Baldridge Park
Park
144 acres3.6 mi of trail
Centennial TrailEnchanted Forest TrailOld FencelineWashout Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Visitmontrose · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Montrose
Montrose has 19 miles of mapped trails, 1.0 for every square mile of land
92% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 10% of Montrose’s land is conserved, about 1,187 acres. The biggest trail networks: Baldridge Park (3.6 mi).
Ahead of 89% of U.S. towns · #65 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it
Conserved land
10%
1,187 acres · of 19.1 sq mi of land
Trails
19 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
572 ac
27 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
92%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
34 mi
9.8 mi lanes · 24 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Montrose?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Montrose have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Montrose is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns, #65 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 Montrose’s overall grade.
Conserved land10% of the land · typical CO town 7% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (19 mi) · CO 1.3 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land27 acres of park per 1,000 residents (572 acres) · CO 14 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home92% 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 89%
LessMore
Colorado towns of 2,500+ (159)Ahead of 59%
Colorado towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 7%; the U.S., 4%), so Montrose’s 10% is ahead of 61% of Colorado towns, while its trails per square mile lead 35% 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 Baldridge Park, with 3.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 12 parks & preserves
Baldridge Park144 acres · 3.6 mi of trail
DirectionsCerise Park10 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsUte Park20 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsRiverbottom Park8 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsBuckley Park4 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Airport Industrial Park12 acres
DirectionsRotary Park11 acres
DirectionsFox Park7 acres
Altrusa4 acres
DirectionsMontrose Lions Park2 acres
Archmont Park1 acres
Rainbow Meadows Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
1,187 conserved acres
10% of Montrose’s land. Who manages Montrose’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city560 ac
Private owners456 ac
Regional agency115 ac
State fish & wildlife25 ac
Bureau of Land Management19 ac
USDA easements (NRCS)10 ac
Other state land2 ac
Private Recreation or Education · 456 acLocal Other or Unknown · 392 acLocal Park · 205 acLocal Conservation Area · 65 acState Conservation Area · 23 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 11 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 5 of 63 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunset Mesa Openspace Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 189 | Open |
| Cobble Creek Golf Course Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 169 | Restricted |
| Bridges At Black Canyon Golf Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 163 | Restricted |
| Montrose Golf Course Private Recreation or Education | Private owners | 108 | Restricted |
| Cedar Cemetery Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 40 | Unknown |
| Baldridge Park Local Park | Town or city | 37 | Open |
| Airport Industrial Park Local Park | Town or city | 35 | Open |
| Branscome Dmea Corridor Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 34 | Open |
| Sunset Mesa Youth Park Local Park | Town or city | 33 | Open |
| Montrose High School Local Other or Unknown | Regional agency | 29 | Restricted |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
14 places to go in Montrose
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Montrose
Columbine Middle School Field
DirectionsPlus 9 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Montrose
2 dog parks without a name on the map.
Campgrounds in Montrose
Black Canyon/Montrose KOA Kampground
DirectionsRiverbend RV ParkFee
DirectionsTrails & water
8 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 3.6 miUnpaved · 1.8 mi
Centennial Trail0.6 mi
Bench Trail0.4 mi
Rec Center Trail0.3 mi
Old Chipeta Trail0.2 mi
Enchanted Forest Trail0.2 mi
Paleozoic Trail0.1 mi
Old Fenceline0.1 mi
Washout Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
34 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
9.8 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
24 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
16Soccer
14Pickleball
10Baseball
6Tennis
2Basketball
2Skate park
2Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →14 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 6 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Ute Memorial SiteSite · listed 1970
About itThomas B. Townsend HouseBuilding · listed 1980
About itDenver and Rio Grande DepotBuilding · listed 1982
About itMontrose City HallBuilding · listed 1982
About itUS Post Office-Montrose MainBuilding · listed 1986
About itJ. V. Lathrop HouseBuilding · listed 1988
About itUS Bureau of Reclamation Project Office BuildingDistrict · listed 1991
About itMontrose County CourthouseBuilding · listed 1994
About itMethodist Episcopal Church of MontroseBuilding · listed 1999
About itSherman and Ross Block BuildingBuilding · listed 2003
About itBenevolent and Protective Order of Elks LodgeBuilding · listed 2004
About itMontrose Masonic Temple, Lodge No. 63Building · listed 2004
About it2 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Montrose: 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) | 40 | 46 | 56 | 63 | 74 | 85 | 90 | 87 | 79 | 66 | 52 | 40 |
| Rain (in) | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.6 |
February is the driest month (0.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 1.2 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Montrose →
Questions about parks and trails in Montrose
Where can I hike in Montrose?
The longest trail networks: Baldridge Park, 3.6 miles; Ute Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Montrose 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 Montrose’s trails?
Baldridge Park and Ute Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Montrose?
34 miles of bike routes are on the map: 9.8 of painted or protected lanes and 24 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Montrose?
115,675 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Montrose or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 595 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Montrose have?
Ahead of 89% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #65 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 Montrose 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 →