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
What kind of outdoors town is West Bishop?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
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.
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.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 3,912 | Open |
| Bulpitt Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Izaak Walton Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Inyo National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 3 | Open |
2 places to go in West Bishop
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
0.0 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.
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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.9 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.7 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 53 | 56 | 63 | 69 | 78 | 89 | 96 | 94 | 87 | 74 | 61 | 52 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.5 |
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 →
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.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Bishop | 70% | 5.3 | 1,536 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Bishop | 48% | 1.4 | 162 | 99%+ | 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.
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 →