Beardsley Trail

BEARDSLEY TRAIL

Beardsley Trail crosses the Agua Fria River

The fusion of cholla-encrusted foothills and desert waterways is the foundational flavor of the Beardsley Trail.  Running through undulating terrain on the southwest edge of Lake Pleasant, the 4.4-mile route rolls out in an unrelenting string of ups-and-downs. 

Beardsley Trail is part of the 315-mile Maricopa Trail

The trail, which is also part of the 315-mile, Valley-circling  Maricopa Trail, provides a walking tour of a riffled landscape carved by the Agua Fria River and Morgan City Wash that rush sporadically, and trickle regularly through the arid foothills below the New Waddell Dam that contains the lake.

The hike starts roughly 2 miles south of the lake at the end of Beardsley CSR Road off the Carefree Highway (State Route 74) about 30 miles north of Phoenix.

Cottonwoods in Morgan City Wash seen from Beardsley Trail

Cholla glow in morning light on Beardsley Trail

After passing the trailhead gate, the hike makes its first of many downhill dips--this one into a leafy riparian corridor where the Agua Fria River and Morgan City Wash merge.  The short walk under cottonwoods, mesquite and invasive salt cedar trees is outfitted with a pair of foot bridges where water periodically flows over the trail.

Brittlebush shrubs are plentiful along the route

Lush with greenery and laced with the herbaceous scent of triangle-leaf bursage, the watery segment quickly morphs from jungle-like to a more desert standard creosote-and-cacti ecozone.  The trail follows South Park Road for a few yards before beginning its twisted north-bound journey through saguaro cluttered slopes, tight bends and long, swooping stretches that hang over deep folds in the landscape. 

Mountain vista from the trail high points

New Waddell Dam seen from Beardsley Trail

Throughout much of the hike, a ribbon of cottonwoods and willows visible in the canyons below the trail, betray the course of Morgan City Wash.  

Water lingers in the Agua Fria River

The brilliant linear oasis, which shows off in shades of gold in autumn, is fed by a high water table and is home to rare native fish, myriad dragonflies, abundant birds, amphibians, and critters including racoons, foxes, deer and javelinas.

Desert tobacco blooms year-round in moist areas

About midway through the hike, the trail begins hitting its highest elevations.

Needleleaf Dogweed adds pops of color to the trail

At just over 1,700 feet in elevation, the views expand with glimpses of the Bradshaw and Cave Creek Mountains as well as looks at the glassy, cove-fringed reservoir and its smattering of islands before the trail ends near the Desert Tortoise Campground.

Saguaros line the Beardsley Trail

LENGTH: 8.8  miles round trip

RATING: moderate

ELEVATION: 1,459 – 1,735 feet (620 feet of accumulated elevation change)

GETTING THERE:

Agua Fria Trailhead, Lake Pleasant Regional Park.

From Interstate 17 in Phoenix, take the State Route 74 (Carefree Highway) exit 223 and go 8.8 mile west on SR 74 to the turn off for the Beardsley CSR access road. Turn right and continue a short distance to the parking area. 

FEE: $7 daily fee per vehicle. $2 daily fee for walk/bike in with no vehicle parking in the area.

INFO & MAPS:

Lake Pleasant Regional Park

https://www.maricopacountyparks.net/assets/1/6/lake-pleasant-8x111.pdf