How are we doing?
Outdoor Access measures the availability of park space and the ease of visiting these outdoor areas for San Diego region residents. While San Diego County enjoys a great amount of parkland, this indicator received a mixed rating in 2025 largely due to the disparity in park access between low-income and high-income neighborhoods in the City of San Diego. Additionally, recent concerns of beach water quality issues and beach closures continue to affect access to blue spaces, or areas for recreational water activities and leisure.
Rating: Mixed Results
The region enjoys a lot of park space, but low-income neighborhoods have less access.
Park space and walkability
The Trust for Public Land's ParkScore® Index measures how well the 100 largest U.S. cities are meeting the need for parks. According to the index, the City of San Diego has 31 acres of park space for every 1,000 residents, the most amount of park acres per resident compared to other major cities in the state. This park to resident ratio has remained consistent since 2019. Additionally, 81% of San Diego city residents enjoy a walkable distance (half a mile or less) to parks. The City of San Diego maintains a web map of all neighborhood parks, regional parks, recreational facilities and other amenities.
The above chart shows that in all jurisdictions in San Diego County, at least 48% of the residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park, although the percentage varies widely from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. A 10-minute walk is considered a reasonable distance for walking to a park. The cities of Coronado and Del Mar have the highest percentage at 91% and 90% respectively. In contrast, the cities of Escondido and Vista have the lowest percentages at 50% and 48% respectively.
Equity and outdoor access
Access to parks varies by a neighborhood’s income. Across major cities in California, high-income neighborhoods tend to have more park space than low-income neighborhoods.
San Diego’s low-income neighborhoods only have 14% of the park space that high-income neighborhoods have. In contrast, low-income neighborhoods in San Jose, have 87% of the park space of high-income neighborhoods. Increasing available park space and reducing barriers to access for low-income neighborhoods is a long-term endeavor that remains critical to addressing outdoor equity issues in the county.
Beaches are outdoor spaces too
Outdoor spaces include green spaces like parks, gardens, forests, and mountains, as well as blue spaces such as beaches, lakes, and rivers. For the San Diego region, beaches play an enormous role in the region’s identity, lifestyle, and economy. Beaches are typically cooler during heat waves and provide relief for local residents, especially for those who do not have air conditioning units. However, not every resident can visit the beach in a safe and accessible manner. Severe beach water quality issues in the region have limited beach access for South County communities. Read the San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative’s cost of inaction toolkit to learn more about why the coastline is critical for preserving the quality of life of San Diego residents.
Barriers to outdoor access
Even though most residents in San Diego live within a 10-minute walk to a park, there are both physical and functional barriers to people actually visiting and enjoying outdoor spaces. These barriers disproportionately affect low-income people of color in the region. The San Diego Foundation’s 2020 Parks for Everyone report outlines barriers to outdoor access and offers some of the ways regional partners are addressing these barriers.
Safety
Unsafe conditions including poor park maintenance, climate hazards, pollution, crime, and police presence
Walkability
Lack of pedestrian and street access, risk of road traffic injuries, obstructions like construction and homeless encampments
Transportation
Poor access to cars or public transit (infrequent stops and insufficient routes)
Cultural Inclusion
Lack of signs written in multiple languages, lack of signs that disclose the full cultural history of the park, park staff that do not represent the communities that the park serves, lack of engagement opportunities
Costs and Permits
High fees for admission and parking, difficult processes of acquiring permits and necessary accommodations, etc.
Why is outdoor access important?
High quality of life means the region boasts a thriving economy, a healthy environment, and is an equitable place for all San Diegans to grow and prosper.
Economy
Parks not only provide healthy outdoor recreational space for children but also generate economic activity. A recent report by the National Recreation and Park Association found America's local public park and recreation agencies generated more than $218 billion in economic activity and generated 1.3 million jobs in 2019. In California, local parks and recreation agencies generated $23.6 billion in economic activity. Connecting to nature can also positively impact health, thereby reducing healthcare costs. According to The Nature Conservancy, the presence of urban trees can save cities healthcare costs and work loss costs thanks to the upstream benefits they provide for human health such as improved water and air quality. San Diego-based nonprofit, Tree San Diego, also reports that trees can enhance commercial areas with shade and improved aesthetics. Well-designed landscaping can encourage visitors to shop for longer. A 2015 study estimated that natural spaces provide health benefits that are valued at $69 million per year in only 10 U.S. cities combined. Exposure to outdoor blue spaces (lakes, rivers, seas, etc.) can have a positive impact on mental health and well-being, and time spent outdoors is associated with physical activity and a lower risk of chronic disease.
Environment
Research suggests that early positive experiences spent exploring in nature with caring adult role models encourage children to adopt conservation behaviors. Improving outdoor access for youth can build a generation of stewards of the environment who conserve and protect nature. Parks and public lands can help preserve natural resources and habitat connectivity. Even urban green spaces can offer support to local species, like pollinators. Integrating ecological concepts in urban design can bring some benefits of nature closer to communities living in cities.
Equity
In the U.S., communities of color are almost three times more likely than white communities to live in nature-deprived areas, which are areas that have less or no access to parks, paths, and green spaces. This is due to environmental racism, redlining, and maldistribution of funds. In San Diego, according to a 2018 survey of San Diego voters (sponsored by the University of San Diego and San Diego Zoo Global), income is a strong predictor of who visits beaches and trails. In San Diego County, 65% of residents who earned less than $25,000/year had visited beaches or trails in the previous 12 months. In contrast, 94% of residents who earned $75,000 or more had visited a beach or trail. Nature in parks and greenspaces can increase children’s physical activity, reduce stress, and improve academic performance. Increasing park access across the San Diego region can improve the health and well-being of children.
Regional Response
Policies
In August 2021, the City of San Diego adopted the Parks Master Plan, finalizing its vision for parkland development. The plan presents a goal to acquire 100 acres of parkland in the next 10 years in addition to open space land and joint-use agreements. Additionally, the city implemented frameworks to rate and improve parks and their recreational uses. Their “Parks for All of Us” plan imagines a network of recreational spaces and programs that will build community and conserve natural lands.
California’s 2022 Extreme Heat Action Plan seeks to make sure children are protected from the effects of extreme heat by greening parks and schoolyards and replacing asphalt. Children are one of the population groups who are highly vulnerable during extremely hot weather, which is exacerbated by climate change. Efforts to make parks cooler have started in Oakland and Los Angeles in 2023.
Projects
San Diego 30X30 is a community-driven initiative to conserve natural areas in the San Diego region in alignment with the statewide goal of preserving 30% of California’s land and waters by 2030. Currently it oversees 20 projects in the region.
Latino Outdoors seeks to create safe spaces for people outdoors while also uplifting conversations on the Latinx experience. Community support with cultural sensitivities can help individuals overcome barriers that may discourage them from visiting local park spaces.
The California State Park Adventure Pass is available for California resident fourth graders and their families. This pass waives entrance fees to 19 state parks.
Partnerships
Thrive Outside San Diego, led by The San Diego Foundation, seeks to build regional capacity through collective impact by bringing together multi-sector stakeholders for greater coordination across education, advocacy, and programming. Network partners are working to identify gaps in services, address equity barriers, and create more inclusive and accessible outdoor experiences for all. Thrive Outside San Diego is committed to Outdoors for All, Outdoors for Health, and Outdoors Forever.
California Parks Now is a coalition dedicated to improving outdoor equity within the parks system in California. These experts, activists, and community leaders represent parks advocacy, public health, or cultural communities of color.
What are we tracking?
We measure park access by tracking the percentage of people who live within a 10-minute walk to a park, the number of acres of accessible park space per 1,000 people in local cities, and the amount of park space low-income and high-income neighborhoods have access to, as measured by the Trust for Public Land. Parks included in these measurements are publicly owned spaces (parks, trails, and open space), school parks with a joint-use agreement with the local government, and privately owned parks that are managed for full public use. Learn more about the data.