Rumsey Park
Park
85 acres1.1 mi of trail
PATS TrailDisc GolfPayson Disc Golf
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Richard N Horne · CC BY-SA 4.0B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Payson
31% of Payson’s land is conserved: 3,885 acres
The biggest trail networks: Rumsey Park (1.1 mi). 15 miles of mapped trail cross Payson, 0.8 per square mile of land. 35% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 66% of U.S. towns · #67 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it
Conserved land
31%
3,885 acres · of 19.3 sq mi of land
Trails
15 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
146 ac
8.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
35%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.1 mi
1.1 mi lanes
Highest peak
5,200 ft
Birch Mesa
Lakes & rivers
8
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Payson?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Payson have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Payson is ahead of 66% of U.S. towns, #67 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 Payson’s overall grade.
Conserved land31% of the land · typical AZ town 14% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (15 mi) · AZ 1.1 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land8.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (146 acres) · AZ 8 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home35% 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 66%
LessMore
Arizona towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 53%
Arizona towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Payson’s 31% is ahead of 68% of Arizona towns, while its trails per square mile lead 37% 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 Rumsey Park, with 1.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Payson Rodeo Grounds
Park
23 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
3,885 conserved acres
31% of Payson’s land. Who manages Payson’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service3,749 ac
Town or city123 ac
State Department of Land13 ac
National Forest · 3,749 acLocal Park · 123 acState Resource Management Area · 13 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tonto National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 3,749 | Open |
| Rumsey Park Local Park | Town or city | 85 | Open |
| Green Valley Park Local Park | Town or city | 38 | Open |
| State Trust Land State Resource Management Area | State Department of Land | 13 | Restricted |
Things to do
14 places to go in Payson
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Payson
Rumsey Park PlaygroundIn Rumsey Park
DirectionsPlus 1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Payson
2 boat launches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Payson
Birch Mesa5,200 ft elevation
DirectionsYerba Senta Butte5,125 ft elevation
DirectionsPicnic areas in Payson
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Payson
Houston Mesa CampgroundUSFS
DirectionsHouston Mesa Group
DirectionsHouston Mesa Horse
DirectionsPayson Campground & RV Resort
DirectionsPlus 2 campgrounds without a name on the map.
Trails & water
5 named trails and 8 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.0 miHorses · 2.0 miUnpaved · 9.2 mi
Cypress Trail2.0 mi
FR 5101.1 mi
Bolder Trail0.8 mi
PATS Trail0.5 mi
Disc Golf0.4 mi
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
9Baseball
8Pickleball
6Basketball
4Tennis
2Tracks
1Skate park
1Football
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Ox Bow InnBuilding · listed 2004
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Payson: April and May
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) | 55 | 58 | 64 | 70 | 79 | 90 | 92 | 90 | 85 | 75 | 63 | 54 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 2.4 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 2.1 |
June is the driest month (0.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 92 °F). 2.8 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 92 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Payson →
Next door
Payson and its neighbors
Payson 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payson | 31% | 0.8 | 9 | 35% | B+ |
| Star Valley | 93% | 1.1 | under 1 | under 1% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Payson
Where can I hike in Payson?
The longest trail networks: Rumsey Park, 1.1 miles; Green Valley Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Payson is conserved land?
31% 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 Payson’s trails?
Rumsey Park and Green Valley Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Payson?
1.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.1 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Payson?
239,961 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Payson or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 3,891 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Payson have?
Ahead of 66% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #67 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 Payson 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 →