Reach 11 Recreation Area

City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation

2025-01-07 kingsnake Bike Riding 0

Looking past desert broom (Baccharis sarothroides) to the Loop 101 Freeway. There were no other desert flowers.
Looking past desert broom (Baccharis sarothroides) to the Loop 101 Freeway. There were no other desert flowers.

Reach 11 Recreation Area is located in north Phoenix. From Cave Creek Rd., Reach 11 stretches seven miles east to Scottsdale Rd., and a less than a half mile north from the CAP Canal (Central Arizona Project), not quite to Mayo Blvd. There are underpasses / tunnels at Deer Valley Rd., the Loop 101 Freeway, the Piestewa Freeway, and 56th St. Heavily trafficked Tatum Blvd. has no protected crossing, essentially cutting Reach 11 in half. Unless you want to play Frogger. 🐸

The dirt trailhead on Tatum Blvd. has no water. Nearest bathroom is 2½ miles west at Pinnacle Dog Park.
The dirt trailhead on Tatum Blvd. has no water. Nearest bathroom is 2½ miles west at Pinnacle Dog Park. 😬

Reach 11 Recreation Area’s 1,500 acres includes eighteen soccer fields, two baseball fields, two t-ball fields, and the Arizona Horse Lovers Park. Not included in those City of Phoenix official numbers are two more soccer fields, a dog park and a skate park. All of it west of Tatum Blvd. The sports fields have toilets and tons of paved parking. There are dirt trailheads on Cave Creek Rd., and both sides of Tatum Blvd. Nothing on 56th St. or Scottsdale Rd.

That is one sad skate park. (GoPro screen cap)
That is one sad skate park. (GoPro screen cap)

I originally considered biking Reach 11 Recreation Area end-to-end. Because of Tatum Blvd., I decided to only bike the west half of the park. Well, an eight mile loop isn’t much on mild terrain, so I planned to do two laps. As a bonus, I could do one GoPro camera angle on the first loop (handlebar, pointing right) and another on the second (chest, pointing ahead). Check out the video below! 📽

The only trail signs are these iron posts, every ⅛ mile or so on official trails.
The only trail signs are these iron posts, every ⅛ mile or so on official trails.

Reach 11 Recreation Area has a web of mellow dirt trails. Some apparently even have names. The trail that runs along the bottom of the CAP Canal embankment is the backbone of the park. (The trail is designated W211S, or E211S, depending on which side of Tatum Blvd. you are on.)

As adventurous as Reach 11 gets. Weee!!! (GoPro screen cap)
As adventurous as Reach 11 gets. Weee!!! (GoPro screen cap)

Reach 11 Recreation Area was cool, cloudy and breezy — even at 1 p.m. Basically, I took the northern trails west, then southern W211S Trail back east to Tatum Blvd. No one playing sports at any of the fields. No one on the side trails. Two dog walkers, two electric “bikes”, and two hobos on W211S.

Old burn area, just east of the Piestewa Freeway on W211S Trail. The clouds came & went.
Old burn area, just east of the Piestewa Freeway on W211S Trail. The clouds came & went.
I thought there was a dirt trail south of the soccer field parking, but instead I had to beat a few yards of brush to W211S Trail. No big. The attached GPS file (below) contains a route you can ride the whole way.

Trailhead Directions: There are two trailheads on Tatum Blvd., just north of the CAP Aqueduct, between Union Hills Dr. and the Loop 101 freeway: This is the one on the west side of Tatum Blvd. The trailhead on the other side accesses the east end of Reach 11 Recreation Area. There is no tunnel under heavily-trafficked Tatum Blvd., which also has guardrails, so making a mad dash across is … dangerous. Pick one side or the other.

GPS File: Reach_11_Recreation_Area

Distance: 16.55 mi.

AEG: 164 ft.

Time: 1h 57m

Rumble Video

Vimeo Video

Biking Reach 11, Phoenix from Preston McMurry on Vimeo.