Arizona Canal In Phoenix For Travel & Leisure

At the end of Murphy's Bridle Path between the border of Sunnyslope and Uptown Phoenix is the Arizona Canal and along it the junction with the Arizona Canal Trail.  

The canals in Greater Phoenix are often dismissed and ignored by near-by residents, but they are a superb travel routes for cyclists to get through the city with little traffic and an open terrain for joggers.  Mostly covered by gravel and sometimes paved: often lined with lush mature trees, the canals are free of cars and all motorized vehicles.

The Arizona Canal Trail is about 15.5 miles long, stretching in Phoenix from 51st Avenue and Cactus Road to 52nd Street and Indian School well into downtown Scottsdale.

It's a route I take often to travel from Central Phoenix into the Biltmore area, Arcadia and occasionally into Scottsdale and of course into Downtown Phoenix at the Bridle Path along Central Avenue.

In the Biltmore area and especially in Arcadia near Arcadia Falls the canal it particularly nice with a park, historic plaques and lots of people utilizing it.

map from Phoenix.gov

There are plans to make better use of the canals system named: Canalscape, a project aimed at bringing the canals right into the daily life of Phoenix, making it a direct part of the city rather then a simple transport corridor for the city's water supply.  It's an ambitions project, but one well overdue and surprisingly obvious. 

Maybe some more of the projects will turn toward the canal rather then ignoring it.  The city has done a few things to improve it like planting trees and beautifying certain areas with rest areas and public art.