Here's the Maricopa Trail online map for this section. The first part of this ride is documented in the Mesa Canals 14 post (a ride to Bergie's Coffee Shop in downtown Gilbert). The map above goes from the turnoff point to Bergies on the Consolidated Canal, to where the Trail crosses the Loop 202 South.
Most of this part of the trail winds with the canal through new subdivisions. The road crossings are generally safe, though there is at least one complicated crossing, I believe at Chandler/Williams Field Road, where it is necessary to wait for two stoplights.
Gilbert has landscaped and graded these canal paths well, and it is possible to ride on either side most of the way. North of Elliot Road to the Bergies turnoff, however, riders will want to be on the West Bank of the canal; the east bank is blocked by some SRP structures.
At one time, much of this section must have looked like the section on the Pima-Maricopa Indian Community: mostly farm fields and wide vistas. Now, however, it is far more closed-in with surrounding subdivisions. It is well-used, but not to the overly-trafficked point.
Click here for a short video on You Tube that gives a quick sense of this section of the trail (my action cam videos are still in test/learning mode).
