What is the Maricopa Trail?
The Maricopa Trail is Maricopa County’s long-distance trail around the Valley. The county describes it as more than 315 miles of non-motorized trail linking its regional parks, preserves, canal paths and the Tonto National Forest, and it declared Phase 1 complete in October 2018. It’s not a single new path; it’s mostly existing trails stitched together and marked as one route.
In north Scottsdale, the route crosses the northeast corner of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. The county’s current map, Segment 23, brings it south out of the Tonto to Granite Mountain Trailhead, along the Black Hill Trail for 2.3 miles to Fraesfield Trailhead, then 1.1 miles to a junction and 3.5 miles south on the Gooseneck Trail to McDowell Mountain Regional Park.
This is the quiet side of the Preserve: flat to rolling desert, wide views, horse trailers in the lots, and very few people.
How to use it
Pick a trailhead. Granite Mountain and Fraesfield are both directly on the route. Both are free, open sunrise to sunset, and have restrooms, shade and horse-trailer parking, but no drinking water. Pima-Dynamite Trailhead is farther west and isn’t on the county’s alignment, but it does have water and Preserve trails that connect east.
The easy sample. Walk the Black Hill Trail between Granite Mountain and Fraesfield. It’s 2.3 miles each way with little climbing, and you can turn around anywhere.
The long day. From Fraesfield, follow the route south on the Gooseneck Trail to McDowell Mountain Regional Park, about 4.6 miles. Inside the county park, the Maricopa Trail follows the Pemberton Trail. Pemberton Trailhead has restrooms and water, so a car shuttle there makes a good one-way hike or ride. County fees apply inside the park.
Going farther. Segment 24 continues around the Pemberton Trail and then heads west back into the southern Preserve on the Coachwhip, Windmill, Windgate Pass and Gateway Loop trails to Gateway Trailhead. North of Granite Mountain, the route enters the Tonto National Forest and runs toward Bronco Trailhead, then west to Spur Cross Ranch and Cave Creek Regional Park, where it uses part of the Go John Trail.
Share the trail. It’s multi-use. Yield to horses, bikes yield to everyone, and dogs stay on a leash. In the Preserve, dogs aren’t allowed on trail above 90 degrees.
Season. October through April. There’s no shade on this stretch; in summer, go at first light or not at all.
A loop made from other people’s trails
Maricopa County first floated the idea in 1997 as a “pedestrian beltway” around the Valley. It chose the name Maricopa Trail in 2003, and the Board of Supervisors approved the plan on August 16, 2004. New construction began in 2006. The trail links county parks such as Cave Creek, McDowell Mountain, Usery, Estrella, White Tank and Lake Pleasant with Spur Cross Ranch, the Tonto National Forest and city paths. The county declared Phase 1 complete in October 2018 and held a celebration at Cave Creek Regional Park on November 17, 2018.
The north Scottsdale stretch depends on the city’s Preserve. Scottsdale built the Fraesfield and Granite Mountain trailheads, which opened in 2019, and the Preserve’s own trails carry the county route between them.
A note on the route
Some older route descriptions and videos show the Maricopa Trail running past Tom’s Thumb on the Marcus Landslide Trail. The county’s current Segment 23 and 24 map, dated May 2026, runs it down the Gooseneck Trail into McDowell Mountain Regional Park instead. Trails get realigned; check the county’s map before planning a long day.
Why it matters
Most people use the Preserve one trailhead at a time. The Maricopa Trail is a reminder that the Preserve connects to everything around it: the Tonto to the north, the county park to the east, and, by way of the loop, the rest of the Valley.