HikeArizona.COM

I hadn't seen anyone mention this on the forum so I figured I would. Echo Canyon will be closed from 1/28 until sometime in the fall while they do trailhead improvements. I hadn't heard about this until a co-worker mentioned it. Cholla will still be open and I'm pretty sure you can come most of the way down Echo-- just not to the TH.

http://phoenix.gov/parks/trails/camelpark.html

It will be interesting to see how much (if any) of the Echo Canyon Trail will be open for those wishing to hike it from the top down. It sounds like there will be plenty of work going on on the trail too, not just the parking lot.

Renovate, rebuild and reroute the summit trail to improve footing, eliminate erosion-prone areas and increase long-term sustainability for the mountain.

Glad I have a bike. Invergordon is sure to be a living nightmare.

9L posted some photos showing how far down the Echo side you can go if you climb over the top from Cholla:
http://hikearizona.com/photoset.php?ID=23854&start=0

Does anyone has more information than is available on the official web site.

How's the project going (as of when you post)? Have you seen progress?

Any more specific info on reopening (as compared to the official "late fall" estimate)?

Thank you for any info!

Sometimes they give updates on their facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/phoenixparks

The city announced today that the Echo Canyon Trail will reopen on November 30, 2013 ... The Saturday after Thanksgiving.

The first 1/4 mile of trail has been rebuilt -- and lengthened to 1/2 a mile -- to be less steep and avoid erosion-prone areas.

Fox Ten News just reported the opening will be delayed until 2014. They said there is a delay in supplies needed to complete the project. Go Phoenix!

Link here: http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/story/23385 ... next-month
excerpt:

Reopening of Echo Canyon trail delayed
Updated: Sep 18, 2013 4:07 PM MST
UPDATE: The opening of the trail has been delayed. The City of Phoenix says some shipments of construction supplies are late, and a new Ramada and restrooms won't be done until the end of the year.

Reopening was set for Saturday, November 30, but now it's been pushed back.

The city says it will announce a new reopening date when they're closer to finishing the upgrades and renovations.

Apparently they're building our restrooms on the moon? How else can a late shipment cause a delay of a couple of months! Even a container ship from China only takes 2 weeks to get here! :roll:

chumley wrote:and a new Ramada and restrooms won't be done until the end of the year.

aaaand this stops us from hiking the trail....whyyyy? Camelback is so close to everything in Phx that I THINK most hikers can "hold it" on their way up and back down and until they get home, or down the streets to the Sprouts at least.
And who needs Ramadas, really? My park gets 4 million visitors a year and we don't have ramadas.

heard a rumor that the fence on echo has been taken down, that the trail is accessible but not from the echo parking lot
can anyone confirm or deny this?
zombie or 9L, i'm talkin' to you
might have to take a look later this week

@trekkin gecko
I'll probably check it out tomorrow.

trekkin gecko wrote:heard a rumor that the fence on echo has been taken down, that the trail is accessible but not from the echo parking lot

Nothing has changed. The bottom portion of Echo Canyon is still locked off.

thanks for checking it out, mike

Echo Canyon Trail set to reopen January 15
http://www.azfamily.com/news/Camelback- ... 24751.html

Over the past year, crews have expanded the parking lot, almost doubling its size from 68 to 135 spaces. The lower part of the popular summit trail has been improved and rerouted to eliminate badly worn sections and make it more resistant to erosion and better able to withstand heavy foot traffic. Other changes will increase vehicle and hiker safety and ease traffic congestion.

Gotta like the gub'ment..... in a so-called 'budget crisis', but installing a 'chilled drinking fountain' - seriously? "Echo Day-Spa" is more fitting. Glad I'm getting my $4M worth.
If this was on the west-side or in an outlying area - what do you think the chances are to get 'traffic-calming' devices (don't washboard roads work just fine in most places) to insulate the frou-frou from the unwashed hiker masses, shade ramadas, trail maintenance (especially to THIS level) or a chilled water fountain?

Al_HikesAZ wrote:"Over the past year, crews have expanded the parking lot, almost doubling its size from 68 to 135 spaces."

Hmmm, kind of like new freeways, if you build it the traffic will come. So it sounds to me between more parking and the trail improvements it will be a busier trail than before... which for me makes an even better reason to avoid it.

I may hike it once in August and that will be it for me. I don't think you really can improve a trail but then again this is mostly for the tourist

@WidowmakerAgreed... more like a tourist hike... I've hiked it once from the east and once from the west since I moved here in 2002 and that was enough for me.