Veterans Park
Managed by City of Shafter
16 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Brittneal · CC BY-SA 4.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Shafter
Shafter has 73 miles of mapped trails, 1.9 for every square mile of land
89% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 62 acres are parks and preserves, 2.9 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns · #534 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
40 acres · of 38.7 sq mi of land
Trails
73 mi
1.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
62 ac
2.9 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
89%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.0 mi
1.0 mi lanes
What kind of outdoors town is Shafter?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Shafter have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Shafter is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns, #534 of 847 in California. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Shafter’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%C−Trails1.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (73 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4APark land2.9 acres of park per 1,000 residents (62 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home89% of residents within a half mile of a park · CA 91% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 50%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 37%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. 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 Veterans Park, with 0.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 12 parks & preserves
Veterans Park16 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · City of Shafter
DirectionsFlight Park3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · City of Shafter
Community Park10 acres · City of Shafter
DirectionsMannel Park7 acres
DirectionsRodriguez Park6 acres
DirectionsKirschenmann Park5 acres · City of Shafter
DirectionsFarm Park3 acres · City of Shafter
Train Park3 acres · City of Shafter
Forest Park1 acres · City of Shafter
Triangle Park1 acres · City of Shafter
DirectionsStringham Park1 acres · City of Shafter
DirectionsShafter Town Square1 acres · City of Shafter
DirectionsWho protects it
40 conserved acres
under 1% of Shafter’s land. Who manages Shafter’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city26 ac
Regional agency14 ac
Local Park · 35 acLocal Recreation Area · 5 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veteran's Park Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Rodriguez Park Local Park | Regional agency | 6 | Open |
| Kirchenmann Park Local Park | Regional agency | 6 | Open |
| Mannel Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Flight Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Activity Center Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Richland Activity Center Pool Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Skate Park Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 1 | Open |
Things to do
28 places to go in Shafter
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Shafter
Shafter Aquatic Center
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Shafter
Shafter Child Development Center Playground
DirectionsSpray ParkIn Veterans Park
DirectionsTrain Park PlaygroundIn Train Park
DirectionsPlus 21 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Shafter
2 dog parks without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Shafter
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Biking & sports
1.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.0 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
31Basketball
7Tennis
6Baseball
3Football
2Soccer
2Pickleball
1Skate park
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Shafter: April and May
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 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.2 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 59 | 65 | 71 | 77 | 85 | 93 | 99 | 98 | 92 | 82 | 68 | 59 |
| Rain (in) | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 1.2 |
August is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 99 °F). 1.4 inches fall in January, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 99 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Shafter →
Questions about parks and trails in Shafter
Where can I hike in Shafter?
The longest trail networks: Veterans Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Shafter is conserved land?
under 1% 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 Shafter’s trails?
Veterans Park and Community Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Shafter?
1.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.0 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Shafter?
5,480 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Shafter or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 62 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Shafter have?
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #534 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 Shafter 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 →