Peoria, Arizona.

Over a year ago, I posted a couple of images in Cellpic Sunday posts of views along the Yavapai Point Trail in Lake Pleasant Regional Park. In one of those posts, I recounted the story of my usual trips to Lake Pleasant and my favorite trail in the park, the Pipeline Canyon Trail. The 4-mile (6.4 km) trail was one that I made a point to every year. In February 2021, the other hike leaders suggested that I add something to the hike to make it a bit longer. After studying the park’s trail maps online, as a hike leader, I made the decision to add a side trip from Pipeline Canyon to Yavapai Point and back.

The trailhead for the Yavapai Point Trail is only about 500 meters from the north trailhead of Pipeline Canyon. From there, the trail ventures to the east of Pipeline Canyon and up to the point and back. On the way back, we opted to take a short feeder trail that rejoins Pipeline Canyon Trail a few meters south of the Yavapai Point Trailhead. As it turned out, the Yavapai Point Trail would be the major part of a hike that should have been over 5 miles (8 km).

When we got to the park, we learned that the floating bridge on Pipeline Canyon was out of service. While it is possible to cross the cove without using the bridge if the water level is low, when the reservoir is high, it would be a swim or at least a wade across the cove. We opted to drive to the north end of Pipeline Canyon and make the hike mostly along the Yavapai Point trail. According to MapMyWalk, we hiked only 3.1 miles (5 km) and climbed some 359 feet (109 m) in elevation on the hike.

The reward for that climb to the top is expansive views of Lake Pleasant, the source of about 50 percent of the Phoenix metro’s water supply. Hikers won’t find the climb unpleasant, it’s a relatively gentle rise, but be aware that the park hiking map labels the hike as Moderate.

You may recall reading a couple of paragraphs above that the Pipeline Canyon Bridge was closed. From this view, just to the right of the large saguaro with multiple arms, you can see the bridge across the cove is in place and appears to be useable. We considered continuing on with our hike to the other end of Pipeline Canyon and back, but hesitated in that we couldn’t tell from here whether or not the bridge entrances were blocked off.

I used my Samsung S20U to capture all of the images on this trip. Several images were made into panoramic photos via Adobe Lightroom. The image above is a panorama I created a few moments before starting this post. I finished processing in Luminar Neo. The other panoramic image of the lake was created a few months ago finishing the processing in Luminar AI. From those two views, taken from different viewpoints at the highest section of the trail, you can get a sense of the size of Lake Pleasant. This view shows the north end of the lake at the inflow of the Agua Fria River.

As I am finishing this post, I realize that it will be a very long time, if ever, before I make another hike in the Phoenix area. With the sale of our house in Buckeye and our goal to explore other regions of the country for at least the next winter, it’s not likely that I’ll be back to Lake Pleasant for at least a year, anyway. But, who knows… after our exploration, we may determine that the “grass wasn’t any greener” anywhere else in the south in our quest to stay away from those North Dakota winters.

You will find 2K HD views of the images by simply clicking on any of the photos above. Alternatively, you can click here to visit the entire album on my Flickr site.

John Steiner

Morristown, Arizona.

It was March 27. My wife, Lynn, my sister, Babe, and our friend Jeep (yup, like the car), got on the road early to head to Phoenix to meet Marty and Beto. From there, we loaded up two vehicles with enough gear for a day in the desert, and enough food to feed a small army. The reason for our trip to the desert was to take up our family friend, Beto’s, offer to come to ride with him in the desert.

We headed toward one of our favorite hiking spots, Lake Pleasant, but we drove past the park entrance on Castle Hot Springs Road to an area north of Lake Pleasant Regional Park. Along the way, we saw many trucks and SUVs with trailers, their owners either unloading their All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) or parked with empty trailers, their ATV and driver off wandering in the desert somewhere. Eventually we came to a turn-off on the highway and entered an area where many vehicles, trailers, and ATVs were parked. The group set up our base station and unloaded Beto’s Can Am ATV.

In the Arizona metro, I’ve seen plenty of these two- and four-passenger ATVs on the highway and on a trailer, and I’ve even seen them driving on desert back roads, but on this day, it would be my first experience riding in the desert. It wasn’t long before everyone was strapped in and ready to go. I sat behind the driver, securely belted in by the four-point seat belt, camera in hand. I was to soon learn that it’s impossible to get a level shot while bouncing around on these desert roads. The road in the image above is the best we were on, but the Can Am’s heavy duty suspension seemed to find every bump and dip.

It wasn’t long and we reached the northwestern edge of Lake Pleasant. Of course, Beto had to take us into the shallow water for a short distance just because he could. We didn’t go out far enough to get our feet wet when Beto turned around and headed back to shore.

I found hill climbing and descending to be the most fun, but as you can surmise by the view of the “road” we spent a lot of time moving around, up, and down inside those tightly fitted four-point belts.

If you climb up a hill, you can expect to go down the other side, (at least according to Captain Obvious.) The Can Am took all of the punishment Beto dished out and gave us a day’s worth of fun exploring the desert. Do you know how hard it is to take a sip of water while bouncing around on a desert back road? Now I do.

After lunch, we headed out again, this time taking the Castle Hot Springs Road north to drive by the recently reopened luxury resort of the same name. Driving on a nice gravel road is nowhere near as much fun as bouncing around on a desert trail, but the scenery is just as beautiful.

When we returned, the Can Am was loaded up again, Jeep driving, my sister Babe riding shotgun, Beto behind her and Marty behind Jeep. It was their turn to head up the road to Castle Hot Springs.

The truth is, unless you are a guest at the resort, you can’t see much of the place, buildings obscured by many desert palm trees, accessible only through a private gate.

Many thanks to Beto for taking us on one of his journeys to the desert. Lake Pleasant is one of his favorite places to explore via his Can Am, and I can certainly see why. Of course, I took more images than I am featuring here. Be sure to check out the complete gallery of images on my Flickr site. Simply click on any of the images above to visit the gallery and see all of the images captured in 2K HD on that warm spring day in the Arizona Desert.

John Steiner

Peoria, Arizona.

It’s about an hour’s drive from our house in Buckeye to Lake Pleasant. It’s a long way to go for a typical hike, but it’s such a beautiful location, I usually try to hike the Pipeline Canyon Trail at least once a year. That’s two-miles out, two miles back, and we get to cross a canyon on a floating bridge in the process.

My colleagues, the other leaders in our hiking club, suggested that I should add to the hike, as four miles is a short hike for such a long drive (the hike is almost shorter than the drive.) Point taken. Looking at the trail map, I saw there is a trailhead that adjoins Pipeline Canyon. Yavapai Point Trail crosses a valley and climbs a ridge opposite the trail we normally hike. Climbing in gentle switchbacks on a narrow trail, our journey was rewarded with the views from the top.

About the photo: Lake Pleasant is a man-made lake on the Agua Fria River. From the top, you can see much of the 7,500-acre reservoir. Looking northeast from the peak, I saw a row of saguaro cacti that directed my eyes toward the reservoir and the many ridges that create a plethora of islands. Using my Samsung S20U, I captured those saguaro and an additional image to the left. Using Adobe Lightroom, I created a single panoramic image and cropped it for the best composition, then finished the project in Luminar AI. While at the top of Yavapai Point, I captured several images as I took time to take in the views. In a future post, I will share some more views from this point. This trail has now replaced Pipeline Canyon as my favorite trail in Lake Pleasant Regional Park.

John Steiner

In the northwestern Phoenix metro area, Lake Pleasant Regional Park beckons on those hot summer days. But I’ve never been there then. Due to my heavy travel schedule this winter, I only led one hike in February, so I wanted it to be a good one. I picked Pipeline Canyon Trail, my favorite trail in Lake Pleasant Park. A relatively level trail with only about a 600-foot (183 m) altitude change, it’s only two miles in length. But there is a small parking lot with rest rooms at each end and after a short break, it’s another two miles back to the cars. We completed the hike in less than 2 hours on a beautiful spring morning.

The park is known for its wild burros, but in the years I’ve visited the park, I’d never seen them, until today, a small herd of nine calmly stood on a nearby hillside as we walked by. Of course, I grabbed a bunch of cellphone pics, but you’ll notice in the image above, not a burro is in sight. Cellphone cameras are great for wide angle images, but when it comes to needing good telephoto capabilities, my Samsung S6 is lacking. Yes, I could zoom in on the image to see the tiny fuzzy outlines of the burros we saw, but the resulting image was not the quality I’d like to share.

About the photo: The lake is the result of a water storage dam that captures water from the Colorado and Agua Fria Rivers to be delivered to homes and farms in the area throughout the long, dry summers. One of the runoff areas from the nearby hills is now a backwater area that bisects the Pipeline Canyon Trail. A floating bridge is there to reconnect the trail segments. You’ll find this bridge about a 5 to 10 minutes hike from the south end of the trail. Captured with my Samsung S6, the image was imported into Lightroom, then tweaked with Luminar Flex.

John Steiner

On those hot summer days, one of the best places to cool off is at Lake Pleasant or one of the other man made lakes created as water holding reservoirs near Phoenix. During the winter, the hiking trails in Lake Pleasant Regional Park present a moderate challenge and their shorter length leaves plenty of day left at the end of a morning hike. Probably my favorite trail is Pipeline Canyon. There is a parking area at each end and modern restroom facilities. The trail is a short two miles (3.2 km) long and has a moderate elevation change. At the end of the two miles, take a break at the nearby benches, grab a drink of water and maybe a snack, then head back to your car in the parking area at your starting point.

About the photo: Toward the northern end of the lake, small areas of low lying terrain filled with rivulets of water. When the lake is full, these backwater areas grow deeper. As you can see in the image, the water level is lower than usual. You can tell by the relative lack of plant life on the river shore. This image was captured with my Samsung Cell Phone. The rule for Cellpic Sunday is simple. The image must be captured on a mobile device.

John Steiner

Just west of I-17 and exit number 223, via SR 74, is a large man made lake of some 10,000 acres (40 sq km) known as Lake Pleasant. Originally a much smaller agricultural water storage project, the New Waddell Dam, completed in 1994, converted to a large water storage area for the Phoenix metropolitan area. Two marinas and a regional park provide just some of the attractions to this beautiful area. Fed by the Colorado (via the Central Arizona Project Aqueduct) and Agua Fria Rivers, the lake is much larger than its original size when first created in 1927.

About the photo: The Pipeline Canyon Trail travels north and south some distance west of the lake. At one point, however, a mountain arroyo (wash) backfilled with water from the reservoir providing a sheltered area of crystal clear water. A floating bridge provides transit for hikers crossing the wash. From that bridge, looking east toward the lake, there is a small glimpse of the main lake in the background. On our weekly hike, I stopped for a few moments to capture a photo of two fishermen working their skill. The photo was captured at f/1.7, 1/2800 sec., ISO-50 using my Samsung S7 Cellphone. The rule for Cellpic Sunday is simple. The image must be captured on a mobile device. On most browsers, you can click on the image to enlarge it for better viewing.

John Steiner

Lake Pleasant, Arizona.

On this first week of Autumn in North Dakota, it’s been nice weather, so far. However, thoughts of our Arizona winters are creeping into consciousness and those desert hikes are calling. I even have a new camera, a mirrorless Sony with a very small footprint and weight factor. It will replace the much larger and heavier Nikon on our hikes. But I digress… more on that new toy in a future post. Since this post is Cellpic Sunday, I can only use a mobile device… OK so that camera could be called a mobile device… but so could my Nikon. Seriously, the image above was captured with my Samsung smartphone. It was taken in December 2015 and never before published. You see, since acquiring my new, much smaller camera, I haven’t used my cellphone much for photos as I’m trying to learn the new camera.

About the photo: I went through my galleries of desert photos to feature a cell pic that I haven’t processed. This view of Lake Pleasant was captured from the Pipeline Canyon Trail, one of my favorite hikes in the park. No doubt it will be on our list of hikes in 2018 (if not sooner)… In some browsers, you can click on the image to enlarge it.

John Steiner

Morristown, Arizona

On the north end of the Phoenix metro area you will find an embankment dam on the Agua Fria River. The New Waddell Dam provides recreation, electric power and flood protection to the Phoenix area. Completed in 1994, the reservoir behind the large dam is known as Lake Pleasant. That is not the beginning of the story for Lake Pleasant, however. The Agua Fria River played a part in the development of the area as a major source of water in the desert. According to a post on the North Phoenix Blog here, the first dam on the river was built in the 1890s. That dam didn’t survive more than a year; however in the 1920s a group of farmers raised enough funds to build a permanent dam to create Lake Pleasant. Eventually, the Carl Pleasant Dam was renamed the Waddell Dam. That dam still exists, however it is submerged in the lake after construction of the much larger New Waddell Dam that was built down-river.

Our first visit to the area in 2012 introduced us to the Pipeline Canyon Trail, listed as a moderately difficult trail, there is an interesting floating footbridge crossing a small section of water that has filled a former wash. In the last couple of years, however, the Lake Pleasant Regional Park facility added several new trails. This week, our friend, Leenie, my wife Lynn, and I hiked our first trip on the Wild Burro Trail. The short, two-mile (3.2 km) trail is labeled “Easy”, and except for a minor elevation change at the north end of the trail, this hike is truly a walk in the park. As you can see by the trail map below, the trail skirts a couple of small bays on the west edge of the reservoir. We hiked the length of the trail and turned around, hiking the entire 4 miles (6.4 km) in under two hours. There is even a parking area with rest rooms at the north trailhead, and another public restroom facility at 1.6 miles (2.6 km) south.

Though the New Waddell Dam is on the Agua Fria River, the reservoir is also a water storage area for water from the Colorado River via the Central Arizona Project Aqueduct. The park is composed of over 23,000 acres (93 sq km) including both water and land areas. The gallery of images included here features images that were all taken on our hike along the Wild Burro Trail. I understand there are wild burros in the park, however, on this trip we didn’t see any. There were, however, several people fishing at the edge of the two bays we walked by. According to one fisherman, the fishing wasn’t so good on the morning we visited.

After our hike, we drove down to the Scorpion Bay Marina and had lunch at Dillon’s Restaurant. We were no more than five minutes from the trailhead to the marina, and the weather was perfect for a lunch at the floating restaurant. Boat and kayak rentals, sailing cruises and other water activities are available at the marina. There is a six-dollar per carload entry fee to the park which will need to be paid even if you only want to visit the marina. As with all desert hiking, bring plenty of water and use sunscreen.

Click on one of the images below to enlarge it and to scroll through the gallery.

John Steiner