HikeArizona.COM

Scenic ‘pedestrian beltway' to link 9 Valley parks
by Amy B Wang - Nov. 24, 2009
The Arizona Republic

Along the farthest corridors of the Valley, there is an ambitious construction project quietly under way. Within a decade, the project will become a circular pathway larger than Loops 101, 202 and 303 combined. It's about a third of the way done - and you may have never heard of it.

In 1997, the Maricopa County Parks and Recreation Department developed a long-term blueprint that included dozens of lofty goals. Among the most ambitious: create a "pedestrian beltway" linking nine of its 10 parks in one large, 242-mile loop encircling the county. It would be called the Maricopa Trail.

Maricopa Trail Map

More info: http://www.maricopa.gov/parks/MaricopaTrail/Faq.aspx

I think its a great idea, and im stoked to start knocking out the whole trail... Bit by bit of course...

It's an interesting concept. Pima County has a similar system in planning, though they don't have such a catchy name for it. It will follow the Rillito River, the Santa Cruz River, the Houghton Greenway and Pantano Wash to circumnavigate the urban core. Probably will add a stretch further to the south as the metropolis grows that way. I think it's a fantastic idea to link recreational opportunities like this with open space - not only for people, but also as wildlife corridors. It helps us to see that automobiles are not the end-all-be-all...

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to drive 15 miles to get to my riverpark and take my noon walk ;)

Trails = good. Nuff said.

Love it!!

The one in Tucson runs right by where I used to live. Glad they are allowing all non-motorized use on the Maricopa one, too. I betcha there are going to be "thru-hikers," and ultramarathon events, and for sure there will be thru-bikers!

Some of the Tucson one goes through a bad neighborhood down by the Santa Cruz River, making that part a little spooky, though. Also, on the one in Tucson, the paved part is ok for bikes, but on the s. side of the Rillito they have the dirt one which is off-limits to bikes, which made commuting on it tricky for me since I lived by the dirt one, until they built a bridge across the river so I could ride to the paved side and ride to work. I used to actually see cops waiting to ticket bike riders on the dirt one, as if they didn't have anything better to do, and that was way before the big push in Tucson to ticket bike infractions. Naturally, the dirt one was more fun on a bike, but I do understand about horse riders and bike riders not being a good mix.

Actually the bike riders also can make it hard for the walkers on the paved side. For whatever reason, some people do prefer to walk or run on pavement so on a bike you had to be very careful to follow the rules. If you were walking you found out that many bike riders don't follow the rules. The rule was that walkers are supposed to be on the left and bikers on the right, and also that walkers have the right-of-way, just like on a hiking trail.

I haven't ridden it for about 8 years, so not sure how it is now.

It's about the same. They've paved more sections, and no one enforces the "no bikes on the dirt" rule anymore. The older sections of the riverpark system had a 8-10' wide asphalt path, and no official "soft path" on the side (and I'm assuming you were near the Mountain Ave. Pedestrian Bridge, which was the first section built). However, it's all slowly being built to the new standard which is 12' paved (like freaking superhighway) with a separated 6' natural surface path separated by a "landscape buffer". That's cut down on bike-ped conflicts considerably - giving everyone more room. Unfortunately, I think it also reduces the quality of the experience - it's hard to get the feeling of wandering through a mesquite bosque on a 12' asphalt path. The irony is that the most used section of the whole riverpark system - from Campbell to Stone on the Rillito - will likely be the last to be upgraded.

I use the Santa Cruz along downtown as well. It's definitely a touch seedy - you can't be afraid of a couple of vagrants and you've got to watch for cop cars driving on the path. But, for a quick run with the pooch (while it's still light out), you can't beat it. Sunset from that area is priceless!

Maricopa Regional Trail reaches halfway point

PHOENIX -- There’s good news for Valley residents who enjoy hiking and mountain biking.

The Maricopa Regional Trail development project reached the halfway point this month in the construction of 421 miles of trail that will connect the county’s ten parks....



http://www.azfamily.com/news/Maricopa-R ... 15056.html

The Maricopa Trail made the front page of the Arizona Republic today: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... ck_check=1

I'm working on it, but I wanna see someone do the Phoenix circle trail. (Or is it Maricopa County?) Such a thing does exist. Would likely be boring as heck, unless you did it on a mountain bike ...

@kingsnake

(Or is it Maricopa County?) Such a thing does exist. Would likely be boring as heck

It would also likely be very long as Maricopa county currently occupies more area then seven states ;) Just over 9000 square miles, that's a log day hike!

I recalled it was 420-something miles, but a quick google reveals I transposed the first two digits: It is in fact 242 miles. Here's a map: https://www.maricopa.gov/parks/MaricopaTrail/

Some sections incomplete:
https://www.maricopa.gov/parks/Maricopa ... w-8x11.pdf

kingsnake wrote:I'm working on it, but I wanna see someone do the Phoenix circle trail. (Or is it Maricopa County?) Such a thing does exist. Would likely be boring as heck, unless you did it on a mountain bike ...

Seem to remember when I looked up a few sections in my neck of the woods that large portions of the Maricopa Trail are on utility easements. So you better like the hum of high voltage power lines above your head.

Part of it goes past the prison south of Anthem ( http://hikearizona.com/photo=194826 ) too. Fun all around!