Phoenix Mountains Preserve
Managed by City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department
167 acres1.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Louise Lincoln Kerr House and Studio · Photo: Tony the Marine · CC BY-SA 3.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Paradise Valley
Paradise Valley has 156 acres of parks, 12 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Phoenix Mountains Preserve (1.4 mi). 15% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 2.7 miles of mapped trail cross Paradise Valley, 0.2 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 33% of U.S. towns · #123 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
327 acres · of 15.4 sq mi of land
Trails
2.7 mi
0.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
156 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
15%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
21 mi
21 mi lanes · 0.1 mi paths
Highest peak
2,428 ft
Dixie Peak
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Paradise Valley have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Paradise Valley is ahead of 33% of U.S. towns, #123 of 140 in Arizona. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Paradise Valley’s overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical AZ town 14% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · AZ 1.1 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (156 acres) · AZ 8 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home15% 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 33%
LessMore
Arizona towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 12%
Arizona towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Paradise Valley’s 3% is ahead of 21% of Arizona towns, while its trails per square mile lead 6% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C 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 Phoenix Mountains Preserve, with 1.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Echo Canyon Recreation Area
Nature preserve
91 acres0.4 mi of trail
Echo Canyon Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail signWebsite ↗
Who protects it
327 conserved acres
3% of Paradise Valley’s land. Who manages Paradise Valley’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city223 ac
County104 ac
Local Conservation Area · 174 acLocal Park · 153 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix Mountains Preserve Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 174 | Restricted |
| Echo Canyon Park Local Park | County | 104 | Open |
| Mccormick Park Local Park | Town or city | 49 | Open |
Things to do
7 places to go in Paradise Valley
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Paradise Valley
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Paradise Valley
Dixie Peak2,428 ft elevation · In Phoenix Mountains Preserve
DirectionsMummy Mountain2,021 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.0 mi
Echo Canyon Trail0.5 mi
Biking & sports
21 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
21 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.1 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
487Tennis
334Basketball
50Pickleball
11Beach volleyball
6Soccer
4Equestrian
3Baseball
3Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Paradise Valley
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 | 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 | 77 | 84 | 93 | 103 | 105 | 103 | 99 | 88 | 76 | 66 |
| Rain (in) | 1.0 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 1.1 |
June is the driest month (0.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 105 °F). 1.2 inches fall in February, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 105 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Paradise Valley →
Next door
Paradise Valley and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paradise Valley | 3% | 0.2 | 12 | 15% | C |
| Phoenix | 33% | 1.6 | 26 | 84% | A |
| 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 Paradise Valley
Where can I hike in Paradise Valley?
The longest trail networks: Phoenix Mountains Preserve, 1.4 miles; Echo Canyon Recreation Area, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Paradise Valley is conserved land?
3% 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 Paradise Valley’s trails?
Phoenix Mountains Preserve and Echo Canyon Recreation Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Paradise Valley?
21 miles of bike routes are on the map: 21 of painted or protected lanes and 0.1 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Paradise Valley?
13,940 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Paradise Valley or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 156 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Paradise Valley have?
Ahead of 33% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #123 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 Paradise Valley 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 →