Sand to Snow National Monument
Managed by United States Forest Service;Bureau of Land Management
1,044 acres7.4 mi of trail
Pacific Crest TrailPomander Place
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail sign
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Whitewater
Whitewater has 23 miles of mapped trails, 2.4 for every square mile of land
16% of Whitewater’s land is conserved, about 995 acres. The biggest trail networks: Sand to Snow National Monument (7.4 mi). 20% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
16%
995 acres · of 9.9 sq mi of land
Trails
23 mi
2.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
6 ac
5.1 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
20%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Whitewater?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Whitewater have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Whitewater is ahead of 62% of U.S. towns. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Whitewater’s overall grade.
Conserved land16% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%ATrails2.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (23 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land5.1 acres of park per 1,000 residents (6 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13CParks close to home20% of residents within a half mile of a park · CA 91% · U.S. 72%C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 62%
LessMore
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 Sand to Snow National Monument, with 7.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
995 conserved acres
16% of Whitewater’s land. Who manages Whitewater’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation931 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits80 ac
Joint10 ac
State Other or Unknown · 931 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 54 acPrivate Conservation · 26 acUnknown · 10 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed site - Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy State Other or Unknown | State conservation | 931 | Open |
| Sand to Snow National Monument Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 43 | Open |
| Joshua Tree National Park Linkage Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 26 | Open |
| Unnamed site - Friends of the Desert Mountains Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 10 | Open |
| Unnamed site - Coachella Valley Conservation Commission Unknown | Joint | 10 | Open |
Trails & water
3 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Horses · 2.3 miUnpaved · 1.3 mi
Pacific Crest Trail2.6 mi
Tamarack Service Rd2.1 mi
Pomander Place0.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
When to get out
The best walking months in Whitewater: 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) | 10.1 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.9 | 14.4 | 14.2 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.3 | 9.9 |
| High (°F) | 66 | 68 | 73 | 79 | 86 | 96 | 101 | 102 | 95 | 85 | 74 | 65 |
| Rain (in) | 2.8 | 2.9 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 1.8 |
June is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and August the warmest (highs of 102 °F). 2.9 inches fall in February, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 102 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Whitewater →
Next door
Whitewater and its neighbors
Whitewater has the second 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitewater | 16% | 2.4 | 5 | 20% | B |
| Palm Springs | 32% | 1.3 | 8 | 62% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Whitewater
Where can I hike in Whitewater?
The longest trail networks: Sand to Snow National Monument, 7.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Whitewater is conserved land?
16% 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 Whitewater’s trails?
Sand to Snow National Monument doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Whitewater?
38,221 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Whitewater or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,324 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Whitewater have?
Ahead of 62% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Whitewater 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 →