Malabar Scrub Sanctuary
Nature preserve
399 acres7.8 mi of trail
Red TrailYellow Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Malabar
Malabar has 1,448 acres of parks, 472 for every 1,000 residents
24 miles of mapped trail cross Malabar, 2.3 per square mile of land. 21% of Malabar’s land is conserved, about 1,426 acres. The biggest trail networks: Malabar Scrub Sanctuary (7.8 mi), Jordan Scrub Sanctuary (5.3 mi), Malabar Scrub Sanctuary West (4.9 mi).
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns · #18 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Conserved land
21%
1,426 acres · of 10.7 sq mi of land
Trails
24 mi
2.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,448 ac
472 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
67%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.7 mi
4.7 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Malabar?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Malabar have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Malabar is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #18 of 638 in Florida. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Malabar’s overall grade.
Conserved land21% of the land · typical FL town 3% · U.S. 4%ATrails2.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (24 mi) · FL 0.4 · U.S. 0.4APark land472 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,448 acres) · FL 6 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home67% 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 96%
LessMore
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 97%
Water is 19% of Malabar’s area (3 of 13 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 17%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A 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 Malabar Scrub Sanctuary, with 7.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Jordan Scrub Sanctuary
Nature preserve
755 acres5.3 mi of trail
White TrailBlue Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Malabar Scrub Sanctuary West
Nature preserve
185 acres4.9 mi of trail
Blue TrailRed TrailBriar Creek BoulevardBlue Trail Connector+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Cameron Preserve
Nature preserve
97 acres3.6 mi of trail
Yellow Trail WestYellow Trail EastGreen Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
All 7 parks & preserves
Malabar Scrub Sanctuary399 acres · 7.8 mi of trail
DirectionsJordan Scrub Sanctuary755 acres · 5.3 mi of trail
DirectionsMalabar Scrub Sanctuary West185 acres · 4.9 mi of trail
DirectionsCameron Preserve97 acres · 3.6 mi of trail
DirectionsMalabar Park19 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsSand Hill Trail Head2 acres
DirectionsThomas M. Eschenburg Memorial Park1 acres
Who protects it
1,426 conserved acres
21% of Malabar’s land. Water is left out: Malabar has 10.7 square miles of land and 2.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Malabar’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County1,314 ac
Town or city112 ac
State Conservation Area · 756 acLocal Conservation Area · 656 acLocal Park · 12 acState Recreation Area · 2 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Scrub Sanctuary State Conservation Area | County | 756 | Open |
| Malabar Scrub Sanctuary Local Conservation Area | County | 558 | Open |
| Cameron Preserve Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 98 | Open |
| Boundary Canal Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Fern Creek Crossing Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Sand Hill Trailhead State Recreation Area | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Thomas M Echenburg Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
7 places to go in Malabar
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Malabar
3 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Malabar
Playground at Malabar ParkIn Malabar Park
DirectionsPicnic areas in Malabar
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Disc golf in Malabar
Malabar Disc Golf ParkHours: sunrise-sunset · Town of Malabar
DirectionsTrails & water
10 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 8.8 miUnpaved · 4.2 mi
Red Trail4.0 mi
White Trail3.5 mi
Blue Trail2.5 mi
Yellow Trail West1.1 mi
Yellow Trail East1.0 mi
Briar Creek Boulevard0.7 mi
Green Trail0.3 mi
Blue Trail Connector0.3 mi
Yellow Trail0.2 mi
Quarterman Trail0.1 mi
Biking & sports
4.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.7 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Tennis
1Baseball
1Soccer
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Malabar: 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) | 10.5 | 11.2 | 11.9 | 12.8 | 13.5 | 13.9 | 13.7 | 13.1 | 12.3 | 11.4 | 10.7 | 10.4 |
| High (°F) | 71 | 73 | 76 | 80 | 84 | 87 | 89 | 89 | 87 | 83 | 78 | 73 |
| Rain (in) | 2.7 | 2.2 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 3.8 | 7.3 | 6.3 | 6.9 | 7.3 | 4.8 | 2.5 | 2.4 |
February is the driest month (2.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 7.3 inches fall in June, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Malabar →
Next door
Malabar and its neighbors
Malabar has the second 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malabar | 21% | 2.3 | 472 | 67% | A+ |
| Grant-Valkaria | 24% | 0.3 | 756 | 70% | A |
| Palm Bay | 3% | 0.6 | 6 | 46% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Malabar
Where can I hike in Malabar?
The longest trail networks: Malabar Scrub Sanctuary, 7.8 miles; Jordan Scrub Sanctuary, 5.3 miles; Malabar Scrub Sanctuary West, 4.9 miles; Cameron Preserve, 3.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Malabar is conserved land?
21% 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 Malabar’s trails?
Malabar Scrub Sanctuary and Jordan Scrub Sanctuary don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Malabar?
4.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.7 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Malabar?
41,419 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Malabar or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,448 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Malabar have?
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #18 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 Malabar 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 →