The Río Sabinas flows along the edge of Nueva Rosita, and the small parks that line its banks — Los Sabinitos, Los Gritos, and San Antonio — are where the town's social life happens on weekends. The river itself is not dramatic, but the shade of the sabino trees (Montezuma cypress) along its banks provides welcome relief from the heat of the Coahuila summer. Families come to picnic, children swim in the calmer stretches, and the parks have a relaxed, unpretentious character typical of northern Mexican towns.
The sabino tree — a large cypress that grows along riverbeds in this part of Mexico — is the tree the town's name references (Sabinas). The river parks are most pleasant in the morning before the heat builds. They are about a kilometre from the town centre, easily reached on foot.