Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge
Managed by US Fish & Wildlife Service
1,454 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: The original uploader was Tillman at English Wikipedia. · CC BY 2.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Ajo
More than half of Ajo’s land is conserved: 67%
67% of Ajo’s land is conserved, about 14,363 acres. 57 miles of mapped trail cross Ajo, 1.7 per square mile of land. 196 acres are parks and preserves, 63 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns · #6 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it
Conserved land
67%
14,363 acres · of 33.3 sq mi of land
Trails
57 mi
1.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
196 ac
63 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
81%
of residents within ½ mile
Highest peak
2,877 ft
Cardigan Peak
What kind of outdoors town is Ajo?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ajo have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ajo is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #6 of 140 in Arizona. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ajo’s overall grade.
Conserved land67% of the land · typical AZ town 14% · U.S. 4%A+Trails1.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (57 mi) · AZ 1.1 · U.S. 0.4APark land63 acres of park per 1,000 residents (196 acres) · AZ 8 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home81% of residents within a half mile of a park · AZ 56% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 96%
LessMore
Arizona towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 96%
Arizona towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Ajo’s 67% is ahead of 97% of Arizona towns, while its trails per square mile lead 73% of them.
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 Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, with 0.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Gibson Neighborhood Park
Park
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
14,363 conserved acres
67% of Ajo’s land. Who manages Ajo’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Bureau of Land Management11,393 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service2,929 ac
County1,331 ac
Regional agency147 ac
State Department of Land32 ac
Town or city6 ac
National Public Lands · 11,393 acNational Wildlife Refuge · 2,908 acLocal Other or Unknown · 1,295 acLocal Park · 184 acState Resource Management Area · 32 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1 acre is a conservation easement, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 14 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Sonoran Field Office National Public Lands | Bureau of Land Management | 11,393 | Open |
| Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 2,929 | Restricted |
| Ajo Municipal Airport Local Other or Unknown | County | 1,295 | Unknown |
| Ajo Regional Park Local Park | Regional agency | 147 | Open |
| State Trust Land State Resource Management Area | State Department of Land | 32 | Restricted |
| E.s. Bud Walker Neighborhood Park Local Park | County | 28 | Open |
| Ballpark Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Flap Local Conservation Area | County | 3 | Unknown |
| Palo Verde Ii Neighborhood Park Local Park | County | 2 | Open |
| Gibson Neighborhood Park Local Park | County | 1 | Open |
Things to do
11 places to go in Ajo
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Ajo
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Ajo
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in Ajo
Ajo Mine Lookout
DirectionsPeaks in Ajo
Cardigan Peak2,877 ft elevation
DirectionsCamelback Mountain2,552 ft elevation
DirectionsPinnacle Peak2,487 ft elevation
DirectionsConcentrator Hill2,060 ft elevation
DirectionsLittle Ajo Mountains2,028 ft elevation
DirectionsArkansas Mountain2,014 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Ajo
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
5Basketball
4Tennis
4Equestrian
4Baseball
1Skate park
1Football
1Softball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Ajo
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) | 10.2 | 11.0 | 11.9 | 12.9 | 13.8 | 14.3 | 14.1 | 13.3 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 10.0 |
| High (°F) | 67 | 71 | 77 | 84 | 92 | 101 | 104 | 103 | 98 | 88 | 76 | 66 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.7 |
June is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 104 °F). 1.7 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 104 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Ajo →
Questions about parks and trails in Ajo
Where can I hike in Ajo?
The longest trail networks: Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, 0.5 miles; Bud Walker Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ajo is conserved land?
67% of its land, against a typical 14% for an Arizona town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Ajo’s trails?
Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge and Bud Walker Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Ajo?
96,179 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ajo or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 11,602 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Ajo have?
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #6 of 140 in Arizona. 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 Ajo 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 →