State Trust Land
Nature preserve
13,903 acres80.3 mi of trail
Daisy Mountain TrailOld Fig Spring TrailN32 to W Spar
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Marine 69-71 · CC BY-SA 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in New River
More than half of New River’s land is conserved: 52%
52% of New River’s land is conserved, about 18,536 acres. 128 miles of mapped trail cross New River, 2.3 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: State Trust Land (80.3 mi).
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns · #63 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it
Conserved land
52%
18,536 acres · of 56.1 sq mi of land
Trails
128 mi
2.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
93 ac
5.1 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
23%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.1 mi
1.1 mi lanes
Highest peak
3,182 ft
Apache Peak
Lakes & rivers
6
What kind of outdoors town is New River?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does New River have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, New River is ahead of 68% of U.S. towns, #63 of 140 in Arizona. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of New River’s overall grade.
Conserved land52% of the land · typical AZ town 14% · U.S. 4%A+Trails2.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (128 mi) · AZ 1.1 · U.S. 0.4APark land5.1 acres of park per 1,000 residents (93 acres) · AZ 8 · U.S. 13CParks close to home23% 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 68%
LessMore
Arizona towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 55%
Arizona towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so New River’s 52% is ahead of 86% of Arizona towns, while its trails per square mile lead 83% 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 State Trust Land, with 80.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
New River Nature Reserve
Managed by Desert Foothills Land Trust
22 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
New River Community Park
Park
19 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
18,536 conserved acres
52% of New River’s land. Who manages New River’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State Department of Land18,370 ac
County81 ac
U.S. Forest Service60 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits25 ac
Regional agency4 ac
Town or city4 ac
State Resource Management Area · 18,370 acLocal Recreation Area · 81 acNational Forest · 60 acPrivate Conservation · 25 acLocal Park · 4 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Trust Land State Resource Management Area | State Department of Land | 18,370 | Restricted |
| New River Community Park & Senior Center Local Recreation Area | County | 81 | Open |
| Tonto National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 60 | Open |
| Desert Foothills Land Trust Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 25 | Closed |
| Cave Creek Regional Park Local Park | Regional agency | 4 | Open |
| Sonoran Mountain Preserve Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 4 | Open |
Things to do
8 places to go in New River
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in New River
Apache Peak3,182 ft elevation
DirectionsDaisy Mountain3,143 ft elevation · In State Trust Land
DirectionsTable Mountain2,887 ft elevation · In State Trust Land
DirectionsGavilan Peak2,877 ft elevation
DirectionsPyramid Peak2,595 ft elevation · In State Trust Land
DirectionsPlus 3 peaks without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
8 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 32.4 miHorses · 30.7 miUnpaved · 27.9 mi
Maricopa Trail3.7 mi
Daisy Mountain Trail3.4 mi
Old Fig Spring Trail1.3 mi
N32 to W Spar1.3 mi
Quail Springs Trail0.8 mi
Tramonto From the North0.5 mi
N 13th Ave0.1 mi
East Primrose Path0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
136Equestrian
6Baseball
6Pickleball
5Basketball
4Tennis
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 New River
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) | 65 | 67 | 74 | 81 | 90 | 100 | 103 | 101 | 96 | 85 | 73 | 64 |
| Rain (in) | 1.6 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.4 |
June is the driest month (0.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 103 °F). 1.8 inches fall in February, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 103 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in New River →
Next door
New River and its neighbors
New River has the second most mapped trails of the 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New River | 52% | 2.3 | 5 | 23% | B+ |
| Phoenix | 33% | 1.6 | 26 | 84% | A |
| Anthem | 4% | 1.8 | 8 | 86% | B+ |
| Cave Creek | 55% | 2.1 | 557 | 37% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in New River
Where can I hike in New River?
The longest trail networks: State Trust Land, 80.3 miles; New River Nature Reserve, 0.3 miles; New River Community Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of New River is conserved land?
52% 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 New River’s trails?
State Trust Land and New River Nature Reserve don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in New River?
1.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.1 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near New River?
174,787 acres of parks and open public land lie inside New River or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 394 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does New River have?
Ahead of 68% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #63 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 New River 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 →