More than half of Congress’ land is conserved: 58%
58% of Congress’ land is conserved, about 14,043 acres. 22 miles of mapped trail cross Congress, 0.6 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 38% of U.S. towns. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Congress?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Congress have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Congress is ahead of 38% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
Arizona towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Congress’ 58% is ahead of 90% of Arizona towns, while its trails per square mile lead 24% 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.
14,043 conserved acres
58% of Congress’ land. Who manages Congress’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 | 14,043 | Restricted |
1 places to go in Congress
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
4 lakes & rivers
1.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
April is the best month for walking in Congress
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) | 10.1 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.9 | 14.4 | 14.2 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.3 | 9.9 |
| High (°F) | 63 | 65 | 71 | 78 | 87 | 97 | 100 | 98 | 93 | 82 | 71 | 61 |
| Rain (in) | 1.5 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 1.2 |
June is the driest month (0.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 100 °F). 1.9 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 100 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Congress →
Questions about parks and trails in Congress
How much of Congress is conserved land?
58% 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.
Where can I bike in Congress?
1.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.1 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Congress?
54,500 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Congress or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,802 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Congress have?
Ahead of 38% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Congress 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 →