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Manning CabinManning Cabin · Photo: National Park Service inventory · Public domain
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Rincon Valley

25% of Rincon Valley’s land is conserved: 4,044 acres

33 miles of mapped trail cross Rincon Valley, 1.3 per square mile of land. 308 acres are parks and preserves, 47 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Saguaro National Park - Rincon Mountain District (1.7 mi).

Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns · #29 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it

Conserved land
25%
4,044 acres · of 25.4 sq mi of land
Trails
33 mi
1.3 per sq mi of land
Park land
308 ac
47 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
51%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
15 mi
12 mi lanes · 3.8 mi paths
Highest peak
3,533 ft
Isolated

What kind of outdoors town is Rincon Valley?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

Land that stays wild25% of the land is conserved; a typical Arizona town, 14%.A trail town1.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 86% of U.S. towns.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Rincon Valley have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Rincon Valley is ahead of 88% of U.S. towns, #29 of 140 in Arizona. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.

A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Rincon Valley’s overall grade.
Conserved land25% of the land · typical AZ town 14% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (33 mi) · AZ 1.1 · U.S. 0.4APark land47 acres of park per 1,000 residents (308 acres) · AZ 8 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home51% 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 88%
LessMore
Arizona towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 80%

Arizona towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Rincon Valley’s 25% is ahead of 60% of Arizona towns, while its trails per square mile lead 60% 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.

1234
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 Saguaro National Park - Rincon Mountain District, with 1.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Saguaro National Park - Rincon Mountain District

Managed by National Park Service
280 acres1.7 mi of trail
Dogs usually limited
Directionsto the trailhead

Saguaro National Park

Managed by National Park Service
280 acres
Dogs usually limited
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗

Rocking K

Nature preserve
173 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Cienega Creek Natural Preserve

Nature preserve
59 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Saguaro National Park - Rincon Mountain District280 acres · 1.7 mi of trail · National Park Service
Directions
Cienega Creek Natural Preserve59 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Saguaro National Park280 acres · National Park Service
Rocking K173 acres
Directions
Saguaro Wilderness4 acres · National Park Service
Who protects it

4,044 conserved acres

25% of Rincon Valley’s land. Who manages Rincon Valley’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

State Department of Land3,429 ac
County323 ac
National Park Service296 ac
State Resource Management Area · 3,429 acNational Park · 296 acLocal Conservation Area · 228 acUnknown Easement · 95 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 95 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 5 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
State Trust Land
State Resource Management Area
State Department of Land3,429Restricted
Saguaro National Park
National Park
National Park Service296Open
Flap
Local Conservation Area
County125Unknown
Rocking K
Local Conservation Area
County103Unknown
Things to do

7 places to go in Rincon Valley

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Peaks in Rincon Valley
Isolated3,533 ft elevation
Directions
Loma Alta3,287 ft elevation
Directions

Plus 1 peak without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.

Trails & water

16 named trails

Named trails
Open to bikes · 2.9 miHorses · 2.2 miUnpaved · 8.9 mi
Mole Mound1.5 mi
Arizona Trail - Pistol Hill1.2 mi
Encantando1.0 mi
unnamed trail0.9 mi
AZT - Pistol Hill0.8 mi
Encantado0.7 mi
Zippin'0.6 mi
Buckthorn0.6 mi
East Camino Dorotea0.6 mi
Ole Mesquite0.6 mi
6 more trails
Red Tail
0.6 mi
Coyote Canyon
0.4 mi
East Coyote Creek Ranch Place
0.3 mi
South Box R Ranch Place
0.2 mi
Ruiz Trail
0.2 mi
East Box Z Ranch Place
0.2 mi
Biking & sports

15 miles of bike routes

Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.

12 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
3.8 mi
off-road bike paths
Arizona TrailBike route
2 mi
Courts & fields
72Equestrian
6Pickleball
3Basketball
3Tennis
2Soccer
1Volleyball
1Beach volleyball

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

When to get out

April is the best month for walking in Rincon 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)10.311.011.912.913.814.214.113.312.311.310.510.1
High (°F)666874819099989693857464
Rain (in)1.11.10.80.30.20.32.52.71.50.70.71.3

May is the driest month (0.2 in) and June the warmest (highs of 99 °F). 2.7 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 99 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Rincon Valley →

Next door

Rincon Valley and its neighbors

Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Tucson363 miVail74 miRincon Valley33 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Rincon Valley25%1.34751%A
Vail39%3.26860%A
Tucson31%1.51188%A

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in Rincon Valley

Where can I hike in Rincon Valley?

The longest trail networks: Saguaro National Park - Rincon Mountain District, 1.7 miles; Cienega Creek Natural Preserve, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Rincon Valley is conserved land?

25% 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 Rincon Valley’s trails?

Saguaro National Park - Rincon Mountain District and Saguaro National Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Where can I bike in Rincon Valley?

15 miles of bike routes are on the map: 12 of painted or protected lanes and 3.8 of off-road paths. Named routes: Arizona Trail.

Is there public land near Rincon Valley?

37,915 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Rincon Valley or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 308 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Rincon Valley have?

Ahead of 88% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #29 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 Rincon Valley neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →