1
Mount Burdell Open Space Preserve
Nature preserve
1,533 acres23 mi of trail
Dwarf Oak TrailFieldstone TrailOld Quarry TrailMichako TrailEagle Rim Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Outdoors · Novato
Novato, CA parks, trails & bike paths
About 45% of Novato is conserved land, roughly 7,967 acres. There are about 82 miles of mapped trails, and the biggest networks are in Mount Burdell Open Space Preserve (23 mi), Rush Creek Open Space Preserve (3.6 mi), and Deer Island Preserve (3.4 mi).
Conserved land, trails, parks and bike routes in Novato, measured from OpenStreetMap and USGS data.
At a glance
Novato outdoors
Conserved land
45%
7,967 of 17,820 acres
Trails
82 mi
2.9 mi per sq mi · 60 on conserved land
Parks & preserves
29
152 conserved acres per 1,000 residents
Bike routes
35.5 mi
30.3 mi lanes · 5.2 mi off-road paths
Conserved land is a share of the whole town area. Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number or a place below to zoom in© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Parks & preserves with trails
Ranked by mapped trail miles. Directions go to the nearest marked trailhead or public parking.
2
Rush Creek Open Space Preserve
Managed by Marin County Parks
233 acres3.6 mi of trail
Bahia TrailLucky Aces TrailBlue Oak TrailSeaDogs delightThorne's Run
Dog rules not recorded
3
Deer Island Preserve
Managed by Marin County Parks
172 acres3.4 mi of trail
Deer Island LoopDe Borba TrailRussel Antonio TrailArnold BaptisteLevee Access Trail
Dog rules not recorded
4
Ohair Park
Managed by City of Novato
85 acres2.7 mi of trail
Reuben Kaehler Memorial TrailLittle Mountain Trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
5
Bahia Wetlands
Nature preserve
63 acres2.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
6
Hamilton Wetlands
Nature preserve
653 acres1.8 mi of trail
Hamilton Field Path
Dogs allowedMapped in OpenStreetMap
DirectionsTo the parking lot
7
Miwok Park
Managed by Novato Parks, Recreation and Community Services
39 acres1.8 mi of trail
Miwok Trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo Miwok Park
8
Petaluma River Marsh Wildlife Area
Managed by California Department of Fish and Game
324 acres1.1 mi of trail
Bahia Trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
All 29 parks & preserves
Showing 1–10 of 29 parks & preserves
Mount Burdell Open Space Preserve1,533 acres · 23 mi of trail
Rush Creek Open Space Preserve233 acres · 3.6 mi of trail · Marin County Parks
Deer Island Preserve172 acres · 3.4 mi of trail · Marin County Parks
Ohair Park85 acres · 2.7 mi of trail · City of Novato
Bahia Wetlands63 acres · 2.4 mi of trail
Hamilton Wetlands653 acres · 1.8 mi of trail
Miwok Park39 acres · 1.8 mi of trail · Novato Parks, Recreation and Community Services
Petaluma River Marsh Wildlife Area324 acres · 1.1 mi of trail · California Department of Fish and Game
Pioneer Park9 acres · 0.7 mi of trail · Novato Parks, Recreation and Community Services
Hill Recreation Area10 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
Things to do
Beaches, playgrounds, falls & more
Pick a kind of place for the list, directions, or pins on the map above.
Playgrounds in Novato
Showing 1–10 of 49 playgrounds
Lou Johnson PlaygroundIn Arroyo Avichi Park
Olive Tot Lot
Palmisano Community Play Park
Unnamed playground
Unnamed playground
Unnamed playground in Marin Highlands Park
Unnamed playground in Arroyo Avichi Park
Unnamed playground in Arroyo Avichi Park
Unnamed playground in Arroyo Avichi Park
Unnamed playground in Josef Hoog Park
Trails
Named trails
Open to bikes 7.2 miHorses 4.1 miUnpaved 13.7 mi
Showing 1–10 of 25 trails
- Hamilton Field Path3.2 mi
- Bahia Trail1.9 mi
- Deer Island Loop1.8 mi
- Dwarf Oak Trail1.7 mi
- Ponti Ridge Trail1.2 mi
- Fieldstone Trail1.0 mi
- Old Quarry Trail0.9 mi
- De Borba Trail0.8 mi
- Reuben Kaehler Memorial Trail0.8 mi
- Michako Trail0.6 mi
Water
Lakes & rivers
Beverly Ehreth Ecological PreserveDuck Bill PondHerons Beak PondLynwood Stormwater BasinPacheco PondreservoirScottsdale PondpondNovato Creek
Tap a name for directions.
Who protects the land
7,967 conserved acres
Who manages it, from PAD-US. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn't always mean open to visitors. 28 acres are conservation easements, which are usually private land. The places listed above are parks and preserves people visit.
Biking & sports
Bike routes, courts & fields
- Painted or protected bike lanes30.3 mi
- Off-road bike paths5.2 mi
- Shoulders & shared lanes0.0 mi
- San Francisco Bay Trail (bike route)4 mi
Courts & fields
- Tennis55
- Baseball20
- Basketball16
- Soccer7
- Pickleball6
- Football4
- Softball2
Counts include school and college facilities, which aren't always open to the public.
Public lands
The biggest protected places in Novato
From USGS PAD-US: who manages each one and whether visitors are welcome.
Local Conservation Area 3,706 acLocal Other or Unknown 1,840 acState Conservation Area 1,587 acState Resource Management Area 240 acLocal Park 238 ac
Showing 1–10 of 15 places
| Place | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Burdell Open Space PreserveLocal Conservation Area | Regional agency | 1,522 | Open |
| Marin County Flood ControlLocal Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 1,264 | Open |
| Ignacio Valley Open Space PreserveLocal Conservation Area | Regional agency | 938 | Open |
| Hamilton WetlandsState Conservation Area | State conservation | 623 | Closed |
| Petaluma Marsh Wildlife AreaState Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 613 | Open |
| Pacheco Valle Open Space PreserveLocal Conservation Area | Regional agency | 459 | Open |
| San Pablo Bay Wildlife AreaState Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 351 | Open |
| Novato Sanitation DistrictLocal Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 291 | Restricted |
| Loma Verde Open Space PreserveLocal Conservation Area | Regional agency | 270 | Open |
| California State Lands CommissionState Resource Management Area | State Department of Land | 240 | Open |
History
Historic places to visit
Area A - Hamilton Army Air Field Discontiguous Historic DistrictDistrict · 1933
Area B - Hamilton Army Air Field Discontiguous Historic DistrictDistrict · 1933
Area C - Hamilton Army Air Field Discontiguous Historic DistrictDistrict · 1933
Marcia Lois GrimmPlaque
Pioneer Memorial CemeteryCemetery
Valley Memorial ParkCemetery
Nearby
Novato and its neighbors
Towns whose outdoors data has been built so far.
| Town | Conserved | Trails | Parks & preserves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Novato | 44.7% | 82.0 mi | 29 |
| Black Point-Green Point | 27.4% | 0.1 mi | 5 |
| Lucas Valley-Marinwood | 64.6% | 24.8 mi | 4 |
Trail talk
Conditions & tips from neighbors
No recent posts about Novato's trails yet. Muddy, icy, a bridge out, where to park: a quick post helps the next person.
Sources: trails, parks, preserves, courts and bike lanes © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), map data as of 2026-09-28. Conserved land: USGS Gap Analysis Project, Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US). Measured against the Census town boundary.
How we measure
"Trails" are OpenStreetMap paths, bridleways, public tracks and unpaved footways, plus footways inside a park or preserve or on a named trail route. Sidewalks are left out. Areas are counted on a 24.5-meter grid, so overlapping parcels count once. "Conserved" includes conservation easements, which protect land from development but are usually private property. Trailheads are the nearest marked trailhead, public parking lot or information board within about 150 meters of a preserve. Dog rules come from OpenStreetMap when someone has tagged them; otherwise we show what's typical for the land manager, or say the rules aren't recorded.