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The Eastern Canal Path runs along 18.06 miles of its namesake waterway through Mesa, Gilbert and Chandler in suburban Phoenix. The trail, which at times has a smooth paved surface and at others a coarse gravel and dirt surface, provides access to nearby residences, schools and parks. The runs along both sides of the canal with the paved or smoothest route sometimes alternating sides.
About the Route
The northern end of the trail is on E McDowell Rd in Mesa. The path follows the canal as it meanders south through a mix of residential and commercial areas. The trail is paved asphalt between Old Gilbert Rd (Mesa) and E Brown St (Mesa). The southern end of the trail is on S Gilbert Rd in Chandler.
Connections
In the north, the unpaved path continues along the South Canal as the Southern Canal Path, in turn providing access to the massive Arizona Canal Path in the Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community. Take that trail westward to reach Scottsdale and Glendale.
At Crossroads District Park (2155 E Knox Rd, Gilbert), the trail connects to the Baseline Road to Eastern Canal Path.
The Eastern Canal Path runs between E McDowell Rd (Mesa) and S Gilbert Rd (Chandler).
Parking is available at:
Visit the TrailLink map for all parking options and detailed directions.
My only complaint is that they ripped up the pavement on some sections and never repaved it! I also want to share that on this canal, just south of the Riparian park (on Guadalupe) you will see electric lines and a sidewalk going east/west. This is a great trail to use in conjunction with this canal trail. This trail runs from power road way out to Tempe. Some parts are dirt but most are paved. This electric line trail will take you right to downtown Gilbert
There’s lots of street crossings, but it wasn’t that big of a deal. You just have to keep your eyes open. Maybe half of the trail was smooth between compacted dirt and concrete. The rest was fairly rough and gravely. Highly recommend it.
This is a good long ride! Some areas really bumpy not all of it is paved.. Take lots of water and snacks. Me and my friend stopped at a park to rest on the side and refuel. Always have a partner there are homeless people along the way.. Be safe not for beginners.
Had a very nice ride on this trail. we stopped about 1/2 way to have a nice picnic lunch.
The trail is convenient to get on with lots of access points. Most of the portion I rode was paved and smooth trail. The north end was pretty ruff. My biggest complaint is that you have to stop every half mile to cross a major road and many didnt have crosswalks. Didnt like having to dart quickly across 4 lanes of traffic. Lots of goatheads as well. Every time I rode this path I seemed to pick up 2 or 3 in the tires
Really was looking forward to having a path to skate on that was connected to my neighborhood (Near Val Vista and Williams Field) but so much of this area is dirt or gravel, it would not be possible. Even the areas that are paved can be rough, or are laden with loose rocks, problematic if you’re riding on smaller wheels like on roller skates. This would otherwise be a nice trail if it were consistent smooth pavement, but for me I have to go elsewhere for skating. It is also worth noting you will encounter many busy roads to cross, so if you are learning to skate or want to move at a slow pace such as with children or the like, I would recommend Queen Creek or Sonoqui Wash trails to the south.
The south end of the trail is closed. You can’t pick it up until around Lindsay and Pecos. Don’t bother trying to start at Riggs. It’s a nice trail, mostly paved. Some parts are gravel, but it’s not bad. There are a few parks along the trail, with shade and branches.
The Riggs road entrance is locked and blocked.
Had already done S part of path, so started at Elliot and rode N to Broadway and back.
Parked at elementary school at Elliott & Greenfield, rode wide sidewalk E to path. Nice asphalt path, fair amount of walkers/joggers/cyclists on weekend, older asphalt Southern to Broadway, then gravel so turned around.
Nice and scenic, easy road crossings, goes under the 60, will ride this path again.
The South end of this path seems to be closed. We tried to ride it this morning (3/15/17) and could not access it from the south. It's gated and locked.
It appears the hard paved part starts on the S end of the path just S of Pecos, so we got on the path at Pecos and rode N to Guadalupe then back.
We parked in a small shopping center parking lot on the NE corner of Lindsay & Pecos, which was right next to the path.
The path is asphalt on the W side of the canal the whole way, and in addition there is a very nice concrete path on the E side of the canal from Warner to Guadalupe.
There is a signalized crossing at Elliott, the other major street crossing all have room in the median to cross half of the street at a time.
There were a fair number of other cyclists on a sunny Saturday. We will ride this path again, and also try farther N.
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