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Looking Southwest down the Los Padillas Drain in the South Valley, New MexicoPhoto: Matthew.kowal · CC BY-SA 4.0
AOutdoors
Outdoors in South Valley

South Valley has 49 miles of mapped trails, 1.7 for every square mile of land

13% of South Valley’s land is conserved, about 2,343 acres. 1,805 acres are parks and preserves, 49 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge (3.9 mi).

Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns · #10 of 73 in New Mexico. What drives it

Conserved land
13%
2,343 acres · of 29.0 sq mi of land
Trails
49 mi
1.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,805 ac
49 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
74%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
19 mi
14 mi lanes · 4.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1

What kind of outdoors town is South Valley?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

A trail town1.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 91% of U.S. towns.Land that stays wild13% of the land is conserved; a typical New Mexico town, 4%.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does South Valley have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, South Valley is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #10 of 73 in New Mexico. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.

A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of South Valley’s overall grade.
Conserved land13% of the land · typical NM town 4% · U.S. 4%A−Trails1.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (49 mi) · NM 0.9 · U.S. 0.4APark land49 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,805 acres) · NM 7 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home74% of residents within a half mile of a park · NM 67% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 91%
LessMore
New Mexico towns of 2,500+ (73)Ahead of 88%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be 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.

1234
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 Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge, with 3.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge

Managed by US Fish and Wildlife Service
585 acres3.9 mi of trail
Bosque Loop TrailNorth Field Loop TrailMural Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Durand Open Space

Park
10 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Rio Bravo County Park

Park
20 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Valle del Bosque Park

Park
15 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 7 parks & preserves
Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge585 acres · 3.9 mi of trail · US Fish and Wildlife Service
Directions
Durand Open Space10 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
Directions
Rio Bravo County Park20 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Directions
Valle del Bosque Park15 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Directions
Atrisco Park15 acres
Directions
Dolores Huerta Gateway Park5 acres · Albuquerque
Directions
Edward L Romero Park4 acres · Albuquerque
Directions
Who protects it

2,343 conserved acres

13% of South Valley’s land. Who manages South Valley’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

Town or city1,515 ac
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service1,148 ac
State land board147 ac
County108 ac
Other state land9 ac
Local Recreation Area · 1,523 acNational Wildlife Refuge · 1,148 acState Resource Management Area · 147 acLocal Park · 73 acLocal Conservation Area · 23 ac
The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
Bosque
Local Recreation Area
Town or city1,515Open
Valle De Oro National Wildlife Refuge
National Wildlife Refuge
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service1,148Restricted
State Trust Land
State Resource Management Area
State land board147Open
Atrisco Park & Little League
Local Park
County15Open
Sanchez Farm
Local Conservation Area
County13Open
Rio Bravo Park
Local Park
County11Open
Valle del Bosque Park
Local Park
County11Open
Durand
Local Conservation Area
County10Open
County Park
Local Park
County9Open
Rio Bravo Fishing Pier & Nature Trail (Poco Loco)
State Park
Other state land9Open

5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.

Things to do

22 places to go in South Valley

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Playgrounds in South Valley

21 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.

Trails & water

6 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Open to bikes · 19.2 miHorses · 11.6 mi
Chavez Loop4.1 mi
Bosque Loop Trail1.9 mi
North Field Loop Trail1.0 mi
Greer Loop Southwest0.6 mi
Mural Trail0.5 mi
Riverside Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Rio Grande
Biking & sports

19 miles of bike routes

Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.

14 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
4.4 mi
off-road bike paths
0.1 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Paseo del Bosque TrailBike route
4.1 mi
Chavez LoopBike route
4.1 mi
Courts & fields
21Basketball
19Baseball
11Tennis
2Soccer
1Football
1Equestrian
1Skate park

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

3 places on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.

History →
Old Armijo SchoolBuilding · listed 1982
About it
James Lawrence and Juliana Gutierrez y Chavez Hubbell HouseBuilding · listed 2015
About it
Five Points Community ChurchBuilding · listed 2024
About it
When to get out

The best walking months in South Valley: 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.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)10.010.911.913.014.014.514.313.512.311.210.39.8
High (°F)515766738293949185746050
Rain (in)0.40.40.50.50.50.51.61.51.20.90.60.6

January is the driest month (0.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 94 °F). 1.6 inches fall in July, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 94 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in South Valley →

Next door

South Valley and its neighbors

South Valley has the second most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Albuquerque322 miSouth Valley49 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
South Valley13%1.74974%A
Albuquerque16%1.71999%A

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in South Valley

Where can I hike in South Valley?

The longest trail networks: Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge, 3.9 miles; Durand Open Space, 0.4 miles; Rio Bravo County Park, 0.2 miles; Valle del Bosque Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of South Valley is conserved land?

13% 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 Valley’s trails?

Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge and Durand Open Space don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Where can I bike in South Valley?

19 miles of bike routes are on the map: 14 of painted or protected lanes, 4.4 of off-road paths and 0.1 of shoulders and shared lanes. Named routes: Paseo del Bosque Trail and Chavez Loop.

Is there public land near South Valley?

35,561 acres of parks and open public land lie inside South Valley or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,956 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does South Valley have?

Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #10 of 73 in New Mexico. 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 Valley neighbors.

Town Square →
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 →