Anna Jean Cummings Park
Park
82 acres3.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Roofus at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Soquel
Soquel has 6.8 miles of mapped trails, 1.5 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Anna Jean Cummings Park (3.2 mi). 87% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4% of Soquel’s land is conserved, about 125 acres.
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns · #314 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
125 acres · of 4.6 sq mi of land
Trails
6.8 mi
1.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
119 ac
11 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
87%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.3 mi
5.1 mi lanes · 0.2 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Soquel?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Soquel have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Soquel is ahead of 76% of U.S. towns, #314 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 Soquel’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails1.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (7 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4APark land11 acres of park per 1,000 residents (119 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home87% 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 76%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 63%
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 Anna Jean Cummings Park, with 3.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 7 parks & preserves
Anna Jean Cummings Park82 acres · 3.2 mi of trail
DirectionsWillowbrook Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsHeart of Soquel Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · County of Santa Cruz Parks Department
DirectionsThe Farm Park and Community Center5 acres
DirectionsSoquel Creek Linear Parkway2 acres
DirectionsSoquel Lions Park2 acres · County of Santa Cruz
DirectionsRodeo Creek Gulch1 acres
Who protects it
125 conserved acres
4% of Soquel’s land. Who manages Soquel’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County114 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits9 ac
Local Park · 97 acUnknown Easement · 12 acPrivate Conservation · 8 acLocal Recreation Area · 6 acConservation Easement · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anna Jean Cummings Park Local Park | County | 93 | Open |
| Fairway Drive Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 8 | Closed |
| The Farm Park & Community Center Local Recreation Area | County | 6 | Open |
| Willowbrook Park Local Park | County | 2 | Open |
| Heart of Soquel Park Local Park | County | 2 | Open |
Things to do
13 places to go in Soquel
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Soquel
1 public pool without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Soquel
Richard Vessey Park PlaygroundIn Richard Vessey Park
DirectionsSoquel Lions Park PlaygroundIn Soquel Lions Park
DirectionsWillowbrook Park PlaygroundIn Willowbrook Park
DirectionsPlus 5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Soquel
1 peak without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Soquel
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Community gardens in Soquel
1 community garden without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.0 mi
Eight Verse Trail Loop0.3 mi
Biking & sports
5.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
20Tennis
7Baseball
2Basketball
1Football
1Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Soquel: 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 Soquel →
Next door
Soquel and its neighbors
Soquel has the second most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Questions about parks and trails in Soquel
Where can I hike in Soquel?
The longest trail networks: Anna Jean Cummings Park, 3.2 miles; Willowbrook Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Soquel is conserved land?
4% 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 Soquel’s trails?
Anna Jean Cummings Park and The Farm Park and Community Center don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Soquel?
5.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.1 of painted or protected lanes and 0.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Soquel?
34,772 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Soquel or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 119 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Soquel have?
Ahead of 76% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #314 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 Soquel 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 →