City of Farmington Animas River Fishing Access
Nature preserve
61 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
COutdoors
Outdoors in South River
South River has 11 miles of mapped trails, 1.3 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: City of Farmington Animas River Fishing Access (0.7 mi). 2% of South River’s land is conserved, about 91 acres. 11% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 27% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
91 acres · of 8.5 sq mi of land
Trails
11 mi
1.3 per sq mi of land
Near a park
11%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.5 mi
0.5 mi lanes
Highest peak
5,597 ft
Bald Mesa
Lakes & rivers
5
What kind of outdoors town is South River?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does South River have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, South River is ahead of 27% of U.S. towns. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of South River’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical NM town 4% · U.S. 4%C+Trails1.3 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (11 mi) · NM 0.9 · U.S. 0.4APark land0.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (0 acres) · NM 7 · U.S. 13DParks close to home11% of residents within a half mile of a park · NM 67% · U.S. 72%C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 27%
LessMore
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. 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 City of Farmington Animas River Fishing Access, with 0.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
91 conserved acres
2% of South River’s land. Who manages South River’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Bureau of Land Management89 ac
State land board3 ac
National Public Lands · 89 acState Resource Management Area · 3 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Farmington Field Office National Public Lands | Bureau of Land Management | 89 | Open |
| State Trust Land State Resource Management Area | State land board | 3 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in South River
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Peaks in South River
Bald Mesa5,597 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
3 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.1 mi
Road 31030.8 mi
R 30250.3 mi
Bloomfield Trail0.3 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.5 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
When to get out
The best walking months in South River: 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) | 9.9 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.1 | 14.1 | 14.7 | 14.4 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.1 | 9.7 |
| High (°F) | 42 | 49 | 59 | 67 | 77 | 88 | 92 | 89 | 81 | 69 | 54 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
June is the driest month (0.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 92 °F). 1.1 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 92 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in South River →
Next door
South River 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South River | 2% | 1.3 | under 1 | 11% | C |
| Crouch Mesa | 42% | 2.6 | 4 | 7% | B |
| Flora Vista | 9% | 0.7 | under 1 | 3% | C |
| Spencerville | 23% | 0.4 | under 1 | under 1% | C |
| Aztec | 48% | 3.6 | 63 | 89% | A+ |
| Farmington | 8% | 2.8 | 23 | 90% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in South River
Where can I hike in South River?
The longest trail networks: City of Farmington Animas River Fishing Access, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of South River is conserved land?
2% of its land, against a typical 4% for a New Mexico town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on South River’s trails?
City of Farmington Animas River Fishing Access doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in South River?
0.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.5 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near South River?
169,316 acres of parks and open public land lie inside South River or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 91 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does South River have?
Ahead of 27% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 South River 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 →