Mesa Canals 5: Roosevelt Canal and Maricopa Floodway, University to McDowell

I certainly picked an interesting day to do this ride--the middle of the monsoon, just after the big Phoenix haboob (don't you love that word?). Anyway, it's not too bad at 5:30 a.m., but after about 6:30 it gets a bit sticky. Google Earth says this is the Roosevelt Canal, but I probably should check that. It's between Greenfield and Higley (East-West) and I cycled (trending northwest) from University Drive to McDowell Road Here's the University Drive entrance to what is both the canal right-of-way and a Maricopa County Floodway park and trail.



I entered the canal/floodway route at 8th Street/Adobe, the great all-purpose Mesa east-west connector as far as about Ellsworth Road. At that point, the canal itself was severely restricted (impassible fences), but the adjoining bank of the floodway, across from the paved path, was open. Interestingly, the floodway trail continues southeast from where I started (this will be a future bicycling project, when I have a little more time). To the right is a picture facing southeast from University Drive.



The route itself as described and pictured is 3.3 miles (by my odometer) from University to McDowell Road. The first mile and a half (to north of Brown Road) is specifically the floodway trail, on the east side of the canal-floodway complex. The current trail is a slightly macadamized gravel (a change from the past, when it was merely gravel) with brick accents at road crossings. The trail uses restrictive fencing (relatively narrowly-spaced fencepoles) to keep out vehicular traffic. With care, mountain or road bicycle handlebars can fit through these narrow openings. More problematic is the fact that some of the brickwork is raised from the trail level at these restrictive entrances, so that an unsprung bicycle might be stopped in places. I usually unclip one foot.

About a quarter to a half mile north of Brown Road, the floodway ends, and the trail continues on the side of the canal. To this point, the trail has been landscaped, contoured and scenic. I saw a number of people running, cycling, and exercising their dogs, some in the floodway itself. Past the crossing of Greenfield Road, the canal bank is generally unimproved coarse gravel, and even more restrictive gates block the street crossings. Often, the entrances to the canal path are even hidden from general view; the explorer will have to look closely. Past Greenfield Road, the canal bank takes on a familiar character--generally a little unkempt, an alley between the back walls of subdivisions. However, between Brown and McDowell, there are still a few orange groves, along with what appear to be roads into gated communities, inaccessible from the public paved roads in the area.




I stopped at McDowell: at first glance, it looked as though the canal north was completely closed off. Since the floodway had ended, SRP had signed all street crossings relatively threateningly for "trespassers" and vehicular traffic. The last two pictures here show the McDowell canal crossing looking south (with the sign) and looking north. Notice the picture on the right. If one looks straight on, there seems to be no entrance to the canal. However, when one looks closely travelling west on McDowell, there is a way in. I will have to re-examine some other canal routes that seemed to be closed. The Roosevelt Canal north of McDowell is also a project for another day.