Rocky Mountain Elementary Park
Park
8 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Clifton
Clifton has 5.0 miles of mapped trails, 0.8 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Rocky Mountain Elementary Park (0.5 mi). 8% of Clifton’s land is conserved, about 302 acres. 82% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 77% of U.S. towns · #92 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
302 acres · of 6.0 sq mi of land
Trails
5.0 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
279 ac
14 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
82%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
5.1 mi
1.4 mi lanes · 3.7 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Clifton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Clifton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Clifton is ahead of 77% of U.S. towns, #92 of 159 in Colorado. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Clifton’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical CO town 7% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (5 mi) · CO 1.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land14 acres of park per 1,000 residents (279 acres) · CO 14 · U.S. 13BParks close to home82% of residents within a half mile of a park · CO 97% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 77%
LessMore
Colorado towns of 2,500+ (159)Ahead of 42%
Colorado towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 7%; the U.S., 4%), so Clifton’s 8% is ahead of 55% of Colorado towns, while its trails per square mile lead 29% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ 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 Rocky Mountain Elementary Park, with 0.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Kimwood Park
Park
4 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Clifton Nature Park
Managed by Mesa County
42 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 6 parks & preserves
Rocky Mountain Elementary Park8 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsKimwood Park4 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Clifton Nature Park42 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Mesa County
DirectionsCandlewood Community Park3 acres
DirectionsStrawberry Acres park2 acres
Applewood Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
302 conserved acres
8% of Clifton’s land. Who manages Clifton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife208 ac
Town or city43 ac
Bureau of Land Management38 ac
County14 ac
State parks13 ac
State Park · 197 acLocal Park · 57 acNational Public Lands · 38 acState Conservation Area · 18 acRecreation or Education Easement · 3 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 3 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| James M. Robb - Colorado River State Park - River Wildlife Area State Park | State fish & wildlife | 122 | Open |
| James M. Robb - Colorado River State Park - Corn Lake State Park | State fish & wildlife | 42 | Open |
| Clifton Nature Park And Trail Local Park | Town or city | 40 | Open |
| Unknown Park National Public Lands | Bureau of Land Management | 38 | Open |
| James M. Robb - Colorado River State Park State Park | State fish & wildlife | 22 | Open |
| Colorado River Island State Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 14 | Open |
| Robb-Colorado River State Park Colorado River Wildlife Area Section State Park | State parks | 11 | Open |
| Rocky Mnt Elem Park (County) Local Park | County | 8 | Open |
| Franklin Island State Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 5 | Open |
| Kimwood Park (County) Local Park | County | 4 | Open |
2 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
8 places to go in Clifton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Clifton
McDonald's PlayPlace
DirectionsPlus 6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Clifton
Corn Lake Boat Ramp
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Corn Lake Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
5.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.4 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
3.7 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
4Basketball
1Soccer
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Clifton: April and May
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 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 48 | 60 | 67 | 77 | 89 | 94 | 91 | 83 | 69 | 53 | 40 |
| Rain (in) | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.5 |
June is the driest month (0.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 94 °F). 1.1 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 94 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Clifton →
Next door
Clifton and its neighbors
Clifton 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clifton | 8% | 0.8 | 14 | 82% | A− |
| Grand Junction | 5% | 2.1 | 13 | 86% | A− |
| Fruitvale | 4% | 0.4 | 5 | 81% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Clifton
Where can I hike in Clifton?
The longest trail networks: Rocky Mountain Elementary Park, 0.5 miles; Kimwood Park, 0.4 miles; Clifton Nature Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Clifton is conserved land?
8% 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 Clifton’s trails?
Rocky Mountain Elementary Park and Kimwood Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Clifton?
5.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.4 of painted or protected lanes and 3.7 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Clifton?
127,241 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Clifton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 318 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Clifton have?
Ahead of 77% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #92 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 Clifton 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 →