Maricopa Trail: PIR to Tres Rios • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

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Mar 20 2026

mt98dew

Guides 73
Routes 37
Photos 3,639
Triplogs 2,532

56 male

Joined Oct 24 2010
Phoenix,Az

Maricopa Trail: PIR to Tres Rios

Phoenix, AZ

Maricopa Trail: PIR to Tres Rios

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Mar 20 2026
		mt98dew • Triplogs 2,532

Hiking	9.66 Miles	258 AEG

Hiking	9.66 Miles	2 Hrs 27 Mns	3.94 mph
	258 ft AEG

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Early morning hike on the Maricopa Trail. Started from the Tres Rios TH off of 91st Ave. Wow! The birds sounds that greeted me as I started my hike were phenomenal. I couldn’t see most of them, but the sounds were overwhelming. Weird to think a few hundred yards away you have cars rumbling down 91st Ave. I wonder how the coming highway 30 is going to impact the sanctuary. The intensity of the sounds faded away as I continued west along the trail. The “trail” is huge. Easily 10 feet wide. No problems with following it. There are occasional Maricopa Trail markers along the way. They become a little more beneficial as you approach PIR. The trail does a little bobbing and weaving as it transitions from road to single track back to road. Amazingly there was also a “Sun Circle” sign sighting. That sign is ubiquitous! Love to know what the official route is for that trail. I see everywhere. The PIR segment of this trail was unimpressive. I’ve done Monument Hill enough to know the area. Walked along the road to get to the turn for the Estrella Competitive Tracks. I was on a bit of a time crunch so I used that turn as my turn around point. Retraced my steps back to Tres Rios.

Honestly, the trail itself isn’t that great. Pretty much a straight road. However, the environment is very unique and was a pleasant experience. Wildlife included a rabbit, coyote and lots of birds. Only saw 8 hikers (near the TH’s) and one guy trying his luck at fishing.

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230131

Jan 04 2023

kingsnake

Guides 122
Routes 353
Photos 11,694
Triplogs 915

64 male

Joined Dec 20 2010
Sunnyslope, PHX

Maricopa Trail: PIR to Tres Rios

Phoenix, AZ

Maricopa Trail: PIR to Tres Rios

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking		Jan 04 2023
		kingsnake • Triplogs 915

Hiking	5.64 Miles	352 AEG

Hiking	5.64 Miles	2 Hrs 14 Mns	2.53 mph
	352 ft AEG

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Monument Hill - B&M Wildlife Area

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Despite hitting 1,000 combined hiking & biking miles for 2022, I slacked off through much of December. Day after Christmas, I got sick. Not Chinese Lung AIDs, but the same congestion & cough all night thing I used to get every winter until some guy in Wuhan decided Peking Bat sounded delicious. (Ironically, I was not sick a single day during the three COVID winters.)

I delayed hiking the Maricopa Trail for a week, but want to complete it before the end of the year. So, despite only three or four hours of “sleep”, I hiked from Monument Hill to Tres Rios. (For some reason the easement to the MTB trailhead was locked, despite there being no events at PIR.)

It doesn’t look like much, but Monument Hill is a steep little climb. Gravelly too. Mind your footing. Despite barely over 200 ft. of prominence, the summit of Monument Hill has great views due to miles & miles of flat surrounding terrain.

I have never had a problem with Panasonic DMC-TS5 pocket camera’s date/time stamp until a few weeks ago, when for some reason, in mid-hike, it decided to start setting photos’ “date created” to 2003-05-21. But still with correct time. Odd. Okay, whatevs. Reset date on camera.

On yesterday’s hike from PIR to Tres Rios, I took a few photos, then checked the camera’s date. The first few photos were okay, but the next couple were back to 2003-05-21. What the

? Reset camera date again. Delete mis-dated photos; retake them; check; dates all okay. Off I go. Check an hour or so later and … dates screwed up AGAIN. No way I’m walking back.

I saw coots, a great egret and what may have been a dark-morph Ferruginous hawk — all too far away for my pocket camera. I would have fed the coots if they had stuck around.

There was less graffiti than I expected on the Jersey barriers lining the road through the Base & Meridian (B&M) Wildlife Area. I made up for it by scouting up under the Avondale Blvd. bridge. The large cement culvert / pipe segments just past a mile also had graffiti. There wasn't much else to look at the first 1½ miles.

Hike Video: https://vimeo.com/787366249

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Desert Broom Floating marshpennywort London Rocket

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Honey Bee

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Bridge Cadastral Survey Marker Dam - Rock Graffiti Informational/Interpretive Sign

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Gila River Indian Reservation Little Gila River Monument Hill Salt River

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

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WARNING! Hiking and outdoor related sports can be dangerous. Be responsible and prepare for the trip. Study the area you are entering and plan accordingly. Dress for the current and unexpected weather changes. Take plenty of water. Never go alone. Make an itinerary with your plan(s), route(s), destination(s) and expected return time. Give your itinerary to trusted family and/or friends.

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