McDowell Sonoran Preserve
Nature preserve
202 acres1.3 mi of trail
Andrew/Kinsey Trail (Moderately Difficult)Sunrise Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Stewart Mountain Dam · Photo: US Bureau of Reclamation · Public domainB+Outdoors
Outdoors in Fountain Hills
Fountain Hills has 48 miles of mapped trails, 2.4 for every square mile of land
13% of Fountain Hills’ land is conserved, about 1,726 acres. The biggest trail networks: McDowell Sonoran Preserve (1.3 mi), Fountain Hills Botanical Garden (0.6 mi). 154 acres are parks and preserves, 6.5 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 75% of U.S. towns · #51 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it
Conserved land
13%
1,726 acres · of 20.3 sq mi of land
Trails
48 mi
2.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
154 ac
6.5 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
63%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
53 mi
52 mi lanes · 0.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Fountain Hills?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Fountain Hills have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Fountain Hills is ahead of 75% of U.S. towns, #51 of 140 in Arizona. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Fountain Hills’ overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical AZ town 14% · U.S. 4%A−Trails2.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (48 mi) · AZ 1.1 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land6.5 acres of park per 1,000 residents (154 acres) · AZ 8 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home63% 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 75%
LessMore
Arizona towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 64%
Arizona towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Fountain Hills’ 13% is ahead of 49% of Arizona towns, while its trails per square mile lead 84% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B 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 McDowell Sonoran Preserve, with 1.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Fountain Hills Botanical Garden
Park
17 acres0.6 mi of trail
Botanical Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 10 parks & preserves
McDowell Sonoran Preserve202 acres · 1.3 mi of trail
Fountain Hills Botanical Garden17 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsDesert Vista Park14 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsFour Peaks Park12 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsMcDowell Mountain Regional Park6 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Maricopa County
Desert Vista Dog Park3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsFountain Park65 acres
DirectionsGolden Eagle Park24 acres
DirectionsAspen Eagle Park9 acres
Adero Canyon Trailhead1 acres · Town of Fountain Hills
DirectionsWho protects it
1,726 conserved acres
13% of Fountain Hills’ land. Who manages Fountain Hills’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County1,609 ac
Town or city75 ac
State Department of Land36 ac
Regional agency6 ac
Local Conservation Area · 1,644 acState Resource Management Area · 36 acLocal Recreation Area · 24 acLocal Park · 23 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mcdowell Sonoran Preserve Local Conservation Area | County | 1,609 | Restricted |
| State Trust Land State Resource Management Area | State Department of Land | 36 | Restricted |
| Fountain Park Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 35 | Open |
| Golden Eagle Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 24 | Open |
| Desert Vista Park Local Park | Town or city | 11 | Open |
| McDowell Mountain Regional Park Local Park | Regional agency | 6 | Open |
| Four Peaks Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
Things to do
10 places to go in Fountain Hills
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Fountain Hills
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Fountain Hills
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Fountain Hills
1 peak without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Fountain Hills
Chuparosa RamadaIn Fountain Park
DirectionsGolden Barrel RamadaIn Fountain Park
DirectionsIronwood RamadaIn Fountain Park
DirectionsKiwanis RamadaIn Fountain Park
DirectionsRed Yucca RamadaIn Fountain Park
DirectionsCommunity gardens in Fountain Hills
Fountain Hills Community Garden
DirectionsTrails & water
19 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 7.2 miHorses · 2.7 miUnpaved · 16.8 mi
Lower Sonoran Trail2.1 mi
Ridgeline1.5 mi
Sonoran Trail (Difficult)1.4 mi
Andrew/Kinsey Trail (Moderately Difficult)1.3 mi
Western Trail (Hard)1.2 mi
Wilderness Trail (Hard)1.2 mi
Mesquite Hollow Trail1.2 mi
Lower Ridgeline1.0 mi
Promenade Trail (Moderate)0.8 mi
North Leg Trail0.8 mi
9 more trails
Overlook
0.5 miAndrews-Kinsey Trail (Moderately Difficult)
0.5 miSunrise Trail
0.4 miBotanical Trail
0.4 miMequite Hollow Trail
0.3 miOverlook Trail
0.3 miSonoran Connector
0.2 miGolden Eagle Trail
0.2 miWilderness Trail
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
53 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
52 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.4 mi
off-road bike paths
0.2 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
13Tennis
9Pickleball
8Baseball
5Basketball
4Golf
4Soccer
3Beach volleyball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Fountain Hills
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 | 10.4 | 9.9 |
| High (°F) | 67 | 70 | 76 | 83 | 93 | 102 | 104 | 103 | 98 | 88 | 75 | 66 |
| Rain (in) | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.2 |
June is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 104 °F). 1.5 inches fall in February, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 104 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Fountain Hills →
Next door
Fountain Hills and its neighbors
Fountain Hills has the second 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fountain Hills | 13% | 2.4 | 6 | 63% | B+ |
| Scottsdale | 30% | 2.4 | 15 | 71% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Fountain Hills
Where can I hike in Fountain Hills?
The longest trail networks: McDowell Sonoran Preserve, 1.3 miles; Fountain Hills Botanical Garden, 0.6 miles; Desert Vista Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Fountain Hills is conserved land?
13% 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 Fountain Hills’ trails?
McDowell Sonoran Preserve and Fountain Hills Botanical Garden don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Fountain Hills?
53 miles of bike routes are on the map: 52 of painted or protected lanes, 0.4 of off-road paths and 0.2 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Fountain Hills?
100,551 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Fountain Hills or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 154 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Fountain Hills have?
Ahead of 75% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #51 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 Fountain Hills 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 →