Palmer Lake Regional Recreation Area
Park
50 acres1.5 mi of trail
New Santa Fe Regional TrailPalmer Lake Trail
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Palmer Lake
Palmer Lake has 5.8 miles of mapped trails, 1.9 for every square mile of land
152 acres are parks and preserves, 58 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Palmer Lake Regional Recreation Area (1.5 mi), Santa Fe Open Space (1.4 mi). 7% of Palmer Lake’s land is conserved, about 147 acres.
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns · #54 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it
Conserved land
7%
147 acres · of 3.1 sq mi of land
Trails
5.8 mi
1.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
152 ac
58 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
85%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.8 mi
0.8 mi paths
Highest peak
7,602 ft
Ben Lomand Mountain
Lakes & rivers
1
1 beach
What kind of outdoors town is Palmer Lake?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Palmer Lake have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Palmer Lake is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #54 of 159 in Colorado. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Palmer Lake’s overall grade.
Conserved land7% of the land · typical CO town 7% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · CO 1.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land58 acres of park per 1,000 residents (152 acres) · CO 14 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home85% of residents within a half mile of a park · CO 97% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 91%
LessMore
Colorado towns of 2,500+ (159)Ahead of 66%
Colorado towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 7%; the U.S., 4%), so Palmer Lake’s 7% is ahead of 54% of Colorado towns, while its trails per square mile lead 66% of them.
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.
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 Palmer Lake Regional Recreation Area, with 1.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Santa Fe Open Space
Managed by El Paso County Parks
68 acres1.4 mi of trail
Far ViewBurlington
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
147 conserved acres
7% of Palmer Lake’s land. Who manages Palmer Lake’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County160 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits66 ac
Town or city1 ac
Local Park · 83 acUnknown Easement · 81 acOther Easement · 63 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 74 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palmer Lake Regional Rec. Area Local Park | County | 46 | Open |
| Palmer Lake Regional Recreation Area Local Park | County | 36 | Open |
| Field Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Palmer Lake
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Palmer Lake
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Palmer Lake
1 playground without a name on the map.
Fishing spots in Palmer Lake
1 fishing spot without a name on the map.
Peaks in Palmer Lake
Ben Lomand Mountain7,602 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
5 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.1 miUnpaved · 5.0 mi
New Santa Fe Regional Trail2.2 mi
Palmer Lake Trail0.6 mi
Far View0.6 mi
Burlington0.5 mi
La Deux Réservoirs Trail0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Colorado Front Range TrailBike route
2.2 miCourts & fields
9Pickleball
2Basketball
2Tennis
1Soccer
1Baseball
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Peggy Hill CabinBuilding · listed 2025
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Palmer Lake: May and June
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) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 44 | 44 | 51 | 57 | 66 | 77 | 82 | 79 | 73 | 61 | 51 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 0.9 | 0.9 | 2.0 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 3.1 | 2.7 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 1.0 |
February is the driest month (0.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.1 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Palmer Lake →
Next door
Palmer Lake and its neighbors
Palmer Lake 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palmer Lake | 7% | 1.9 | 58 | 85% | A |
| Monument | 1% | 0.8 | 11 | 93% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Palmer Lake
Where can I hike in Palmer Lake?
The longest trail networks: Palmer Lake Regional Recreation Area, 1.5 miles; Santa Fe Open Space, 1.4 miles; Glen Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Palmer Lake is conserved land?
7% of its land, against a typical 7% for a Colorado town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Palmer Lake’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Palmer Lake Regional Recreation Area (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Palmer Lake?
0.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.8 of off-road paths. Named routes: Colorado Front Range Trail.
Is there public land near Palmer Lake?
52,997 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Palmer Lake or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 152 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Palmer Lake have?
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #54 of 159 in Colorado. 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 Palmer Lake 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 →