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Can anyone comment on vandalism at the 7th Ave trailhead and/or the parking lot just north of Mountain View Park on 7th Ave and Cheryl? I want to hike around North Mountain at night and wasn't sure if my car would be better off at the lot outside of Piestewa's gate. Of course incidents happen everywhere - I'm just wondering if it's a frequent occurrence in the area.

I would avoid that park even in the daytime, unless I was moving through ... and quickly. Lots of skeevy / homeless people around there ...

I went there fairly late one night but there was a windowless van (not of the soccermom variety) in the parking lot with the headlights on, if I remember correctly, so I went to Piestewa instead. Wasn't sure if I was just being paranoid.

Patrick L wrote:Wasn't sure if I was just being paranoid.

You weren't....Hiking North Mountain wouldn't be a problem at Night but I sure wouldn't park my Vehicle over on that side at Night...You would probably come back to your Vehicle to find it sitting on the Ground with the Tires gone and the Windows broken out...Pretty bad part of Town, especially at Night....Lots of Drugs over there and people looking for things to sell so they can get their next Fix....

Yeah, put it this way: I live on the other side of 7th St, about a mile away. I once drove to a dinner party -- in a nice house (music producer) -- on upper 15th Ave, south of Shaw Butte. In the 10 minutes it took us to drive over there, I saw three cop incidents, two where they had a guy down on the ground, and the third a house entry. I've ridden my bike through there in the day time, and even then it does not feel safe off the main roads ...

The parking lot on 7th Avenue just north of Peoria has never given me any issues. Used to live 10 minutes away and it was my primary jumping off point for most of my training runs & hikes. But that being said, I probably would not park there at night. My golden rule for going into a sketchy area of town is that you are generally safe from 4 AM to about noon. The people that are going to cause you problems tend to sleep in late. I also can't remember the last time I ran into or stumbled into a bum's camp while on the trails out there. Happened about once a month when I first started hitting the park in the late 90's.

Ever since they built the police sub-station over there the neighborhood and the park have cleaned up dramatically. When I first went over to North Mountain in the morning 15 years ago you would see pimps, hookers and drug dealers walking home early in the morning on Peoria after working the night shift. Just don't do anything obvious like open your trunk when you get there to stash your wallet. Put it in a discreet place or keep it with you before you park. The other thing to remember is that the park has really seemed to have been discovered in the years that I was away. Now there are always cars parked at the trailhead and people milling around. Back 15 years ago I was generally the only car in the lot and maybe 1-2 other cars would show up while I was out running or hiking.

There is another smaller lot off of Thunderbird that accesses the park as well and it is in the middle of a really nice neighborhood. So you may want to check out parking on that side for nighttime excursions in the park.

Sounds like I'll be staying away from 7th Ave at night.

@SpiderLegs
Are you talking about the lot on Central and Aster? That one has a lovely gate/spike strip combo to keep night hikers at bay.

@Patrick L

Yes I was, I've only used that lot two, maybe three times and that was almost a decade ago. Unaware of the spikes.

If you are intent on doing night hiking out there, there is a wide strip of dirt right at the intersection of 7th Avenue and Peoria about 20 yards away from the police station. Would think your vehicle would be safe there. See cars parked there sometimes.

Just thought of another few options for you as well (besides parking over at the Kingsnake residence). Park over on Cortez Street just off of Cave Creek Road and hop on the tunnel that takes you under Cave Creek on Trail 100. Take Trail 100 over to North Mountain (though it will add a few miles to your hike).

The other option would be to park at the strip mall on 7th Street and Mountain View and head up 7th until you can access the park. A couple of restaurants in that shopping center, so think it would be fairly safe.

The strip mall could work. Now that I think about it, what time does the gate close at the main park on 7th St and Peoria? 8pm? I could just get in before then.

Laps on North Mountain have a better AEG to mileage ratio, but a couple hundred feet isn't that important when my car's well-being is at stake. Piestewa is probably the best bet.


Edit: Phoenix.gov says the gate closes at 7pm. Seems like the NW and SE trails would be in the shade by then, if not shortly after.

There is also another parking lot just north of Mountain View by the National Guard building. But again it's been a decade since I've parked in it. So don't know if they lock the place up at night. There is a connector trail to North Mountain from there as well.

I like North Mountain and Shaw Butte over Squaw Peak for training hikes because you don't have to dodge people or stop to let people by you on the trail. You can just muscle up and down the peak at your own pace. Plus if you are going fast, don't have to worry about tripping over a rock or loose spot on the trail. Not as scenic as Squaw Peak, but that's the trade off. But IMHO, nothing beats a sunrise from the top southern ridge of North Mountain. You look out and it is mountain ranges as far as the eye can see. Hard to believe you are in the middle of Phoenix.

I have parked at the strip mall at 7th St and Thunderbird (by the Dollar Store), there is a little connector trail that goes West over to Shaw Butte just South of the parking lot there, and another that heads South to the North Mtn Visitor Center (depending on what trails you want to hike) never had any problems.