa Rosa
DirectionsJack London School Park4 acres
Live Oak Park4 acres
J.X. Wilson School Park4 acres
Creekside Park4 acres
Harvest Park4 acres · City of Santa Rosa
DirectionsBellevue Ranch Park3 acres
DirectionsFlat Rock Park3 acres
Dauenhauer Park3 acres
Pear Blossom Park3 acres
Copperfield Park2 acres
Westgate Park2 acres
DirectionsBrush Creek Park2 acres
Village Green Park1 acres
Burbank Playground1 acres
DirectionsFir Ridge Park1 acres
Proctor Terrace1 acres
Hibiscus GreenWay1 acres
Matanzas Park1 acres
BellFlower Greenway1 acres
DeTurk Round Barn Park1 acres
DirectionsDeMeo Park1 acres
Birdsfoot/Wolfberry Greenway1 acres
Cook Park1 acres
Humboldt Park1 acres
South Davis Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
3,068 conserved acres
11% of Santa Rosa’s land. Who manages Santa Rosa’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city2,079 ac
Regional agency1,462 ac
County347 ac
Regional Water Districts210 ac
State parks198 ac
State fish & wildlife96 ac
Other state land37 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 1,584 acConservation Easement · 995 acLocal Park · 893 acUnknown Easement · 479 acState Park · 198 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 95 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brown Farm Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 458 | Closed |
| Alpha Farm Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 405 | Closed |
| Kelly Farm Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 382 | Closed |
| Spring Lake Regional Park Local Park | County | 337 | Open |
| Scwa Local Other or Unknown | Regional Water Districts | 208 | Restricted |
| Trione-Annadel State Park State Park | State parks | 198 | Open |
| Bennett Valley Municipal Golf Course Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 149 | Restricted |
| Howarth Park Local Park | Town or city | 112 | Open |
| Stone Farm Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 109 | Closed |
| Santa Rosa Plain Vernal Pool Ecological Reserve State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 91 | Closed |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
166 places to go in Santa Rosa
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Santa Rosa
Greenway Playgym
DirectionsLand of Imagination Play AreaIn Howarth Memorial Park
DirectionsPear Blossom ParkIn Pear Blossom Park
DirectionsRope Climbing TowerIn Howarth Memorial Park
Directions136 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Dog parks in Santa Rosa
DeTurk Dog Park
DirectionsDog Park at A Place to PlayIn A Place To Play
DirectionsFinali Dog ParkIn Finali Park
DirectionsHappy Tails Dog Park
DirectionsHarvest Dog ParkIn Harvest Park
DirectionsRincon Valley Community Park Dog ParkIn Rincon Valley Community Park
DirectionsPlus 4 dog parks without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Santa Rosa
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Santa Rosa
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Picnic areas in Santa Rosa
Birthday Party AreaIn Howarth Memorial Park
DirectionsPlus 11 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Community gardens in Santa Rosa
Bayer GardenIn Bayer Park · City of Santa Rosa
DirectionsStony Point Community Garden
DirectionsPlus 3 community gardens without a name on the map.
Trails & water
13 named trails and 10 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 4.3 miHorses · 1.4 miUnpaved · 17.5 mi
Laguna Trail0.8 mi
Channel Trail0.7 mi
John Beckmeyer Trail0.7 mi
Vietnam Veteran Memorial Trail0.5 mi
Canyon Trail0.4 mi
Lower Johnson Ridge Trail0.3 mi
R.I.P. RJD0.3 mi
Skyhawk Park Nature Walk0.2 mi
Forestview Creek Trail0.2 mi
Cobblestone Trail0.2 mi
3 more trails
Meadowlark Field Loop
0.1 miHeadhunter Trail
0.1 miSkyhawk Park Trail
0.1 miBiking & sports
114 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
78 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
35 mi
off-road bike paths
0.5 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
115Basketball
106Tennis
37Baseball
28Soccer
13Pickleball
5Volleyball
5Football
4Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →16 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 16 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
McDonald MansionBuilding · listed 1974
About itHotel La RoseBuilding · listed 1978
About itWasserman HouseBuilding · listed 1979
About itPark ApartmentsBuilding · listed 1979
About itOld Post OfficeBuilding · listed 1979
About itCnopius HouseBuilding · listed 1982
About itW. H. Lumsden HouseBuilding · listed 1983
About itGables, TheBuilding · listed 1984
About itSweet HouseBuilding · listed 1988
About itRosenburg's Department StoreBuilding · listed 1994
About itWilliam Hood HouseBuilding · listed 1998
About it4 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Santa Rosa: 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) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 58 | 62 | 65 | 69 | 75 | 81 | 84 | 84 | 84 | 77 | 65 | 58 |
| Rain (in) | 6.1 | 6.2 | 4.5 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 3.4 | 6.7 |
July is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and August the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 6.7 inches fall in December, the wettest month. The climate in Santa Rosa →
Next door
Santa Rosa and its neighbors
Santa Rosa has the most mapped trails of the 3 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 Rosa | 11% | 1.6 | 7 | 96% | A− |
| Sebastopol | 11% | 3.0 | 17 | 96% | A |
| Larkfield-Wikiup | 23% | 1.9 | 72 | 97% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Santa Rosa
Where can I hike in Santa Rosa?
The longest trail networks: Spring Lake Park, 8.2 miles; Howarth Memorial Park, 5 miles; A Place To Play, 3.2 miles; Skyhawk Park, 1.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Santa Rosa is conserved land?
11% 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 Rosa’s trails?
Spring Lake Park and Howarth Memorial Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Santa Rosa?
114 miles of bike routes are on the map: 78 of painted or protected lanes, 35 of off-road paths and 0.5 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Santa Rosa?
21,900 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Santa Rosa or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,314 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Santa Rosa have?
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #247 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 Rosa 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 →