The Maricopa Trail is a 315 miles (507 km)[1] trail located within Maricopa County connecting the major regional and municipal parks in and around the Phoenix metropolitan area.
Construction on new segments of the trail began in 2006 and has brought the total length of the existing corridors to approximately 80 miles (130 km) as of November 2009.
[4] Significant portions of the trail take advantage of existing canal embankments, following the Western Canal in Tempe and Gilbert and the McMicken flood control channel in the northwest.
Future segments will also follow the Central Arizona Project canal near Mesa.
Natural waterways will also be a prominent part of the route, with segments paralleling the Agua Fria, the Gila and the Salt Rivers, with multiple segments following and crossing other intermittent streams in the area.