Mojave Desert Land Trust
Managed by Mojave Desert Land Trust
622 acres7.4 mi of trail
Elk TrailEagles Nest
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Toglenn · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Yucca Valley
Yucca Valley has 88 miles of mapped trails, 2.2 for every square mile of land
1,228 acres are parks and preserves, 56 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Mojave Desert Land Trust (7.4 mi), Brehm Park (0.5 mi). 6% of Yucca Valley’s land is conserved, about 1,596 acres.
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns · #252 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
1,596 acres · of 39.8 sq mi of land
Trails
88 mi
2.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,228 ac
56 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
54%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
4,370 ft
South Park Peak
What kind of outdoors town is Yucca Valley?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Yucca Valley have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Yucca Valley is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #252 of 847 in California. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Yucca Valley’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%B+Trails2.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (88 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4APark land56 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,228 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home54% 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 84%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 70%
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 Mojave Desert Land Trust, with 7.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Burns Piñon Ridge Reserve
Managed by University of California, Natural Reserve System
274 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 11 parks & preserves
Mojave Desert Land Trust622 acres · 7.4 mi of trail · Mojave Desert Land Trust
Brehm Park12 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsEssig Park10 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsMachris Park5 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsHi Desert Park5 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsBurns Piñon Ridge Reserve274 acres · University of California, Natural Reserve System
Community Center Park10 acres
DirectionsDesert Christ Park5 acres
DirectionsYouth Sports Park3 acres
DirectionsParadise Park3 acres
Triangle Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
1,596 conserved acres
6% of Yucca Valley’s land. Who manages Yucca Valley’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits1,528 ac
Other state land300 ac
National Park Service197 ac
Town or city192 ac
Other or Unknown Federal Land3 ac
Private Conservation · 905 acUnknown Easement · 623 acState Conservation Area · 300 acNational Park · 196 acLocal Park · 168 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joshua Tree Foothills Project Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 623 | Open |
| Burns Piñon Ridge Reserve State Conservation Area | Other state land | 300 | Closed |
| Black Mesa Significant Ecological Area Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 280 | Open |
| Joshua Tree National Park National Park | National Park Service | 196 | Open |
| North Park Local Park | Town or city | 83 | Open |
| South Park Local Park | Town or city | 40 | Open |
| Yucca Valley Community Center Park Complex Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 18 | Open |
| Brehm Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Joshua Drive Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Machris Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
11 places to go in Yucca Valley
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Yucca Valley
7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Yucca Valley
South Park Peak4,370 ft elevation
DirectionsNorth Park Peak4,134 ft elevation
DirectionsBurnt Mountain3,812 ft elevation
DirectionsYucca Mesa3,698 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
25 named trails
Named trails
Unpaved · 9.8 mi
Elk Trail1.8 mi
North Park Peak Loop1.5 mi
Ben Mar Trail0.9 mi
Eagles Nest0.8 mi
Cheechaco Trail0.5 mi
Coyote Trail0.4 mi
Baker Trail0.4 mi
Kickapoo Trail0.3 mi
Bannock Trail0.2 mi
Acoma Trail0.2 mi
15 more trails
Geronimo Trail
0.2 miOnaga Trail
0.2 miWebb Trail
0.2 miBear Court
0.1 miCactus Canyon Trail
0.1 miSable Court
0.1 miBoundary Trail East
0.1 miCarlsbad Court
0.1 miJuarez Court
0.1 miSilver Mine Trail
0.1 miNugget Court
0.1 miTerry Court
0.1 miKalan Court
0.1 miVole Court
0.1 miPuente Court
0.1 miBiking & 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
16Tennis
12Baseball
7Pickleball
6Basketball
2Soccer
1Football
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Yucca Valley: 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) | 59 | 60 | 67 | 72 | 81 | 91 | 96 | 95 | 89 | 78 | 66 | 57 |
| Rain (in) | 2.6 | 2.4 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 1.3 |
June is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 96 °F). 2.6 inches fall in January, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 96 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Yucca Valley →
Next door
Yucca Valley and its neighbors
Yucca Valley 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yucca Valley | 6% | 2.2 | 56 | 54% | A− |
| Joshua Tree | 26% | 4.8 | 961 | 63% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Yucca Valley
Where can I hike in Yucca Valley?
The longest trail networks: Mojave Desert Land Trust, 7.4 miles; Brehm Park, 0.5 miles; Essig Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Yucca Valley is conserved land?
6% 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 Yucca Valley’s trails?
Mojave Desert Land Trust and Brehm Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Yucca Valley?
75,259 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Yucca Valley or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,229 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Yucca Valley have?
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #252 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 Yucca Valley 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 →