Alamosa Riparian Park
Park
147 acres3.2 mi of trail
Blue LoopBrown/Green LoopGreen LoopBrown Loop+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Alamosa
10% of Alamosa’s land is conserved, and 98% of residents live within a half mile of a park
12 miles of mapped trail cross Alamosa, 1.5 per square mile of land. 519 acres are parks and preserves, 53 per 1,000 residents. 10% of Alamosa’s land is conserved, about 502 acres.
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns · #35 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it
Conserved land
10%
502 acres · of 8.0 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
1.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
519 ac
53 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
98%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
9.9 mi
7.6 mi lanes · 2.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Alamosa?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Alamosa have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Alamosa is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns, #35 of 159 in Colorado. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, conserved land lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Alamosa’s overall grade.
Conserved land10% of the land · typical CO town 7% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · CO 1.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land53 acres of park per 1,000 residents (519 acres) · CO 14 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home98% of residents within a half mile of a park · CO 97% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 95%
LessMore
Colorado towns of 2,500+ (159)Ahead of 78%
Colorado towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 7%; the U.S., 4%), so Alamosa’s 10% is ahead of 63% of Colorado towns, while its trails per square mile lead 55% 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.
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 Alamosa Riparian Park, with 3.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
"The Wilderness"
Park
13 acres1.1 mi of trail
Dike Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 13 parks & preserves
Alamosa Riparian Park147 acres · 3.2 mi of trail
Directions"The Wilderness"13 acres · 1.1 mi of trail
DirectionsCole Park16 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsCarroll Park16 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsAlamosa National Wildlife Refuge10 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Montaña Azul Park East3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsBoyd Park3 acres
DirectionsSunset Park3 acres
DirectionsMontaña Azul Park West2 acres
DirectionsFriends Park2 acres
DirectionsDiamond Park1 acres
DirectionsZapata Park1 acres
Olympian Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
502 conserved acres
10% of Alamosa’s land. Who manages Alamosa’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city488 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits203 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service20 ac
U.S. Forest Service2 ac
Conservation Easement · 401 acLocal Park · 216 acLocal Recreation Area · 71 acNational Wildlife Refuge · 20 acRecreation or Education Easement · 3 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 203 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 23 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oxbow Recreation Area Local Park | Town or city | 109 | Open |
| Blanca Vista Park Local Park | Town or city | 58 | Open |
| San Luis Valley Family Recreation Center Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 53 | Open |
| Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 20 | Restricted |
| Carroll Park Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Cole Park Local Park | Town or city | 16 | Open |
| Twin Peaks Loop Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Montana Azul Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Unknown |
| Alamosa Levee Trail Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Boyd Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
26 places to go in Alamosa
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Alamosa
Peyton's Play Ball! Park
DirectionsPlus 21 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Alamosa
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Alamosa
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Disc golf in Alamosa
Alamosa Disc Golf Course
DirectionsTrails & water
17 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 6.5 miUnpaved · 1.8 mi
Blue Loop1.5 mi
Twin Peaks Trail1.1 mi
Rio Inspire0.8 mi
Dike Trail0.6 mi
Brown/Green Loop0.5 mi
Outer Oxbow0.5 mi
Inner Oxbow0.5 mi
Green Loop0.4 mi
Brown Loop0.4 mi
North Loop0.4 mi
7 more trails
Hole 19 Connector
0.3 miMalm Trail
0.3 miSierra Blanca Trail
0.2 miBrown/Blue Loop
0.2 miSouth Loop
0.1 miBrown/Green/Blue Loop
0.1 miCrestone Trail
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
9.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
7.6 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
2.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
10Baseball
9Basketball
4Football
4Tennis
2Soccer
1Volleyball
1Multi-sport
1Lacrosse
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →9 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 3 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Denver and Rio Grande Railroad DepotBuilding · listed 1993
About itAlamosa County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1995
About itSacred Heart Catholic ChurchBuilding · listed 1998
About itAmerican National Bank BuildingBuilding · listed 1999
About itHusung HardwareBuilding · listed 2000
About itDenver and Rio Grande Railroad Locomotive No.169Structure · listed 2001
About itSt. Thomas Episcopal ChurchBuilding · listed 2003
About itFirst Baptist ChurchBuilding · listed 2005
About itAlamosa Post OfficeBuilding · listed 2009
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Alamosa: April to August
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) | 9.8 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.7 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 35 | 41 | 52 | 60 | 69 | 79 | 82 | 80 | 74 | 63 | 49 | 36 |
| Rain (in) | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
February is the driest month (0.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 1.5 inches fall in August, the wettest month. The climate in Alamosa →
Next door
Alamosa and its neighbors
Alamosa 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alamosa | 10% | 1.5 | 53 | 98% | A+ |
| Alamosa East | 2% | 0.6 | 2 | 64% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Alamosa
Where can I hike in Alamosa?
The longest trail networks: Alamosa Riparian Park, 3.2 miles; "The Wilderness", 1.1 miles; Cole Park, 0.8 miles; Carroll Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Alamosa is conserved land?
10% 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 Alamosa’s trails?
Alamosa Riparian Park and "The Wilderness" don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Alamosa?
9.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 7.6 of painted or protected lanes and 2.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Alamosa?
5,237 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Alamosa or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 521 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Alamosa have?
Ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #35 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 Alamosa 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 →