Carpenter Natural Area
Park
135 acres2.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Cortez
Cortez has 12 miles of mapped trails, 1.9 for every square mile of land
98% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 15% of Cortez’s land is conserved, about 613 acres. 553 acres are parks and preserves, 62 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns · #23 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it
Conserved land
15%
613 acres · of 6.2 sq mi of land
Trails
12 mi
1.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
553 ac
62 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
98%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
6.8 mi
6.8 mi lanes
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Cortez?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Cortez have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Cortez is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #23 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 Cortez’s overall grade.
Conserved land15% of the land · typical CO town 7% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (12 mi) · CO 1.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land62 acres of park per 1,000 residents (553 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 98%
LessMore
Colorado towns of 2,500+ (159)Ahead of 86%
Colorado towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 7%; the U.S., 4%), so Cortez’s 15% is ahead of 77% of Colorado towns, while its trails per square mile lead 67% 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 Carpenter Natural Area, with 2.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Parque de Vida
Managed by City of Cortez
62 acres2.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Hawkins Preserve
Park
143 acres1.5 mi of trail
Hidden TrailPrickly Pear Path
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 8 parks & preserves
Carpenter Natural Area135 acres · 2.4 mi of trail
Parque de Vida62 acres · 2.3 mi of trail · City of Cortez
DirectionsHawkins Preserve143 acres · 1.5 mi of trail
DirectionsCentennial Park19 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
DirectionsVeterans Park11 acres · 0.5 mi of trail
DirectionsFuture Park13 acres
DirectionsDenny Lake Park2 acres
DirectionsMontezuma Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
613 conserved acres
15% of Cortez’s land. Who manages Cortez’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city611 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits123 ac
Local Conservation Area · 170 acLocal Recreation Area · 157 acLocal Park · 154 acUnknown Easement · 123 acConservation Easement · 123 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 123 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conquistador Golf Course Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 149 | Restricted |
| Geer Natural Area Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 84 | Open |
| Carpenter Natural Area Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 81 | Open |
| Parque De Vida Local Park | Town or city | 72 | Open |
| Denny Lake Park Local Park | Town or city | 33 | Open |
| Centennial Park Local Park | Town or city | 25 | Open |
| Old Montezuma-Cortez High School Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Cortez City Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Mesa Trail Donation/ Abandoned Evergreen ROW Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Dolores Rd. Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
8 places to go in Cortez
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Cortez
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Cortez
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Picnic areas in Cortez
Wyatt Picnic AreaIn Hawkins Preserve
DirectionsCampgrounds in Cortez
America's Tent LodgesHours: Apr 01-Oct 15
DirectionsTrails & water
2 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 1.3 miHorses · 1.3 miUnpaved · 6.0 mi
Hidden Trail0.2 mi
Prickly Pear Path0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
6.8 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
6.8 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
13Soccer
8Tennis
7Baseball
6Pickleball
4Basketball
2Football
2Volleyball
1Skate park
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). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Cortez: 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) | 9.9 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 14.2 | 14.7 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.1 | 9.6 |
| High (°F) | 42 | 47 | 56 | 64 | 74 | 86 | 91 | 88 | 80 | 67 | 53 | 43 |
| Rain (in) | 1.2 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.9 |
June is the driest month (0.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 91 °F). 1.5 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 91 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Cortez →
Questions about parks and trails in Cortez
Where can I hike in Cortez?
The longest trail networks: Carpenter Natural Area, 2.4 miles; Parque de Vida, 2.3 miles; Hawkins Preserve, 1.5 miles; Centennial Park, 0.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Cortez is conserved land?
15% 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 Cortez’s trails?
Carpenter Natural Area and Parque de Vida don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Cortez?
6.8 miles of bike routes are on the map: 6.8 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Cortez?
45,069 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Cortez or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 553 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Cortez have?
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #23 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 Cortez 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 →