TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
CACalifornia rankings

Towns with the most conserved land in California

Ranked by the share of the town's area that is permanently protected: town forests, state and federal land, land-trust preserves and conservation easements (USGS PAD-US). 65 towns with 2,500+ residents.

U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024 5-year

Berkeley
California · Most conserved land

Where Berkeley lands: #26 of 65

8.4% · Visit Berkeley →

Map of Kings Beach 1 Kings Beach 60.5% Conserved acres 1,146 Big Bear City 2 Big Bear City 60.2% Conserved acres 12,276 Palm Springs 3 Palm Springs 31.7% Conserved acres 19,102
#TownConserved landConserved acresTrails
1 Map of Kings Beach Kings Beach2,736 people 60.5% 1,146 20.3 mi
2 Big Bear City Big Bear City11,431 people 60.2% 12,276 124.7 mi
3 Palm Springs Palm Springs45,070 people 31.7% 19,102 126.7 mi
4 Rancho Mirage Rancho Mirage17,563 people 30.6% 5,012 31.2 mi
5 Rancho Santa Margarita Rancho Santa Margarita46,990 people 30.1% 2,480 41.8 mi
6 Map of Emeryville Emeryville13,081 people 24% 342 1.4 mi
7 Richmond Richmond115,505 people 19.8% 6,622 66.8 mi
8 La Habra Heights La Habra Heights5,478 people 19.5% 767 8.4 mi
9 Map of Albany Albany19,414 people 18.1% 632 6.6 mi
10 Folsom Folsom83,916 people 16.4% 3,145 37.8 mi
11 Rolling Hills Estates Rolling Hills Estates8,131 people 15.5% 358 16.7 mi
12 Orinda Orinda19,514 people 15.1% 1,235 18.1 mi
13 Oceanside Oceanside172,242 people 15% 4,017 41.8 mi
14 Map of Highgrove Highgrove8,366 people 14.5% 296 3.6 mi
15 Map of Los Angeles Los Angeles3,857,263 people 14.1% 45,295 701.7 mi
16 Santa Clarita Santa Clarita230,221 people 13.8% 6,457 184.8 mi
17 Plumas Lake Plumas Lake9,418 people 13.1% 1,019 21.0 mi
18 Map of Vacaville Vacaville102,596 people 13% 2,486 49.6 mi
19 Scotts Valley Scotts Valley12,044 people 12.6% 369 10.4 mi
20 Santa Rosa Santa Rosa177,090 people 11.3% 3,068 68.6 mi
21 Map of McKinleyville McKinleyville17,113 people 10.7% 1,442 23.0 mi
22 Oakland Oakland439,418 people 10.5% 5,230 104.3 mi
23 Mountain View Mountain View83,732 people 9.4% 735 17.2 mi
24 University of California-Davis8,696 people 9.2% 101 7.9 mi
25 Jurupa Valley Jurupa Valley107,011 people 9% 2,513 93.1 mi
26 Berkeley Berkeley120,257 people 8.4% 945 16.7 mi
27 Palos Verdes Estates Palos Verdes Estates12,925 people 7% 785 20.3 mi
28 Pico Rivera Pico Rivera60,272 people 6.7% 382 6.7 mi
29 Map of Suisun City Suisun City29,286 people 6.7% 174 2.7 mi
30 Pollock Pines Pollock Pines6,212 people 6.2% 340 1.0 mi
31 Map of Blythe Blythe17,396 people 5.9% 1,018 10.3 mi
32 Culver City Culver City39,931 people 5.8% 188 5.3 mi
33 Big Bear Lake Big Bear Lake5,041 people 5.3% 218 6.4 mi
34 Map of Brentwood Brentwood65,208 people 4.9% 461 19.7 mi
35 Oceano Oceano7,128 people 4.4% 44 0.3 mi
36 Fontana Fontana214,169 people 4.3% 1,198 36.5 mi
37 Beverly Hills Beverly Hills31,624 people 4% 146 4.5 mi
38 La Puente La Puente37,142 people 3.9% 86 0.2 mi
39 Oroville Oroville19,752 people 3.8% 334 10.2 mi
40 Kensington Kensington5,179 people 3.7% 23 0.8 mi
41 Map of South Gate South Gate91,483 people 3.4% 158 2.9 mi
42 Pismo Beach Pismo Beach8,014 people 3.2% 269 7.9 mi
43 Map of Santa Maria Santa Maria110,462 people 2.4% 359 11.2 mi
44 Tracy Tracy96,966 people 2.3% 390 10.9 mi
45 Map of South Whittier South Whittier55,650 people 2.2% 75 1.7 mi
46 Map of Nice Nice2,569 people 2.2% 24 1.0 mi
47 Riverbank Riverbank25,166 people 2.1% 63 0.9 mi
48 Cameron Park Cameron Park18,315 people 1.9% 139 13.4 mi
49 San Joaquin San Joaquin3,708 people 1.9% 14 0.6 mi
50 Map of Firebaugh Firebaugh8,392 people 1.6% 37 1.4 mi
51 West Hollywood West Hollywood34,884 people 1.3% 16 0.4 mi
52 Map of Fetters Hot Springs-Agua Caliente Fetters Hot Springs-Agua Caliente3,347 people 1.2% 11 0.0 mi
53 Lennox Lennox19,449 people 0.9% 6 0.4 mi
54 Map of South El Monte South El Monte19,287 people 0.9% 16 0.5 mi
55 Orange Cove Orange Cove9,695 people 0.9% 11 0.2 mi
56 Map of Paradise Paradise7,392 people 0.9% 108 2.0 mi
57 Map of Pixley Pixley3,742 people 0.6% 19 1.7 mi
58 Victorville Victorville137,627 people 0.5% 216 121.6 mi
59 Coachella Coachella43,307 people 0.5% 92 37.6 mi
60 Hawaiian Gardens Hawaiian Gardens13,691 people 0.5% 3 0.1 mi
61 La Cresta8,389 people 0.3% 2 0.0 mi
62 Map of Lake Nacimiento Lake Nacimiento3,339 people 0.3% 21 8.8 mi
63 Map of French Camp French Camp3,264 people 0.2% 4 0.0 mi
64 Map of Bella Vista Bella Vista4,511 people 0.1% 18 31.3 mi
65 Oasis4,051 people 0.1% 15 12.3 mi

How this ranking works

We rank every town by the share of the town's area that is permanently protected: town forests, state and federal land, land-trust preserves and conservation easements (USGS PAD-US). Easements protect land from development but are often private, so not all of it is open to visitors. The town with the highest figure ranks #1.

Only towns with at least 2,500 residents are ranked; Census estimates for smaller places are too uncertain. Population and income: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Trails, streets and parks: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Conserved land: USGS PAD-US. Measured within each town's Census boundary. Town photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited on each town’s page.

Same ranking in other states

AL CA CT FL GA IL IN KS KY MD MA MI MN MO MT NH NJ NY NC OH OR PA TN TX UT VA WA WI All of the U.S.