Sonoran Desert National Monument
Managed by Bureau of Land Management
6,698 acres13.5 mi of trail
Old Highway 84
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Stout's Hotel · Photo: Marine 69-71 · CC BY-SA 4.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Gila Bend
34% of Gila Bend’s land is conserved: 13,977 acres
54 miles of mapped trail cross Gila Bend, 0.8 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Sonoran Desert National Monument (13.5 mi). 22 acres are parks and preserves, 16 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 83% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
34%
13,977 acres · of 64.4 sq mi of land
Trails
54 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
22 ac
16 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
68%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Gila Bend?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Gila Bend have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Gila Bend is ahead of 83% of U.S. towns. 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 Gila Bend’s overall grade.
Conserved land34% of the land · typical AZ town 14% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (54 mi) · AZ 1.1 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land16 acres of park per 1,000 residents (22 acres) · AZ 8 · U.S. 13BParks close to home68% 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 83%
LessMore
Arizona towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Gila Bend’s 34% is ahead of 71% of Arizona towns, while its trails per square mile lead 41% 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 Sonoran Desert National Monument, with 13.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Gatlin Archeological Site
Nature preserve
17 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
North Maricopa Mountains Wilderness
Managed by Bureau of Land Management
995 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Rotary Centennial Park
Managed by Town of Gila Bend
4 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Sonoran Desert National Monument6,698 acres · 13.5 mi of trail · Bureau of Land Management
Gatlin Archeological Site17 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
North Maricopa Mountains Wilderness995 acres · Bureau of Land Management
Rotary Centennial Park4 acres · Town of Gila Bend
9/11 Memorial1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
13,977 conserved acres
34% of Gila Bend’s land. Who manages Gila Bend’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Bureau of Land Management11,344 ac
State Department of Land2,626 ac
Town or city7 ac
National Public Lands · 11,344 acState Resource Management Area · 2,626 acLocal Park · 7 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Sonoran Field Office National Public Lands | Bureau of Land Management | 11,344 | Open |
| State Trust Land State Resource Management Area | State Department of Land | 2,626 | Restricted |
| Burleson Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
Things to do
5 places to go in Gila Bend
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Gila Bend
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 16.0 mi
Old Highway 842.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
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
3Baseball
1Football
1Equestrian
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The walking year in Gila Bend
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) | 69 | 73 | 80 | 87 | 96 | 105 | 108 | 107 | 102 | 90 | 78 | 68 |
| Rain (in) | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.6 |
June is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 108 °F). 0.9 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 108 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Gila Bend →
Questions about parks and trails in Gila Bend
Where can I hike in Gila Bend?
The longest trail networks: Sonoran Desert National Monument, 13.5 miles; Gatlin Archeological Site, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Gila Bend is conserved land?
34% 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 Gila Bend’s trails?
Sonoran Desert National Monument and Gatlin Archeological Site don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Gila Bend?
87,356 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Gila Bend or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,667 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Gila Bend have?
Ahead of 83% 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 Gila Bend 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 →