San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Preserve
Managed by County of San Diego
45 acres1.4 mi of trail
Solana Hills TrailHolmwood Canyon TrailRios Avenue Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Photo: rosalynn carmen · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Solana Beach
Solana Beach has 5.7 miles of mapped trails, 1.7 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Preserve (1.4 mi). 88% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 25 acres are parks and preserves, 1.9 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns · #443 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
58 acres · of 3.4 sq mi of land
Trails
5.7 mi
1.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
25 ac
1.9 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
88%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
15 mi
9.6 mi lanes · 2.4 mi paths
Highest peak
109 ft
Flower Hill
What kind of outdoors town is Solana Beach?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Solana Beach have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Solana Beach is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns, #443 of 847 in California. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Solana Beach’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%B−Trails1.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4APark land1.9 acres of park per 1,000 residents (25 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home88% 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 60%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 48%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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 San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Preserve, with 1.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Fletcher Cove Beach Park
Park
3 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
58 conserved acres
3% of Solana Beach’s land. Who manages Solana Beach’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife38 ac
Town or city15 ac
Other or Unknown Local Government4 ac
State parks2 ac
State Conservation Area · 38 acLocal Park · 15 acUnknown Easement · 4 acState Park · 2 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 38 | Open |
| Fletcher Cove Beach Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Tide Beach Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| La Colonia Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Cardiff State Beach State Park | State parks | 2 | Open |
Things to do
13 places to go in Solana Beach
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Solana Beach
Tabletops
DirectionsPlus 1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Solana Beach
7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Solana Beach
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Peaks in Solana Beach
Flower Hill109 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Solana Beach
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Community gardens in Solana Beach
1 community garden without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.5 miUnpaved · 0.8 mi
Solana Hills Trail0.3 mi
Holmwood Canyon Trail0.1 mi
Rios Avenue Trail0.1 mi
Biking & sports
15 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
9.6 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
2.4 mi
off-road bike paths
3.1 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
42Tennis
17Basketball
6Pickleball
4Baseball
2Soccer
1Skate park
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Solana Beach: 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) | 10.2 | 11.0 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.8 | 14.3 | 14.1 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 10.0 |
| High (°F) | 66 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 70 | 73 | 76 | 75 | 73 | 70 | 65 |
| Rain (in) | 2.1 | 2.5 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.6 |
August is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and the warmest (highs of 76 °F). 2.5 inches fall in February, the wettest month. The climate in Solana Beach →
Next door
Solana Beach and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Solana Beach
Where can I hike in Solana Beach?
The longest trail networks: San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Preserve, 1.4 miles; La Colonia Park, 0.3 miles; Fletcher Cove Beach Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Solana Beach is conserved land?
3% 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 Solana Beach’s trails?
San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Preserve and La Colonia Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Solana Beach?
15 miles of bike routes are on the map: 9.6 of painted or protected lanes, 2.4 of off-road paths and 3.1 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Solana Beach?
22,595 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Solana Beach or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 25 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Solana Beach have?
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #443 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 Solana Beach 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 →