Papago Ponds–5k Trail, 3 sights is a 5-mile out-and-back in Papago Park near Marlborough Park, AZ. The route reaches Papago Ponds. It climbs 285 ft and is mostly dirt. It scores 0/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: paved and peopled.
Elevation
0 mi1,194 – 1,309 ft6.4 mi
Getting there
Trailhead: Unnamed 33.43894, -111.94343
Nearest town Marlborough Park, AZ
Directions
AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com
Papago Ponds–5k Trail, 3 sights
5 mi · ▲ 285 ft · 1 hr 49 min
Elevation 1,193–1,308 ft
Out & Back · Papago Park
Trailhead: 33.43894, -111.94343
Weather Sep 5: Partly cloudy, high 102°F / low 84° · precip 1% · wind 4 mph · sunrise 6:05 AM · sunset 6:49 PM
Transit-accessible: Curry Rd & Mill Av stop 152 m from the trailhead · Parking lot at the trailhead
- Start at the trailhead, heading NE.
- 50 ftTurn right onto Crosscut Canal Multi-use Path, heading NE.
- 0.4 miBear left, heading N.
- 250 ftBear right, heading N.
- 0.1 miTurn left, heading N.
- 50 ftBear left, heading N.
- 300 ftBear right onto Zoo Staff Only, heading NW.
- 0.2 miBear right, heading NE.
- 150 ftPass Papago Ponds.
- 0.3 miTurn left onto Hole-In-The-Rock Trail, heading NW.
- 450 ftTurn left, heading NW.
- 0.1 miTurn right, heading NW.
- 50 ftTurn left, heading NW.
- 0.2 miTurn left onto 5k Trail, heading N.
- 0.3 miTurn left, heading NW.
- 0.6 miBear left onto Elliot Ramada Loop, heading SW.
- 200 ftTurn left, heading SW.
- 300 ftContinue straight onto 5k Trail, heading SW.
- 150 ftReach Papago Ponds, then turn around and head back the way you came.
- 450 ftTurn right onto Elliot Ramada Loop, heading W.
- 200 ftBear right, heading W.
- 150 ftContinue straight onto 5k Trail, heading W.
- 0.6 miBear right, heading E.
- 0.4 miTurn right, heading E.
- 0.2 miTurn right, heading NE.
- 50 ftTurn left, heading N.
- 0.1 miTurn right, heading NE.
- 450 ftTurn right, heading NW.
- 0.3 miBear left, heading N.
- 0.2 miContinue straight onto Zoo Staff Only, heading SE.
- 50 ftBear left, heading E.
- 300 ftBear right, heading SE.
- 50 ftTurn right onto Crosscut Canal Multi-use Path, heading SE.
- 50 ftTurn left, heading SE.
- 0.2 miBear right, heading E.
- 0.4 miTurn left, heading SE.
- 50 ftArrive back at the trailhead.
Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.
Trail surface
65% dirt26% paved7% sand2% unspecified
Weather
Partly cloudyTemperature 102°F84°
Feels like87°Precip1%Wind4 mphUV8Humidity26%
Rained 0.1″ 5 days ago
Hourly temperature
105°80°
Sunrise 6:05 AM12 AM3 AM9 AM12 PM3 PM9 PMSunset 6:49 PM
Sun
105°79°
Mon
104°81°
Tue
106°94°
Wed
106°92°
Thu
109°93°
Fri
105°92°
30%
Sunset
The best sunset spot on this hike is 0.1 mi in (~2 min). Leave by 6:28 PM for the 6:49 PM sunset. Back at your car by 7:06 PM — 9 min before dark. Car visible from the viewpoint
Good to know
- Transit-accessible: Curry Rd & Mill Av stop 152 m from the trailhead
- Parking lot at the trailhead
More from this trailhead
- Mandrill–Rhino, 6 sights 2.3 mi · ▲ 230 ft
- Papago Buttes & Papago Ponds via Double Butte Loop 3.7 mi · ▲ 338 ft
- Grand Canalscape 5 mi · ▲ 27 ft
- Grand Canalscape 5 mi · ▲ 26 ft
- Tempe Town Lake–Indian Bend Canal, 7 lakes 6.3 mi · ▲ 340 ft
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