1
South Mountain Park and Preserve
Nature preserve
16,420 acres118.4 mi of trail
National TrailMa-Ha-Tuak Perimeter TrailDesert Classic TrailAltaBajada Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Outdoors · Phoenix
Phoenix, AZ parks, trails & bike paths
About 33% of Phoenix is conserved land, roughly 108,144 acres. There are about 757 miles of mapped trails, and the biggest networks are in South Mountain Park and Preserve (118.4 mi), Phoenix Mountains Preserve (95.5 mi), and Sonoran Preserve (57.5 mi).
Conserved land, trails, parks and bike routes in Phoenix, measured from OpenStreetMap and USGS data.
At a glance
Phoenix outdoors
Conserved land
33%
108,144 of 330,941 acres
Trails
757 mi
1.5 mi per sq mi · 584 on conserved land
Parks & preserves
224
66 conserved acres per 1,000 residents
Bike routes
969.3 mi
752.7 mi lanes · 206.9 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
Phoenix Mountains Preserve
Managed by City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department
5,345 acres95.5 mi of trail
#100 - Charles M. Christiansen Trail#1A - Perl Charles Trail#302 - Circumference Trail#8 - Quartz Ridge Trail#8A - Quartz Ridge Trail
No dogsMapped in OpenStreetMap
DirectionsTo the trailhead
3
Sonoran Preserve
Nature preserve
9,843 acres57.5 mi of trail
Sidewinder TrailApache Wash TrailOcotillo TrailDixie Mountain LoopBrawling Badger Trail
Dog rules not recorded
4
Papago Park
Managed by City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department
946 acres25.1 mi of trail
5k TrailDouble Butte LoopBig Butte LoopNature TrailLittle Butte Loop
Dog rules not recorded
5
North Mountain Preserve
Nature preserve
1,684 acres25 mi of trail
#306 - Shaw Butte Trail#100 - Charles M. Christiansen TrailTrail 44 - North Mountain National Trail#60 - Nature TrailTrail 101
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the trailhead
6
Lookout Mountain Preserve
Nature preserve
332 acres12.9 mi of trail
Trail 308Trail 150 - Summit TrailOld Trail 308Trail 25ATrail 25
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
7
Cave Buttes Recreation Area
Nature preserve
2,778 acres11 mi of trail
Dirt Devil Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
8
Deem Hills Recreation Area
Nature preserve
989 acres10.9 mi of trail
Circumference TrailRidgeline TrailPalisade TrailCAP Road TrailBasalt Trail
Dog rules not recorded
DirectionsTo the parking lot
All 224 parks & preserves
Showing 1–10 of 224 parks & preserves
South Mountain Park and Preserve16,420 acres · 118.4 mi of trail
Phoenix Mountains Preserve5,345 acres · 95.5 mi of trail · City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department
Sonoran Preserve9,843 acres · 57.5 mi of trail
Papago Park946 acres · 25.1 mi of trail · City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department
North Mountain Preserve1,684 acres · 25 mi of trail
Lookout Mountain Preserve332 acres · 12.9 mi of trail
Cave Buttes Recreation Area2,778 acres · 11 mi of trail
Deem Hills Recreation Area989 acres · 10.9 mi of trail
Scarlett Canyon Preserve500 acres · 10.7 mi of trail
Reach 11 Recreation Area1,111 acres · 9.9 mi of trail
Who protects the land
108,144 conserved acres
Who manages it, from PAD-US. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Conserved doesn't always mean open to visitors. Public access isn't recorded for 2 of 209 parcels. The places listed above are parks and preserves people visit.
Biking & sports
Bike routes, courts & fields
- Painted or protected bike lanes752.7 mi
- Off-road bike paths206.9 mi
- Shoulders & shared lanes9.7 mi
- Sun Circle Trail (bike route)15.4 mi
Courts & fields
- Basketball757
- Tennis583
- Baseball359
- Soccer234
- Tracks116
- Pickleball89
- Beach volleyball79
Counts include school and college facilities, which aren't always open to the public.
Nearby
Phoenix and its neighbors
Towns whose outdoors data has been built so far.
| Town | Conserved | Trails | Parks & preserves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix | 32.7% | 757.3 mi | 224 |
| Scottsdale | 30.5% | 440.1 mi | 54 |
| Peoria | 41.5% | 222.8 mi | 62 |
| Glendale | 5.1% | 32.5 mi | 85 |
| Paradise Valley | 3.3% | 2.7 mi | 2 |
| Tempe | 5.3% | 41.2 mi | 67 |
| New River | 51.8% | 127.7 mi | 4 |
Trail talk
Conditions & tips from neighbors
No recent posts about Phoenix'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 101.3-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.