New Brighton State Beach
Managed by California Department of Parks and Recreation
89 acres2.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Seacliff
27% of Seacliff’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 4.0 miles of mapped trail cross Seacliff, 5.5 per square mile of land. 27% of Seacliff’s land is conserved, about 132 acres.
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns · #28 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
27%
132 acres · of 0.7 sq mi of land
Trails
4.0 mi
5.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
132 ac
40 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
3.1 mi
1.7 mi lanes · 1.4 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Seacliff?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Seacliff have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Seacliff is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #28 of 847 in California. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Seacliff’s overall grade.
Conserved land27% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%ATrails5.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land40 acres of park per 1,000 residents (132 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · CA 91% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Among the top 1%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 97%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 New Brighton State Beach, with 2.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Managed by National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
132 conserved acres
27% of Seacliff’s land. Who manages Seacliff’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks131 ac
County1 ac
State Park · 131 acLocal Other or Unknown · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Brighton State Beach State Park | State parks | 72 | Open |
| Seacliff State Beach State Park | State parks | 60 | Open |
| Seacliff Village Park (McGregor) Local Other or Unknown | County | 1 | Open |
Things to do
8 places to go in Seacliff
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Seacliff
Potbelly Beach
DirectionsPlus 2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Seacliff
Seacliff Village Park PlaygroundIn Seacliff Village Park
DirectionsScenic views in Seacliff
The Lookout
DirectionsPicnic areas in Seacliff
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Campgrounds in Seacliff
1 campground without a name on the map.
Community gardens in Seacliff
1 community garden without a name on the map.
Biking & sports
3.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.7 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
1.4 mi
off-road bike paths
When to get out
The best walking months in Seacliff: 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 | 62 | 63 | 65 | 67 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 72 | 71 | 65 | 60 |
| Rain (in) | 5.7 | 5.5 | 4.0 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 2.9 | 5.4 |
July is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and September the warmest (highs of 72 °F). 5.7 inches fall in January, the wettest month. The climate in Seacliff →
Next door
Seacliff and its neighbors
Seacliff has the second most mapped trails of the 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seacliff | 27% | 5.5 | 40 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Capitola | 12% | 1.4 | 13 | 99%+ | A |
| Rio del Mar | 16% | 0.7 | 23 | 93% | 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 Seacliff
Where can I hike in Seacliff?
The longest trail networks: New Brighton State Beach, 2.9 miles; Seacliff Village Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Seacliff is conserved land?
27% 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 Seacliff’s trails?
New Brighton State Beach and Seacliff Village Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Seacliff?
3.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.7 of painted or protected lanes and 1.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Seacliff?
28,136 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Seacliff or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 132 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Seacliff have?
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #28 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 Seacliff 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 →