Photo: Ron Reiring · CC BY-SA 2.0More than half of Clifton’s land is conserved: 55%
55% of Clifton’s land is conserved, about 5,170 acres. 16 miles of mapped trail cross Clifton, 1.1 per square mile of land. 93% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns · #34 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Clifton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Clifton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Clifton is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #34 of 140 in Arizona. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
Arizona towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Clifton’s 55% is ahead of 89% of Arizona towns, while its trails per square mile lead 52% of them.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Riverview Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
5,170 conserved acres
55% of Clifton’s land. Who manages Clifton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Trust Land State Resource Management Area | State Department of Land | 3,212 | Restricted |
| Safford Field Office National Public Lands | Bureau of Land Management | 1,947 | Open |
| County Park Local Park | County | 5 | Open |
| Riverview Park Local Park | Private owners | 3 | Open |
| Riverside Park Local Park | Private owners | 3 | Open |
| Blackbridge Picnic Area Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Markeen Road Park Local Park | Private owners | 1 | Open |
| Apache National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 1 | Open |
13 places to go in Clifton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Plus 8 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
6 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
April is the best month for walking in Clifton
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 | 13.0 | 13.8 | 14.3 | 14.1 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 10.0 |
| High (°F) | 59 | 63 | 70 | 78 | 87 | 96 | 97 | 94 | 89 | 79 | 67 | 58 |
| Rain (in) | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 2.4 | 2.7 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.2 |
April is the driest month (0.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 97 °F). 2.7 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 97 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Clifton →
Clifton and its neighbors
Clifton has the most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clifton | 55% | 1.1 | 6 | 93% | A |
| Morenci | 1% | 1.0 | 5 | 99%+ | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Clifton
Where can I hike in Clifton?
The longest trail networks: Riverview Park, 0.3 miles; Sumitomo Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Clifton is conserved land?
55% 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 Clifton’s trails?
Riverview Park and Sumitomo Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Clifton?
117,878 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Clifton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,976 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Clifton have?
Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #34 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 Clifton neighbors.
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 →