Coconino National Forest
Managed by United States Forest Service
273 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Montezuma Castle National Monument · Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Lake Montezuma
Lake Montezuma has 168 acres of parks, 34 for every 1,000 residents
6% of Lake Montezuma’s land is conserved, about 439 acres. 5.0 miles of mapped trail cross Lake Montezuma, 0.4 per square mile of land. 34% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns · #77 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
439 acres · of 11.5 sq mi of land
Trails
5.0 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
168 ac
34 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
34%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
2
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lake Montezuma have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lake Montezuma is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns, #77 of 140 in Arizona. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lake Montezuma’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical AZ town 14% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · AZ 1.1 · U.S. 0.4BPark land34 acres of park per 1,000 residents (168 acres) · AZ 8 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home34% of residents within a half mile of a park · AZ 56% · U.S. 72%C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 61%
LessMore
Arizona towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 45%
Arizona towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Lake Montezuma’s 6% is ahead of 32% of Arizona towns, while its trails per square mile lead 16% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. 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 Coconino National Forest, with 0.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Montezuma Castle National Monument
Managed by National Park Service
161 acres
Dogs usually limited
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Who protects it
439 conserved acres
6% of Lake Montezuma’s land. Who manages Lake Montezuma’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service272 ac
National Park Service162 ac
County5 ac
National Forest · 272 acNational Monument · 162 acLocal Park · 5 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coconino National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 272 | Open |
| Montezuma Castle National Monument National Monument | National Park Service | 162 | Open |
| Sycamore Community Park Local Park | County | 5 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Lake Montezuma
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Lake Montezuma
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Kearney Trail0.2 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
2Basketball
1Tennis
1Multi-sport
1Volleyball
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).
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Lake Montezuma
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 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 61 | 65 | 71 | 78 | 87 | 98 | 101 | 98 | 93 | 82 | 70 | 59 |
| Rain (in) | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 1.3 |
June is the driest month (0.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 101 °F). 2.1 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 101 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Lake Montezuma →
Questions about parks and trails in Lake Montezuma
Where can I hike in Lake Montezuma?
The longest trail networks: Coconino National Forest, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lake Montezuma is conserved land?
6% 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 Lake Montezuma’s trails?
Coconino National Forest and Montezuma Castle National Monument don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Lake Montezuma?
213,904 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lake Montezuma or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 447 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Lake Montezuma have?
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #77 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 Lake Montezuma 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 →