Mesa County Fairgrounds Arboretum
Park
1 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Orchard Mesa
Orchard Mesa has 5.7 miles of mapped trails, 1.6 for every square mile of land
153 acres are parks and preserves, 22 per 1,000 residents. 82% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 6% of Orchard Mesa’s land is conserved, about 142 acres.
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns · #73 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it
Conserved land
6%
142 acres · of 3.6 sq mi of land
Trails
5.7 mi
1.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
153 ac
22 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
82%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.3 mi
1.3 mi lanes
Highest peak
4,705 ft
Orchard Mesa
Lakes & rivers
1
6 beaches
What kind of outdoors town is Orchard Mesa?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Orchard Mesa have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Orchard Mesa is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #73 of 159 in Colorado. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, conserved land lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Orchard Mesa’s overall grade.
Conserved land6% of the land · typical CO town 7% · U.S. 4%B+Trails1.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · CO 1.3 · U.S. 0.4APark land22 acres of park per 1,000 residents (153 acres) · CO 14 · U.S. 13B+Parks 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 84%
LessMore
Colorado towns of 2,500+ (159)Ahead of 54%
Colorado towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 7%; the U.S., 4%), so Orchard Mesa’s 6% is ahead of 49% of Colorado towns, while its trails per square mile lead 58% 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 Mesa County Fairgrounds Arboretum, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 6 parks & preserves
Mesa County Fairgrounds Arboretum1 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsVillage Nine West Park8 acres
Orchard Mesa Lions Club Park2 acres
DirectionsLynwood Park2 acres
Village Nine East Park2 acres
Teardrop Park1 acres
Who protects it
142 conserved acres
6% of Orchard Mesa’s land. Who manages Orchard Mesa’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife123 ac
County17 ac
U.S. Forest Service1 ac
State Conservation Area · 123 acLocal Recreation Area · 10 acLocal Park · 7 acNational Forest · 1 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orchard Mesa Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 100 | Open |
| Colorado River Island State Wildlife Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 24 | Open |
| Intermountain Veterans' Memorial Park Local Recreation Area | County | 7 | Open |
| Orchard Mesa Lions Club Park Local Recreation Area | County | 3 | Open |
| Lynwood Park Local Park | County | 2 | Open |
| Exposition Park Local Park | County | 2 | Open |
| Mesa County Fairgrounds Arboretum Local Park | County | 1 | Open |
| Teardrop Park Local Park | County | 1 | Open |
| Grand Mesa National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 1 | Open |
| Village Nine Park Local Park | County | 1 | Open |
Things to do
10 places to go in Orchard Mesa
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Orchard Mesa
6 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Orchard Mesa
3 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Peaks in Orchard Mesa
Orchard Mesa4,705 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Old Spanish Trail0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.3 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
7Baseball
2Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Orchard Mesa: 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 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 40 | 48 | 59 | 67 | 77 | 89 | 94 | 91 | 82 | 68 | 53 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 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 Orchard Mesa →
Next door
Orchard Mesa and its neighbors
Orchard Mesa has the second most mapped trails of the 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orchard Mesa | 6% | 1.6 | 22 | 82% | A− |
| Grand Junction | 5% | 2.1 | 13 | 86% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Orchard Mesa
Where can I hike in Orchard Mesa?
The longest trail networks: Mesa County Fairgrounds Arboretum, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Orchard Mesa is conserved land?
6% 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 Orchard Mesa’s trails?
Mesa County Fairgrounds Arboretum and Village Nine West Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Orchard Mesa?
1.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.3 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Orchard Mesa?
120,318 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Orchard Mesa or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 179 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Orchard Mesa have?
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #73 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 Orchard Mesa 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 →