Mansel Carter Oasis Park
Managed by Town of Queen Creek
52 acres2.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Tony the Marine · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Queen Creek
18% of Queen Creek’s land is conserved: 4,757 acres
38 miles of mapped trail cross Queen Creek, 0.9 per square mile of land. 93% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Mansel Carter Oasis Park (2.1 mi), Desert Mountain Park (1.3 mi), Founders' Park (0.8 mi).
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns · #32 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it
Conserved land
18%
4,757 acres · of 42.0 sq mi of land
Trails
38 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
911 ac
13 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
93%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
95 mi
75 mi lanes · 19 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Queen Creek?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Queen Creek have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Queen Creek is ahead of 86% of U.S. towns, #32 of 140 in Arizona. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Queen Creek’s overall grade.
Conserved land18% of the land · typical AZ town 14% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (38 mi) · AZ 1.1 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land13 acres of park per 1,000 residents (911 acres) · AZ 8 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home93% of residents within a half mile of a park · AZ 56% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 86%
LessMore
Arizona towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 78%
Arizona towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Queen Creek’s 18% is ahead of 55% of Arizona towns, while its trails per square mile lead 42% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− 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 Mansel Carter Oasis Park, with 2.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Frontier Family Park
Managed by City Of Queen Creek
94 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 10 parks & preserves
Mansel Carter Oasis Park52 acres · 2.1 mi of trail · Town of Queen Creek
DirectionsDesert Mountain Park28 acres · 1.3 mi of trail
DirectionsFounders' Park13 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsFrontier Family Park94 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · City Of Queen Creek
DirectionsSan Tan Mountain Regional Park69 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Victoria Park7 acres
DirectionsVillagio Disc Golf Park6 acres
DirectionsSpur Cross Central Park6 acres
DirectionsRoman Estates Park4 acres
Neighborhood Park2 acres
Who protects it
4,757 conserved acres
18% of Queen Creek’s land. Who manages Queen Creek’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State Department of Land4,242 ac
Town or city453 ac
Regional agency50 ac
Bureau of Reclamation12 ac
Bureau of Land Management7 ac
State Resource Management Area · 4,242 acLocal Park · 466 acLocal Recreation Area · 38 acFederal Other or Unknown · 12 acNational Public Lands · 7 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 6 of 14 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Trust Land State Resource Management Area | State Department of Land | 4,242 | Restricted |
| Queen Creek Sports Complex Local Park | Town or city | 127 | Unknown |
| Hpec-Future Local Park | Town or city | 95 | Open |
| West Park Local Park | Town or city | 77 | Unknown |
| San Tan Regional Park Local Park | Regional agency | 50 | Open |
| Horseshoe Park And Equestrian Centre Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 38 | Open |
| Desert Mountain Park Local Park | Town or city | 34 | Open |
| Desert Wells Park Local Park | Town or city | 32 | Unknown |
| Sossaman And Cloud Park Local Park | Town or city | 21 | Unknown |
| Sonoqui Park Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Unknown |
4 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
54 places to go in Queen Creek
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Queen Creek
1 public pool without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Queen Creek
Founders’ Park Splash PadIn Founders' Park
Directions52 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.
Dog parks in Queen Creek
Pocket Park for Pups
DirectionsBiking & sports
95 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
75 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
19 mi
off-road bike paths
0.5 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
77Basketball
70Pickleball
43Baseball
25Tennis
17Beach volleyball
15Soccer
9Football
9Volleyball
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). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Rittenhouse Elementary SchoolBuilding · listed 1998
About itWhen to get out
April is the best month for walking in Queen Creek
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 | 13.9 | 14.3 | 14.1 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 10.0 |
| High (°F) | 67 | 70 | 77 | 85 | 94 | 103 | 105 | 103 | 99 | 88 | 76 | 66 |
| Rain (in) | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 1.0 |
June is the driest month (0.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 105 °F). 1.2 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 105 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Queen Creek →
Next door
Queen Creek 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queen Creek | 18% | 0.9 | 13 | 93% | A |
| San Tan Valley | 39% | 1.0 | 29 | 85% | A |
| Gilbert | 4% | 0.9 | 12 | 99%+ | A− |
| Apache Junction | 65% | 2.2 | 3 | 51% | B+ |
| Mesa | 6% | 0.6 | 8 | 98% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Queen Creek
Where can I hike in Queen Creek?
The longest trail networks: Mansel Carter Oasis Park, 2.1 miles; Desert Mountain Park, 1.3 miles; Founders' Park, 0.8 miles; Frontier Family Park, 0.5 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Queen Creek is conserved land?
18% 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 Queen Creek’s trails?
Mansel Carter Oasis Park and Desert Mountain Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Queen Creek?
95 miles of bike routes are on the map: 75 of painted or protected lanes, 19 of off-road paths and 0.5 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Queen Creek?
25,724 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Queen Creek or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 917 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Queen Creek have?
Ahead of 86% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #32 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 Queen Creek 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 →