Roadrunner Trail - Lake Pleasant, AZ

Easy hike by Lake Pleasant - fun with young kids

The Roadrunner Trail starts just north of the Visitor Center. It is an easy trail and well-marked. It is about 0.6 miles to the Restroom facilities at the Jet Ski Rental Parking Lot from the Visitor Center TH. You will probably not hike this as a trail from end to end and back but more likely will make numerous stops and detours down to the Lake. It should be a fun hike with young kids (5 - 12 years old) or with out of town guests who aren't in hiking shape. The trail starts as an asphalt trail for a few yards until it gets to a picnic bench. There are numerous picnic benches and two large Picnic Ramadas with covered picnic tables along the trail route. There are multiple side trails down to the "beach" and the water. Take a picnic lunch, a ground cloth, a tarp or tent for shade, floaties or life preservers, maybe even fishing poles (and hooks and bait and license), and make a day at the lake out of this hike. If the water is low, you can leave the trail about 0.2 miles into the hike, cross a small peninsula, and climb up a hill. At about 0.25 miles, there is a side trail to a small Native American ruin.


The Visitor Center is typically open from 10 am to 6 pm, and the Rangers and Volunteers can be amusing and informative. There is a short nature trail by the Visitor Center named the Desert Tortoise Trail.

2011-07-02 Al_HikesAZ