Photo: Always dreamin · CC BY-SA 4.0Shasta Lake has 47 miles of mapped trails, 4.3 for every square mile of land
48 acres are parks and preserves, 4.7 per 1,000 residents. 77% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 54% of U.S. towns · #499 of 847 in California. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Shasta Lake?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Shasta Lake have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Shasta Lake is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns, #499 of 847 in California. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
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 Margaret Polf Park, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area - Shasta Unit
47 conserved acres
1% of Shasta Lake’s land. Who manages Shasta Lake’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Margaret Polf Park Local Park | Town or city | 25 | Open |
| Bizz Johnson Ball Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Shasta National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 5 | Open |
| Clair Engle Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Wynne Price Park and Baseball Field Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Akard Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Blue Canyon Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
10 places to go in Shasta Lake
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
9 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
1 named trail
8.3 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.
May is the best month for walking in Shasta Lake
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) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 55 | 59 | 64 | 70 | 80 | 89 | 98 | 96 | 91 | 78 | 62 | 54 |
| Rain (in) | 7.5 | 7.9 | 7.5 | 3.1 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 2.2 | 4.5 | 8.2 |
July is the driest month (0.1 in) and the warmest (highs of 98 °F). 8.2 inches fall in December, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 98 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Shasta Lake →
Shasta Lake and its neighbors
Shasta Lake has the second 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shasta Lake | 1% | 4.3 | 5 | 77% | B− |
| Redding | 7% | 2.6 | 27 | 84% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Shasta Lake
Where can I hike in Shasta Lake?
The longest trail networks: Margaret Polf Park, 0.4 miles; Clair Engle Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Shasta Lake is conserved land?
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 Shasta Lake’s trails?
Margaret Polf Park and Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area - Shasta Unit don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Shasta Lake?
8.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 7.4 of painted or protected lanes and 0.9 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Shasta Lake?
54,997 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Shasta Lake or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 105 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Shasta Lake have?
Ahead of 54% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #499 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 Shasta Lake 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 →