Yamato Scrub Preserve
Nature preserve
215 acres5.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Boca Raton
Boca Raton has 34 miles of mapped trails, 1.2 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Yamato Scrub Preserve (5.5 mi), Spanish River Park (1.4 mi), Hillsboro El Rio Park South (1.4 mi). 86% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 6% of Boca Raton’s land is conserved, about 1,081 acres.
Ahead of 77% of U.S. towns · #121 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
1,081 acres · of 29.2 sq mi of land
Trails
34 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,168 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
86%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
104 mi
89 mi lanes · 14 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
6
3 beaches · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Boca Raton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Boca Raton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Boca Raton is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns, #121 of 638 in Florida. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Boca Raton’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical FL town 3% · U.S. 4%BTrails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (34 mi) · FL 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,168 acres) · FL 6 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home86% of residents within a half mile of a park · FL 70% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 77%
LessMore
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 81%
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Boca Raton ranks #222 on Outdoors.
Water is 8% of Boca Raton’s area (2 of 32 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 5%.
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 Yamato Scrub Preserve, with 5.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Hillsboro El Rio Park South
Park
24 acres1.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Blazing Star Reserve
Managed by City of Boca Raton
28 acres1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Pondhawk Natural Area
Nature preserve
76 acres0.9 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
Countess de Hoernle Park
Park
131 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 30 parks & preserves
Yamato Scrub Preserve215 acres · 5.5 mi of trail
DirectionsSpanish River Park100 acres · 1.4 mi of trail
DirectionsHillsboro El Rio Park South24 acres · 1.4 mi of trail
DirectionsPatch Reef Park51 acres · 1.2 mi of trail
DirectionsRed Reef Park63 acres · 1.1 mi of trail
DirectionsBlazing Star Reserve28 acres · 1 mi of trail · City of Boca Raton
DirectionsPondhawk Natural Area76 acres · 0.9 mi of trail
DirectionsCountess de Hoernle Park131 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsJames A. Rutheford Park12 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsBoca Tierra Park6 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsMizner Park3 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsLake Wyman Park45 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsSouth Beach Park22 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · City of Boca Raton
DirectionsMeadows Park & Pool11 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsHillsboro El Rio Park North8 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsPalmetto Dune Park5 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
University Woodlands Park12 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsSerenoa Glade Preserve11 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsSouth Inlet Park10 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsGeorge Snow Park5 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsSanborn Square1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsSugar Sand Park134 acres
DirectionsMemorial Park17 acres
DirectionsSand Pine Park9 acres
Estancia Nature Walk6 acres
Silver Palm Park4 acres
DirectionsDeerfield Island Park1 acres
Pine Breeze Park1 acres
J. Patrick Lynch Golden Fig Park1 acres · Boca Raton City Government
Greenway Park1 acres
Who protects it
1,081 conserved acres
6% of Boca Raton’s land. Water is left out: Boca Raton has 29.2 square miles of land and 2.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Boca Raton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city674 ac
County307 ac
Other state land105 ac
Local Park · 385 acState Conservation Area · 218 acLocal Other or Unknown · 190 acLocal Conservation Area · 167 acState Other or Unknown · 93 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yamato Scrub Natural Area State Conservation Area | County | 218 | Open |
| Sugar Sand Local Park | Town or city | 130 | Open |
| Florida Atlantic University Ecological Site State Other or Unknown | Other state land | 93 | Open |
| Spanish River Park Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 84 | Open |
| Pondhawk Natural Area Local Conservation Area | County | 76 | Open |
| Patch Reef Local Park | Town or city | 52 | Open |
| Red Reef Park Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 50 | Open |
| Hillsboro El Rio Local Park | Town or city | 37 | Open |
| Cypress Knee Slough Preserve Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 35 | Open |
| Patch Reef Trail Local Park | Town or city | 26 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
44 places to go in Boca Raton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Boca Raton
Boca Beach Club
DirectionsPlus 2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Boca Raton
Pirate's CoveIn Patch Reef Park
DirectionsScience PlaygroundIn Sugar Sand Park
Directions32 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Dog parks in Boca Raton
Bark Park Dog BeachIn Spanish River Park
DirectionsMizner Bark Dog Park
DirectionsMizner Court Resident Dog Park
DirectionsBoat launches in Boca Raton
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Boca Raton
4 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.8 miHorses · 0.5 miUnpaved · 4.8 mi
Lake Trail0.5 mi
Santa Fe Trail0.2 mi
Trail to Beach0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
104 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
89 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
14 mi
off-road bike paths
0.5 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
273Tennis
61Basketball
37Baseball
28Soccer
16Pickleball
14Beach volleyball
9Football
5Tracks
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →10 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Boca Raton Old City HallBuilding · listed 1980
About itFlorida East Coast Railway Passenger StationBuilding · listed 1980
About itAdministration BuildingsBuilding · listed 1985
About itFred C. Aiken HouseBuilding · listed 1992
About itLavender HouseBuilding · listed 1995
About itSeaboard Air Line Dining Car-#6113Structure · listed 2001
About itSeaboard Air Line Lounge Car-6603Structure · listed 2001
About itHouse at 1240 Cocoanut RoadBuilding · listed 2001
About itBoca Raton Fire Engine No. 1Structure · listed 2001
About itPearl City National Register Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2023
About itWhen to get out
April is the best month for walking in Boca Raton
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) | 10.7 | 11.2 | 11.9 | 12.8 | 13.4 | 13.8 | 13.6 | 13.1 | 12.3 | 11.5 | 10.8 | 10.5 |
| High (°F) | 76 | 77 | 80 | 83 | 86 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 89 | 86 | 81 | 78 |
| Rain (in) | 2.7 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 5.5 | 8.6 | 6.7 | 7.9 | 8.0 | 6.4 | 3.9 | 2.8 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and August the warmest (highs of 91 °F). 8.6 inches fall in June, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 91 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Boca Raton →
Next door
Boca Raton and its neighbors
Boca Raton has the most mapped trails of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boca Raton | 6% | 1.2 | 12 | 86% | A− |
| Deerfield Beach | 7% | 1.1 | 8 | 86% | B+ |
| Delray Beach | 4% | 1.0 | 6 | 83% | B |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Boca Raton
Where can I hike in Boca Raton?
The longest trail networks: Yamato Scrub Preserve, 5.5 miles; Spanish River Park, 1.4 miles; Hillsboro El Rio Park South, 1.4 miles; Patch Reef Park, 1.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Boca Raton is conserved land?
6% of its land, against a typical 3% for a Florida town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Boca Raton’s trails?
Yamato Scrub Preserve and Spanish River Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Boca Raton?
104 miles of bike routes are on the map: 89 of painted or protected lanes, 14 of off-road paths and 0.5 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Boca Raton?
7,650 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Boca Raton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,260 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Boca Raton have?
Ahead of 77% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #121 of 638 in Florida. 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 Boca Raton 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 →