Photo: Photolitherland Chris Litherland · CC BY-SA 3.0Cañon City has 11 miles of mapped trails, 0.9 for every square mile of land
77 acres are parks and preserves, 4.5 per 1,000 residents. 72% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 45% of U.S. towns · #133 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it
What kind of outdoors town is Cañon City?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
How much outdoors does Cañon City have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Cañon City is ahead of 45% of U.S. towns, #133 of 159 in Colorado. Trail miles hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
Colorado towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 7%; the U.S., 4%), so Cañon City’s 1% is ahead of 12% of Colorado towns, while its trails per square mile lead 31% of them.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Centennial Park, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 9 parks & preserves
64 conserved acres
1% of Cañon City’s land. Who manages Cañon City’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area - River Walk State Park | State fish & wildlife | 21 | Open |
| Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area - Centennial Park State Park | State fish & wildlife | 16 | Open |
| Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area - River Station State Park | State fish & wildlife | 9 | Open |
| Veterans Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area - Pink House State Park | State fish & wildlife | 4 | Open |
| Rudd Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Margrette Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
8 places to go in Cañon City
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
8 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
15 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
3 more on the History page.
The best walking months in Cañon City: April to 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) | 9.8 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.2 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.5 |
| High (°F) | 49 | 50 | 59 | 66 | 75 | 86 | 90 | 88 | 81 | 69 | 57 | 48 |
| Rain (in) | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
January is the driest month (0.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 2.1 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Cañon City →
Cañon City and its neighbors
Cañon City has the 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cañon City | 1% | 0.9 | 5 | 72% | C+ |
| Lincoln Park | 5% | 1.3 | 27 | 40% | B+ |
| Park Center | under 1% | 1.5 | 2 | 9% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Cañon City
Where can I hike in Cañon City?
The longest trail networks: Centennial Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Cañon City is conserved land?
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 Cañon City’s trails?
Centennial Park and Veterans Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Cañon City?
71,460 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Cañon City or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 77 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Cañon City have?
Ahead of 45% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #133 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 Cañon City neighbors.
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 →