Dry Lake Park
Managed by City of Safford
628 acres13.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Ken Lund · CC BY-SA 2.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Safford
Safford has 41 miles of mapped trails, 4.4 for every square mile of land
652 acres are parks and preserves, 64 per 1,000 residents. 11% of Safford’s land is conserved, about 679 acres. The biggest trail networks: Dry Lake Park (13.5 mi).
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns · #16 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it
Conserved land
11%
679 acres · of 9.3 sq mi of land
Trails
41 mi
4.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
652 ac
64 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
78%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.4 mi
4.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Safford?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Safford have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Safford is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #16 of 140 in Arizona. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Safford’s overall grade.
Conserved land11% of the land · typical AZ town 14% · U.S. 4%A−Trails4.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (41 mi) · AZ 1.1 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land64 acres of park per 1,000 residents (652 acres) · AZ 8 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home78% of residents within a half mile of a park · AZ 56% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 94%
LessMore
Arizona towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 89%
Arizona towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Safford’s 11% is ahead of 42% of Arizona towns, while its trails per square mile lead 96% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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 Dry Lake Park, with 13.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Firth Park
Managed by City of Safford
7 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto City of Safford Public ParkingWebsite ↗
14th Avenue And El Paso Boulevard Park
Managed by City of Safford
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Central Avenue Play Area
Managed by City of Safford
3 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 8 parks & preserves
Dry Lake Park628 acres · 13.5 mi of trail · City of Safford
DirectionsFirth Park7 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Safford
DirectionsCentral Avenue Play Area3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Safford
DirectionsGlenn Meadows Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Safford
DirectionsLa Tierra Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Safford
Directions14th Avenue And El Paso Boulevard Park5 acres · City of Safford
Ramada Park1 acres · City of Safford
Fireman's Park1 acres · City of Safford
DirectionsWho protects it
679 conserved acres
11% of Safford’s land. Who manages Safford’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city647 ac
State Department of Land18 ac
Bureau of Land Management13 ac
Private owners2 ac
Local Park · 649 acState Resource Management Area · 18 acNational Public Lands · 13 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dry Lake Park Local Park | Town or city | 633 | Open |
| State Trust Land State Resource Management Area | State Department of Land | 18 | Restricted |
| Safford Field Office National Public Lands | Bureau of Land Management | 13 | Open |
| 14Th Ave And El Paso Blvd Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Firth Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Central Avenue Play Area Local Park | Private owners | 2 | Open |
| Glenn Meadows Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Ramada Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| La Tierra Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
18 places to go in Safford
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Safford
17 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Community gardens in Safford
Our Neighbor's Farm and Pantry
DirectionsTrails & water
4 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Calle Orion0.2 mi
Calle Neptune0.2 mi
Calle Luna0.2 mi
Calle Estrella0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
4.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
14Basketball
9Tennis
6Baseball
2Football
2Tracks
2Beach volleyball
1Soccer
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →23 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 23 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Graham County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1982
About itAlonzo Hamilton Packer HouseBuilding · listed 1988
About itArizona Bank and TrustBuilding · listed 1988
About itDan Williams HouseBuilding · listed 1988
About itDavid Ridgeway HouseBuilding · listed 1988
About itDavid Wickersham HouseBuilding · listed 1988
About itGeorge A. Olney HouseBuilding · listed 1988
About itHouse at 611 Third AvenueBuilding · listed 1988
About itHugh Talley HouseBuilding · listed 1988
About itJ. Mark Wilson HouseBuilding · listed 1988
About itJames R. Welker HouseBuilding · listed 1988
About itJoe Horowitz HouseBuilding · listed 1988
About it11 more on the History page.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Safford
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 | 13.8 | 14.3 | 14.1 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 10.0 |
| High (°F) | 62 | 67 | 74 | 82 | 91 | 100 | 100 | 97 | 93 | 84 | 71 | 61 |
| Rain (in) | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.8 |
May is the driest month (0.2 in) and June the warmest (highs of 100 °F). 1.9 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 100 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Safford →
Next door
Safford and its neighbors
Safford has the 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Safford | 11% | 4.4 | 64 | 78% | A |
| Thatcher | 1% | 4.9 | 4 | 73% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Safford
Where can I hike in Safford?
The longest trail networks: Dry Lake Park, 13.5 miles; Firth Park, 0.1 miles; Central Avenue Play Area, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Safford is conserved land?
11% 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 Safford’s trails?
Dry Lake Park and Firth Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Safford?
4.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Safford?
148,450 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Safford or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 669 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Safford have?
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #16 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 Safford 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 →