Blue Heron Park
Managed by City of Phoenix
25 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Ian Poellet · CC BY-SA 3.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Phoenix
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in Phoenix
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 2.3 miles of mapped trail cross Phoenix, 1.2 per square mile of land. 4% of Phoenix’s land is conserved, about 53 acres.
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns · #37 of 142 in Oregon. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
53 acres · of 1.9 sq mi of land
Trails
2.3 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
54 ac
12 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
8.3 mi
7.1 mi lanes · 1.3 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Phoenix?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Phoenix have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Phoenix is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #37 of 142 in Oregon. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Phoenix’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical OR town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · OR 0.8 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land12 acres of park per 1,000 residents (54 acres) · OR 7 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · OR 96% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 84%
LessMore
Oregon towns of 2,500+ (142)Ahead of 74%
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 Blue Heron Park, with 0.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Bear Creek Greenway
Managed by City of Phoenix
11 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Colver Road Park
Managed by City of Phoenix
5 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Who protects it
53 conserved acres
4% of Phoenix’s land. Who manages Phoenix’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city42 ac
Private owners6 ac
County4 ac
Local Park · 40 acLocal Recreation Area · 7 acPrivate Historic or Cultural · 6 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Phoenix Local Park Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Bear Creek Greenway Local Park | County | 12 | Open |
| Phoenix Pioneer Cemetery Private Historic or Cultural | Private owners | 6 | Restricted |
| Colver Road Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Blue Heron Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Jack Woodward Stadium Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Phoenix Elementary Local Recreation Area Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
9 places to go in Phoenix
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Phoenix
6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Phoenix
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Picnic areas in Phoenix
2 picnic areas without a name on the map.
Biking & sports
8.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
7.1 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
1.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
6Tracks
5Basketball
2Baseball
1Soccer
1Football
1Beach volleyball
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).
Patrick F. McManus HouseBuilding · listed 1978
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Phoenix: April to June and September
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) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 50 | 56 | 61 | 66 | 75 | 82 | 92 | 92 | 85 | 71 | 56 | 48 |
| Rain (in) | 2.7 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 2.5 | 3.6 |
August is the driest month (0.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 92 °F). 3.6 inches fall in December, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 92 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Phoenix →
Next door
Phoenix and its neighbors
Phoenix 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix | 4% | 1.2 | 12 | 99%+ | A− |
| Medford | 4% | 0.9 | 8 | 80% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Phoenix
Where can I hike in Phoenix?
The longest trail networks: Blue Heron Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Phoenix is conserved land?
4% of its land, against a typical 4% for an Oregon town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Phoenix’s trails?
Blue Heron Park and Bear Creek Greenway don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Phoenix?
8.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 7.1 of painted or protected lanes and 1.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Phoenix?
48,782 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Phoenix or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 54 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Phoenix have?
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #37 of 142 in Oregon. 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 Phoenix 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 →