17 Mile House Farm Park
Managed by Arapahoe County
4 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Seventeen Mile House · Photo: Thomas Stockman · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Dove Valley
8% of Dove Valley’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 3.7 miles of mapped trail cross Dove Valley, 1.2 per square mile of land. 142 acres are parks and preserves, 30 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns · #46 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
164 acres · of 3.1 sq mi of land
Trails
3.7 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
142 ac
30 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
6.7 mi
5.1 mi lanes · 1.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Dove Valley?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Dove Valley have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Dove Valley is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #46 of 159 in Colorado. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, conserved land lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Dove Valley’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical CO town 7% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · CO 1.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land30 acres of park per 1,000 residents (142 acres) · CO 14 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · CO 97% · U.S. 72%A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 92%
LessMore
Colorado towns of 2,500+ (159)Ahead of 72%
Colorado towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 7%; the U.S., 4%), so Dove Valley’s 8% is ahead of 57% of Colorado towns, while its trails per square mile lead 44% 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 17 Mile House Farm Park, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
164 conserved acres
8% of Dove Valley’s land. Who manages Dove Valley’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County101 ac
Regional agency92 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits5 ac
Local Recreation Area · 92 acLocal Park · 69 acRecreation or Education Easement · 29 acHistoric or Cultural Easement · 5 acLocal Conservation Area · 2 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Family Sports Center Golf Course Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 67 | Open |
| 17 Mile House Farm Park Local Park | County | 40 | Open |
| 17 Mile House Local Park | County | 29 | Open |
| Family Sports Center Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 13 | Open |
| Happy Canyon Trail Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 12 | Open |
| Cherry Creek Valley Ecological Park Local Conservation Area | County | 2 | Open |
Things to do
12 places to go in Dove Valley
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Dove Valley
1 public pool without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Dove Valley
8 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Dove Valley
2 dog parks without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Dove Valley
17 Mile Farm HouseIn 17 Mile House Farm Park
DirectionsTrails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
6.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
5.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
1.6 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
4Football
1Tennis
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Seventeen Mile HouseBuilding · listed 1983
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Dove Valley: April to June and 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) | 9.7 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 45 | 47 | 55 | 61 | 70 | 82 | 88 | 85 | 78 | 65 | 53 | 45 |
| Rain (in) | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.5 |
January is the driest month (0.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 2.4 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Dove Valley →
Next door
Dove Valley and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dove Valley | 8% | 1.2 | 30 | 99%+ | A |
| Centennial | 10% | 1.7 | 13 | 98% | A |
| Inverness | under 1% | 4.7 | under 1 | 18% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Dove Valley
Where can I hike in Dove Valley?
The longest trail networks: 17 Mile House Farm Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Dove Valley 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 Dove Valley’s trails?
17 Mile House Farm Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Dove Valley?
6.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.1 of painted or protected lanes and 1.6 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Dove Valley?
21,188 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Dove Valley or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 142 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Dove Valley have?
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #46 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 Dove Valley 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 →