'I just can't believe we finished': 315-mile trail loop around Maricopa County completed

Jessica Boehm | The Republic | azcentral.com

Nearly 20 years after the idea was born and 15 years after development began, Maricopa County has finished a 315-mile trail that circles the entire county.

The last leg of the Maricopa Trail, which links 10 of the county's regional parks, was completed this Fall when the county finally acquired four small sections of state trust land.

The pieces of trail were "somewhat insignificant in the grand scheme of things," but essential to complete the mission the county had set out to accomplish decades ago, Maricopa County Parks and Recreation Director R.J. Cardin said.

Outdoor enthusiasts can now trek from Lake Pleasant Regional Park in the north to Usery Mountain Regional Park in the east before turning south to San Tan Mountain Regional Park and west to White Tank Mountain Regional Park.

"It is unbelievable. I just can't believe we finished," Cardin said.

Trail system connects all of the Valley

Former Maricopa County Supervisor Andy Kunasek was the champion of the Maricopa Trail. He convinced his colleagues to start planning a connection between the regional parks nearly two decades ago.

"I just felt like it had to be done. When you look at the county map and where the county parks and bigger city parks are ... they just form a ring around the whole Valley," Kunasek said.

He likened the parks to gemstones and the trail to a chain that together form "a piece of jewelry."

The trail was done with sparse public funding. From 2004-2018, the county had a $5 million budget for the project, Cardin said.

In 2004, the county began developing the first of 104 segments of trail at Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area.

The physical construction of the trail wasn't the time-consuming part — it was working with more than a dozen cities and multiple federal and state land agencies that own the land that prolonged the process, Cardin said.

He said the county's hope is that the completed trail will lead to "better connected communities" across the Valley.

"By having this trial, it loops around the entire Valley and connects neighborhoods to communities, communities to cities and cities to one another across the county," Cardin said.

Trail connects to 10 regional parks

Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Steve Chucri said that while the Valley is known for its hiking opportunities at places like Camelback Mountain or Piestewa Peak, the regional park system provides wilderness experiences away from the bustle of the city.

"To have 315 miles of trails connected throughout our parks system is gratifying and really ... showcases our Maricopa County parks to not only residents but also people who visit Maricopa County every day," Chucri said.

These are the parks connected by the Maricopa Trail:

Buckeye Hills Regional Park.

Cave Creek Regional Park.

Estrella Mountain Regional Park.

Lake Pleasant Regional Park.

McDowell Mountain Regional Park.

San Tan Mountain Regional Park.

South Mountain Regional Park.

Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area.

Usery Mountain Regional Park.

White Tank Mountain Regional Park.

Next stop: Wickenburg and Buckeye

Even as the county is celebrating the completion of the loop, it's still looking ahead.

Cardin said the Parks Department is eyeing two spur trails that will jut out from the current loop to connect to Buckeye Hills Regional Park and Hassayampa River Preserve in Wickenburg.

Trail maintenance will be provided by volunteers. The Maricopa Trail & Park Foundation has committed to providing a bulk of the maintenance, but the county is still looking for volunteers to "adopt" a portion of the trail to maintain, Kunasek said.

For more information on the foundation and volunteer opportunities, visit the foundation website at mctpf.org.

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