TZO grass
Park
8 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Greg Goebel · CC BY-SA 2.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Air Force Academy
Air Force Academy has 20 miles of mapped trails, 2.0 for every square mile of land
13 acres are parks and preserves, 1.9 per 1,000 residents. 43% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 31% of U.S. towns · #145 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it
Conserved land
under 1%
0 acres · of 10.0 sq mi of land
Trails
20 mi
2.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
13 ac
1.9 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
43%
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
4
What kind of outdoors town is Air Force Academy?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Air Force Academy have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Air Force Academy is ahead of 31% of U.S. towns, #145 of 159 in Colorado. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Air Force Academy’s overall grade.
Conserved landunder 1% of the land · typical CO town 7% · U.S. 4%DTrails2.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (20 mi) · CO 1.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land1.9 acres of park per 1,000 residents (13 acres) · CO 14 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home43% of residents within a half mile of a park · CO 97% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 31%
LessMore
Colorado towns of 2,500+ (159)Ahead of 9%
Colorado towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 7%; the U.S., 4%), so Air Force Academy’s under 1% is ahead of 3% of Colorado towns, while its trails per square mile lead 70% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Cadet Tailgate Area
Park
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Things to do
17 places to go in Air Force Academy
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Air Force Academy
16 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Air Force Academy
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
5 named trails and 4 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 9.0 miUnpaved · 13.0 mi
Falcon Trail9.0 mi
B52 Trail0.5 mi
Chapel Overlook Trail0.3 mi
Faculty Dr Connector0.2 mi
Fire Road 7010.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
41Tennis
17Basketball
12Baseball
8Soccer
4Football
3Volleyball
2Lacrosse
2Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →3 places on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 8 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Air Force Academy: May and June
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) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 45 | 46 | 53 | 59 | 68 | 79 | 84 | 81 | 75 | 63 | 52 | 44 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.1 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 0.8 |
January is the driest month (0.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 2.9 inches fall in July, the wettest month. The climate in Air Force Academy →
Questions about parks and trails in Air Force Academy
How much of Air Force Academy is conserved land?
under 1% of its land, against a typical 7% for a Colorado town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Air Force Academy’s trails?
TZO grass and Cadet Tailgate Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Air Force Academy?
60,773 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Air Force Academy or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 13 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Air Force Academy have?
Ahead of 31% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #145 of 159 in Colorado. 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 Air Force Academy 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 →