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A+Outdoors
Outdoors in West Bishop

More than half of West Bishop’s land is conserved: 70%

70% of West Bishop’s land is conserved, about 3,915 acres. 46 miles of mapped trail cross West Bishop, 5.3 per square mile of land. 3,919 acres are parks and preserves, 1,536 per 1,000 residents.

Among the top 1% of U.S. towns · #1 of 847 in California. What drives it

Conserved land
70%
3,915 acres · of 8.8 sq mi of land
Trails
46 mi
5.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
3,919 ac
1,536 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
4,633 ft
Red Hill

What kind of outdoors town is West Bishop?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does West Bishop have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, West Bishop is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #1 of 847 in California. All four inputs put West Bishop near the top nationally; trail miles rank highest.

A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of West Bishop’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Among the top 1%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)#1 of 847
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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.

1
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk

Pick a walk

Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Izaak Walton Park

Park
6 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it

3,915 conserved acres

70% of West Bishop’s land. Who manages West Bishop’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

Town or city3,933 ac
U.S. Forest Service3 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 3,912 acLocal Park · 20 acNational Forest · 3 ac
The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
Local Other or Unknown
Town or city3,912Open
Bulpitt Park
Local Park
Town or city12Open
Izaak Walton Park
Local Park
Town or city9Open
Inyo National Forest
National Forest
U.S. Forest Service3Open
Things to do

2 places to go in West Bishop

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Peaks in West Bishop
Red Hill4,633 ft elevation
Directions
Biking & sports

0.0 miles of bike routes

Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.

Courts & fields
1Tennis
1Equestrian

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

When to get out

The best walking months in West Bishop: 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.910.811.913.114.214.714.513.612.411.210.19.6
High (°F)535663697889969487746152
Rain (in)0.80.70.40.20.20.20.20.10.10.30.30.5

August is the driest month (0.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 96 °F). 0.8 inches fall in January, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 96 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in West Bishop →

Next door

West Bishop and its neighbors

West Bishop has the most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.

TownConserved
of land
Trail mi
per sq mi
Park acres
per 1,000
Near a park
½ mile
Outdoors
West Bishop70%5.31,53699%+A+
Bishop48%1.416299%+A+

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in West Bishop

How much of West Bishop is conserved land?

70% 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 West Bishop’s trails?

Izaak Walton Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Is there public land near West Bishop?

170,903 acres of parks and open public land lie inside West Bishop or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 4,857 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does West Bishop have?

Among the top 1% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #1 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 West Bishop neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →