San Tan Mountain Regional Park
Nature preserve
6,630 acres20.1 mi of trail
San Tan TrailGoldmine TrailDynamiteMoonlight Trail+1
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗
AOutdoors
Outdoors in San Tan Valley
39% of San Tan Valley’s land is conserved: 18,884 acres
73 miles of mapped trail cross San Tan Valley, 1.0 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: San Tan Mountain Regional Park (20.1 mi). 3,138 acres are parks and preserves, 29 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns · #20 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it
Conserved land
39%
18,884 acres · of 75.8 sq mi of land
Trails
73 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
3,138 ac
29 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
85%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
45 mi
43 mi lanes · 1.6 mi paths
Highest peak
2,362 ft
Goldmine Mountain
Lakes & rivers
1
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is San Tan Valley?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does San Tan Valley have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, San Tan Valley is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #20 of 140 in Arizona. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of San Tan Valley’s overall grade.
Conserved land39% of the land · typical AZ town 14% · U.S. 4%A+Trails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (73 mi) · AZ 1.1 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land29 acres of park per 1,000 residents (3,138 acres) · AZ 8 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home85% 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 92%
LessMore
Arizona towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 86%
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, San Tan Valley ranks #56 on Outdoors.
Arizona towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so San Tan Valley’s 39% is ahead of 77% of Arizona towns, while its trails per square mile lead 45% 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 San Tan Mountain Regional Park, with 20.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Indigo Sky Recreation Facility
Managed by Johnson Ranch Community Association
5 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Rancho Bella Vista South Community Park
Park
26 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 21 parks & preserves
San Tan Mountain Regional Park6,630 acres · 20.1 mi of trail
DirectionsIndigo Sky Recreation Facility5 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Johnson Ranch Community Association
Pathfinder Park5 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Johnson Ranch Community Association
Larissa Park3 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Morning Sun Farms
MSF Park Area2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Morning Sun Farms
Long Branch Park5 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Saint Charles Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Morning Sun Farms
Rancho Bella Vista South Community Park26 acres
Mountain Vista Community Park10 acres
DirectionsFoothills Park4 acres
Simington Park3 acres
Lakeview Recreation Center2 acres
DirectionsRanco Bella Vista North Playground 32 acres
Rancho Bella Vista North Playground 12 acres
Casey Park2 acres · Morning Sun Farms
Laguna Park1 acres
Rancho Bella Vista North Playground #21 acres
Green Tree Park1 acres
Morning Sun Circle Park1 acres
Mirandesa Park1 acres
Rock Park1 acres
Who protects it
18,884 conserved acres
39% of San Tan Valley’s land. Who manages San Tan Valley’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State Department of Land12,043 ac
Regional agency6,665 ac
Bureau of Land Management3,793 ac
Bureau of Reclamation98 ac
Private owners49 ac
State Resource Management Area · 12,043 acLocal Park · 6,713 acNational Public Lands · 3,793 acFederal Other or Unknown · 98 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 16 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 | 12,043 | Restricted |
| San Tan Regional Park Local Park | Regional agency | 6,665 | Open |
| Lower Sonoran Field Office National Public Lands | Bureau of Land Management | 3,793 | Open |
| Usbr Federal Other or Unknown | Bureau of Reclamation | 98 | Unknown |
| Unknown Park Local Park | Private owners | 25 | Open |
| Mountain Vista Community Park Local Park | Private owners | 9 | Open |
| Meadow Vista Community Park Local Park | Private owners | 6 | Open |
| Vineyard Estates Community Park Local Park | Private owners | 3 | Open |
| Taylor Ranch Community Park Local Park | Private owners | 2 | Open |
| Anastasia Park Local Park | Private owners | 2 | Open |
1 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
38 places to go in San Tan Valley
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in San Tan Valley
Stardust Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in San Tan Valley
27 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in San Tan Valley
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in San Tan Valley
Goldmine Mountain2,362 ft elevation · In San Tan Mountain Regional Park
DirectionsRock Peak2,103 ft elevation · In San Tan Mountain Regional Park
DirectionsPlus 4 peaks without a name on the map.
Disc golf in San Tan Valley
Skyline Rach Disc Golf Course
DirectionsPlus 2 disc golf without a name on the map.
Trails & water
11 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 16.2 miHorses · 4.5 miUnpaved · 7.6 mi
San Tan Trail6.3 mi
Goldmine Trail2.6 mi
Dynamite2.2 mi
Moonlight Trail1.3 mi
Hedgehog Trail1.0 mi
Rock Peak Wash Trail0.9 mi
Stargazer Trail0.7 mi
Littleleaf Trail0.7 mi
Malpais Trail0.5 mi
Dynamite Trail0.2 mi
1 more trails
West Josiah Trail
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
45 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
43 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
1.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
38Basketball
20Tennis
18Baseball
7Football
7Soccer
5Volleyball
4Beach 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 San Tan 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 | 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 | 0.6 | 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 San Tan Valley →
Next door
San Tan Valley and its neighbors
San Tan Valley has the second most mapped trails of the 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Tan Valley | 39% | 1.0 | 29 | 85% | A |
| Queen Creek | 18% | 0.9 | 13 | 93% | A |
| Florence | 21% | 1.6 | 2 | 13% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in San Tan Valley
Where can I hike in San Tan Valley?
The longest trail networks: San Tan Mountain Regional Park, 20.1 miles; Indigo Sky Recreation Facility, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of San Tan Valley is conserved land?
39% 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 San Tan Valley’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at San Tan Mountain Regional Park (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in San Tan Valley?
45 miles of bike routes are on the map: 43 of painted or protected lanes and 1.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near San Tan Valley?
22,471 acres of parks and open public land lie inside San Tan Valley or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 6,967 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does San Tan Valley have?
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #20 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 San Tan 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 →