Agua Caliente Creek
Nature preserve
56 acres2 mi of trail
La MilagrosaEast Cabeza de VacaGnat Tank Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Charles S. Todd House · Photo: Tdw1203 · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Tanque Verde
Tanque Verde has 36 miles of mapped trails, 1.1 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Agua Caliente Creek (2 mi), Roy P Drachman - Agua Caliente Regional Park (1 mi). 22% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4% of Tanque Verde’s land is conserved, about 894 acres.
Ahead of 57% of U.S. towns · #89 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
894 acres · of 32.3 sq mi of land
Trails
36 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
236 ac
15 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
22%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
11 mi
9.7 mi lanes · 1.5 mi paths
Highest peak
2,923 ft
Scotts Knob
Lakes & rivers
5
What kind of outdoors town is Tanque Verde?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Tanque Verde have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Tanque Verde is ahead of 57% of U.S. towns, #89 of 140 in Arizona. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Tanque Verde’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical AZ town 14% · U.S. 4%BTrails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (36 mi) · AZ 1.1 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land15 acres of park per 1,000 residents (236 acres) · AZ 8 · U.S. 13BParks close to home22% 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 57%
LessMore
Arizona towns of 2,500+ (140)Ahead of 37%
Arizona towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 14%; the U.S., 4%), so Tanque Verde’s 4% is ahead of 27% of Arizona towns, while its trails per square mile lead 53% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. 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 Agua Caliente Creek, with 2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Roy P Drachman - Agua Caliente Regional Park
Park
105 acres1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Agua Caliente Park
Serguson Donation
Managed by Pima County Regional Flood Control District
143 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
El Sereno Preserve
Nature preserve
134 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 11 parks & preserves
Agua Caliente Creek56 acres · 2 mi of trail
Roy P Drachman - Agua Caliente Regional Park105 acres · 1 mi of trail
DirectionsMcDonald District Park40 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsSerguson Donation143 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Pima County Regional Flood Control District
DirectionsSaguaro National Park - Rincon Mountain District9 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · National Park Service
DirectionsEl Sereno Preserve134 acres
Bear Creek Ranch17 acres
Saguaro National Park9 acres · National Park Service
Saguaro Wilderness9 acres · National Park Service
Sneed Parcel7 acres
Colonia Tanque Verde4 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
894 conserved acres
4% of Tanque Verde’s land. Who manages Tanque Verde’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County633 ac
U.S. Forest Service156 ac
Town or city77 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits28 ac
National Park Service9 ac
Local Conservation Area · 469 acNational Forest · 156 acLocal Park · 116 acLocal Recreation Area · 115 acUnknown Easement · 28 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 20 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 10 of 16 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flap Local Conservation Area | County | 167 | Unknown |
| Coronado National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 156 | Open |
| Segurson Donation Local Conservation Area | County | 143 | Unknown |
| Roy Drachman Agua Caliente Regional Park Local Recreation Area | County | 97 | Open |
| Tanque Verde Creek Local Conservation Area | County | 96 | Unknown |
| Villa Alegre Park Local Park | Town or city | 77 | Open |
| McDonald District Park Local Park | County | 39 | Open |
| Agua Caliente Creek Local Conservation Area | County | 23 | Unknown |
| Bear Creek Ranch Local Conservation Area | County | 19 | Unknown |
| Emily Gray Junior High School Local Recreation Area | County | 17 | Open |
4 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
38 places to go in Tanque Verde
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Tanque Verde
17 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Tanque Verde
2 dog parks without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Tanque Verde
11 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Trails & water
7 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 0.8 miHorses · 0.9 miUnpaved · 4.5 mi
Agua Caliente Wash1.6 mi
East Cabeza de Vaca0.7 mi
La Milagrosa0.7 mi
Bear Canyon Road Connector0.4 mi
Gnat Tank Trail0.4 mi
North Camino Cascabel0.3 mi
North Avenida de Montezuma0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
11 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
9.7 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
1.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
369Equestrian
19Tennis
11Basketball
8Baseball
7Softball
4Soccer
2Football
1Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Tanque Verde
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 | 12.9 | 13.8 | 14.3 | 14.1 | 13.3 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.5 | 10.0 |
| High (°F) | 66 | 69 | 75 | 83 | 92 | 101 | 100 | 99 | 95 | 86 | 75 | 65 |
| Rain (in) | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 1.3 |
May is the driest month (0.2 in) and June the warmest (highs of 101 °F). 2.4 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 101 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Tanque Verde →
Next door
Tanque Verde and its neighbors
Tanque Verde 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tanque Verde | 4% | 1.1 | 15 | 22% | B |
| Tucson | 31% | 1.5 | 11 | 88% | A |
| Catalina Foothills | 1% | 0.8 | 1 | 22% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Tanque Verde
Where can I hike in Tanque Verde?
The longest trail networks: Agua Caliente Creek, 2 miles; Roy P Drachman - Agua Caliente Regional Park, 1 miles; Serguson Donation, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Tanque Verde is conserved land?
4% 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 Tanque Verde’s trails?
Agua Caliente Creek and Roy P Drachman - Agua Caliente Regional Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Tanque Verde?
11 miles of bike routes are on the map: 9.7 of painted or protected lanes and 1.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Tanque Verde?
48,841 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Tanque Verde or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 465 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Tanque Verde have?
Ahead of 57% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #89 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 Tanque Verde 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 →