Best Hiking Area Mesa Near Me

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Welcome to Usery Mountain Regional Park. Located on the Valley’s east side, this 3,648-acre park became part of Maricopa County's regional park system in 1961. Read More


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4worldlovers:
Coon Bluff can become a bustling location, especially during the hot summer months. However, the area provides an opportunity for some terrific views, year-round flowing water, and other treats as close as one can get to the city. This loop hike can be either a simple matter of "exercise," or it can prove to be filled with enchantment. Everything is in the timing.


Getting to the trailhead is simple enough. From the west, take Power Road past the Granite Reef Dam and along Bush Highway until you see the turnoff for Coon Bluff Rd. From the east, travel along Bush Highway about 1 mile past the intersection with Usery Pass Road. Once on Coon Bluff Road, proceed about 0.4 miles to the parking area on your left. The trailhead is at the far southwest corner of the parking area (33.54400N, 111.63541W).


I recommend that you forego this hike during the summer months or on holiday weekends when crowds and debris infiltrate what is otherwise a placid environment. If you can start on a weekday morning just as the dawn approaches the eastern horizon, so much the better. Travel the route counterclockwise, and you will undoubtedly get to appreciate views in all directions, the glow of the morning sun as it paints across the buttes to the west and a calming mist as it rises from the Salt River to the northeast.

Almost immediately after you leave the trailhead, you will begin a steep but short climb up to the ridge that crests the hills leading north to Coon Bluff. Water runoff erodes the hillside trail, but it is easy to find with only moderate difficulty maintaining one's footing. Once atop the ridge, it is a fairly flat trek across to the bluff. Now is the time to enjoy a sunrise, the sounds of the river, and an encounter with the Wild Stallions if you are fortunate. On earlier hikes, I have come within inches of these beautiful creatures, but this day I saw the band of stallions across the intervening valley and upon a hillside to the west. They were engaged in grazing and "horseplay" in the early sunlight.