Photo: Bobak Ha'Eri · CC BY 3.0Taft has 18 miles of mapped trails, 1.2 for every square mile of land
86% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 40 acres are parks and preserves, 5.7 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns · #529 of 847 in California. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Taft?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Taft have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Taft is ahead of 50% of U.S. towns, #529 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
A Street Park
Taft City Park
34 conserved acres
under 1% of Taft’s land. Who manages Taft’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rails to Trails Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 20 | Open |
| Taft Community Center and Skate Park Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 5 | Open |
| Taft Heights Park (A Street Park) Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 5 | Open |
| Civic Center Park Local Park | Regional agency | 3 | Open |
0.2 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.
1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
The best walking months in Taft: 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 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 13.5 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 59 | 64 | 69 | 76 | 83 | 92 | 97 | 97 | 91 | 81 | 68 | 60 |
| Rain (in) | 1.1 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.7 |
July is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and the warmest (highs of 97 °F). 1.2 inches fall in February, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 97 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Taft →
Taft and its neighbors
Taft has the 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taft | under 1% | 1.2 | 6 | 86% | B− |
| South Taft | 1% | 3.0 | 2 | 88% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Taft
How much of Taft 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 Taft’s trails?
Taft State Park and A Street Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Taft?
0.2 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Taft?
50,379 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Taft or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,037 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Taft have?
Ahead of 50% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #529 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 Taft 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 →