By: Officer Tim Mitten
Community Action Officer
Phoenix Police Department
Black Mountain Precinct
Being an Arizona native, (yes there are some of us out there); I was raised in and enjoy the openness of the lands of our wonderful state. Even though I grew up in the city, I had many opportunities to go out and enjoy the many recreational activities of the Arizona desert and the natural resources that are in abundance. The City of Phoenix has integrated the responsible preservation and use of these lands in many mountain preserves, hiking trails, recreational and city parks and has helped many neighborhoods and master planned communities have recreational land access built into them. The City of Phoenix Parks Department is responsible for managing the hiking trails and parks that are owned and operated by the City of Phoenix.
The trails and parks owned and operated by the City of Phoenix are separate from State Trust Land and have different rules. Hiking trails in the City of Phoenix are for pedestrians, bicycles and horses. There are no motorized vehicles allowed on any trails in city parks and dogs are required to be on a leash. Users are also required to stay on the trails and not go off into the open areas around the trails. Most trails and parks have these and any other specific uses posted at the entrances or in the parking lots if there is one. Please review them prior to using the trail system. It is also very important to observe some basic safety rules like always tell someone where you went hiking, bring plenty of water, a cell phone, wear appropriate clothes, hats, sun block and shoes for hiking and know your limitations. For more information on using the City of Phoenix Parks go to www.phoenix.gov/parks.
Many of the open land in and surrounding the City of Phoenix is State Trust Land managed by the State of Arizona State Land Department. It is important to know that Arizona Trust Land is not public land. A recreational permit is required to be on State Trust land that is designated as open for recreation and not all State Trust land is open for recreational purposes. The recreational permit allows hiking, bicycling, horseback riding, picnicking, photography, bird watching, sightseeing, and camping (up to 14 days per year). The permit does not allow you to target shoot, paintball, air soft, recreational flying (ultra lights), fireworks, sand railing, rock hopping or operate any type of motorized vehicle on the land. Many new laws have been adopted across the City of Phoenix and other metropolitan areas in Maricopa County in response to air quality concerns. These restrictions include the operation of any motorized vehicles, which includes dirt bikes, ATV’s, sand rails, 4 wheel drive or any other type of vehicle on any unpaved road or vacant lot. There is limited bird hunting allowed on State Trust lands. There are many historic cultural or prehistoric ruins and archaeological sites in our State Trust lands which are not to be disturbed as well as removing rocks, cacti, saguaro or cholla skeletons, plants or firewood. For more information on obtaining a permit or the use of State Trust lands, go to www.land.state.az.us.
I can be reached at 602-495-5238 or at tim.mitten@phoenix.gov for questions regarding this or any other issue. Thank you.
