San Tan Mountain Loop

San Tan Mountain Regional Park in Queen Creek, Arizona, officially opened  in September 2005. Since then, the park has steadily added more trails so that the eight named trails can wind you all over the park in an interconnected system. The hardest decision is choosing which trails to try. For our first visit here, we parked by the visitor center which houses an assortment of reptiles on display. From here, walking southwest will take you to the trailhead staging area. We started out on the Moonlight Trail for the first 1.3 miles of a gentle ascent at the base of a 2,362 foot butte which my trail route will encircle in a counter-clockwise direction. If you turn around and look to the north, near the end of the Moonlight Trail, you can see views of the far East Valley all the way to the Superstitions, and you will bear witness to the Pinal County housing boom. At the end of the Moonlight Trail, we turned left (south) on the San Tan Trail for the next 1.1 miles. Looking west from this portion of the trail, the rugged peaks of the San Tans are in front of you, and you can get a feel for the solitude of this park as you lose sight of the urban sprawl just a few miles away. For this introductory San Tan hike, we crossed over on the Hedgehog trail for the last 2 miles to head back to the trailhead staging area. However, I have decided that on my next trip out here, I will bear to the right at the San Tan - Malpais junction to explore the southwestern portion of the park in greater detail next time. All in all, the trails are well marked and in good condition for walking, and they are well worth the $6 entrance fee.

Length: 4.4 miles following this loop route
Elevation gain: 150 feet
Time it took us: 2 hours
Dogs okay: Yes
Fees: $6