I'm on a new-ish quest to check out all of the County Parks. Being that the (south)western part of the Valley is relatively unknown to me, I decided to check out Estrella Mountain RP by myself during hiking season. Depending on the time of year with regard to NASCAR races, you may only have access to one entrance or multiple in/out of the park. The main entrance is off Vineyard and Bullard. This park has a nature center (just past the entrance) where you can buy an annual Parks Pass, check out some nature things inside or talk with an employee. As of 2024, passes are $7 unless you have a Parks Pass. Most of the trails I found in this park are loops of varying degree and all somewhat connected to another. You'll see hikers and bikers alike. They also have a couple of playgrounds, pagodas and ball fields which can be rented. The trailhead I parked at had a bathroom building which was appreciated! read more

Estrella Mountain Regional Park - Parks Near Me - Goodyear, Arizona

See all

It has beautiful scenery, a wide driving path, and multiple trails to walk on. Walking trails for all levels and abilities are available, and if hiking is not your thing, there are plenty of picnic areas and a playground. They offer a nature center for learning and enjoyment as well. read more

Went on a night hike with ranger Olivia and it was a blast. We saw quite a few scorpions and learned a bit about the plants and animals along the way. This is a nice park on the west side of Phoenix. read more

See all

This was a tough one for me to rate because of course it's based on your loves and preferences. I recently bought a park pass out at The White Tank Regional Park since I go fairly often as well as Spur Cross in Cave Creek. When I found out for $85 I could visit all 13 parks for the year as much as I wanted it was a no brainer since most are $7 a day I believe to enter. Pros first. The woman at the entrance gate( I entered closer to the golf course/estrella prkwy) was wonderful. She was friendly, funny and gave me some great trail options and map when I'd told her I'd never been. Since it was later in the morning and already 80 I chose the Quail Trail that you can access right behind the Nature Center. I drove behind the Nature Center and parked right next to the start of the trail. I decided to walk up to the Center to check it out and use the bathroom real quick instead of the port o potty at the trail head. Service again was friendly. For me however the Nature Center wasn't very interesting and felt pretty empty. White Tanks Library and Nature Center definitely has them best with live snakes etc inside and can access it without paying the entrance fee since it's outside the park entrance. (A little con I snuck in I know). I started the trail which was fairly busy with some kids still on spring break this week. The trail was marked easy, but was quite uphill at first and pretty rocky so it may cause trouble for some. Definitely no shade this time of year. While a shorter trail than some it's still a good work out. The good thing about Estrella seems to be that it's full of loop trails that all seem to connect at some point so a short trail can honestly be as long as you'd like it. Some trails are competitive, full of mountain bikers or horses. The map really shows you those spots if interested. I am definitely not in shape to be running up and down mountain tarrain ha ha. Sometimes I wonder if the noise from the gravel is my knees or the sand. Jk... but am I ? Onto my cons. If you come in the Estrella Parkway entrance there's not much besides the nature center and tons of ramadas. Great for picnics and playground fun. I drove the entire area in about four minutes. While there are multiple lots to park some are for horse trailers only and so connect to the longer trails. I witnessed what looked to be a baseball field that said it could be rented out at one time, but looked very overgrown and of there was grass ever on the field it is very dead. While the trail was decent for me, view from it was more warehouses , golf course then around the corner the Mountain View it wasn't for me. I did get a good workout, but this place seems so much less that the other parks nearby. If I come back and do a different hike I'll update, but what I saw I wasn't impressed with. read more

See all

Tip #1 - do not use The EMP with only $20 in your pocket. Day use fee is $7. My dealings with the Estrella Mountains have all been the east side on the Gila River Indian Community where I had professional privileges for about 22 years. The Estrella Mountains are the ancient astronomical calendar for the Akimel O'odham residents of the area. The Phoenix International Raceway occupies an ancient meeting/trading area known as Tres Rios - the conjunction of the Gila, Salt and Agua Fria Rivers. Ancient trails, still used for various purposes run south to Mexico and beyond. If you use the Sierra Estrella from the east you may find yourself interviewed by Tribal Rangers and Police and your personal items confiscated. Stay in the County Park. read more

See all

Nice pay-park with light trails and plenty of picnic areas. There isn't much else here but it's well maintained and there's a Visitor Center. - $7 per vehicle. - Trail guide included with admission. - Horse riding tours available through this park via Corral West.. read more

See all

Great park to spend the day. Easy to moderate trails. Horse corrals. RV parks. Scenic views. Peaceful and quite. Become one with nature; visit Estrella Mountain Regional Park. Lots of parking! read more

See all

Pretty park! Nice day trip with the family, plenty of parking. No issues. Would go back! The wildflowers were nice! :)

I absolutely love this location! It's small compared to the other local state park, being that they don't have a huge selection of trails to hike, but I prefer that from this location. It's closer to town in case you want to leave for lunch and come back afterwards. They also have such an amazing playground that my kids LOVE! AND it's well kept and their bathrooms are nearby the playground as well! They also have a paved path that perfect for bike riding. Overall we love this location! read more

Visited this place just for the Indian kite festival today. Can't comment on the daily activities here like hiking and the park but the ground where festival was organized seems to be well maintained. Restrooms are within reach. Sign board across the park were good and systematic. $7 is daily parking fees for vehicles. read more

Estrella Mountain Regional Park - Parks Near Me - Goodyear, Arizona

A beautiful gem of an oasis in the desert. I visit the lake often, whether it's for a nice walk with the dogs, having a picnic under the palm trees, or dining at one of the various nearby lakeside restaurants. Pictures don't do this place justice, go and check it out. Absolutely gorgeous park. read more

I stopped by here this past Wednesday morning to do some trail running. My father in law dropped me off and so I went out into the Estrella Mountain regional park on my own. I had originally planned a route out using some of the maps that I found online. However forgetting my Garmin combined with a time crunch left me just enough time to run the baseline path. What a glorious path it was though and it was easily the best trail run that I have had in a long time. The path itself was a well manicured double track that was well marked and except for a group of two others, I had the trail to myself. It had just enough ups and downs to be pretty interesting and yet the whole thing was very runnable. The scenery was also pretty great as well and the only part of the trail I didn't like was the part that was clearly shared with horses if you know what I mean. The bottom line for me is that I will head back here again in the future. As a matter of a fact I am chomping at the bit to get not only my wife but her parents out there with me as well. I loved the beauty and solace of this park and thought that the trails were well marked and curated as well. read more

This place rocks! I love the White Tanks, especially since the location is so close to my accommodations in Surprise. However, I was blown away with how manicured and serene the trails were in such an untouched environment. I hiked seven miles and will certainly be back in spring 2018! Another plus was sun and mid 60 temperatures. Great views, fun trails, and good signage! read more

Estrella Mountain Regional Park - A great start to day two of vacation! - Parks Near Me - Goodyear, Arizona

See all

Arizona has unique landscape and views and this park is not the exception beside their nature beauty, picnic area, hiking, and animals. This park offers informative workshops about the park and its nature. We attended to "the venomous animals of Arizona" workshop worthy, for this and more workshop check their website. read more

Estrella Mountain Regional Park - Parks Near Me - Goodyear, Arizona

See all

Love this park! Annual member here for the last several years. Great place to get your daily exercise!

Love this place. I go here to walk around and shoot pictures. It is easy to get lost here. When you do get lost there are markers that are very clear. You can tell the volunteers and workers take pride in the park. If you're tired and just want to drive around the parking lot is beautiful. If you want to just take it easy and walk around to look at nature. Take the easy path. If you are in the mood and want to hike. Take any path you want. Either path you choose your view is going to be breathtaking. Nice place and easy to get to. read more

Best XC trails in the west valley. Trails are well marked and maintained. Newly build gazebos and additional parking. read more

Estrella Mountain Regional Park - Best XC trail in the west valley. Never crowded and friendly staff - Parks Near Me - Goodyear, Arizona

My mother and I decided to visit this park while on vacation in the Phoenix area. The park costs $6 for entrance if you do not have a yearly park pass, which I deem relatively cheap for a park. Although I cannot speak for the picnic areas, the trails were amazing and the ladies in the gift shop were absolutely adorable. I personally loved the desert mountain feel, vs what you'd expect from a typical mountain hike. I plan to visit this park again for hiking in the spring. read more

See all

I usually hike South Mountain for trail runs, but I came here for the Gladiator Rock n Run. Running through the mountain, it's pretty nice and easy. Nothing super hard and there seems to see a lot of flat an decline trails. If I lived close enough I would run the mountain all the time for training or for fun. I'd like to see what other trails this mountain offers. There is a lot of grass and restroom service areas on the base which is always a plus. Not sure if I had to pay for parking because of the event or if its a regular thing though. read more

Hiking here during the winter time was perfect. The weather was great, stayed at 70s to mid 70s. The view was amazing and there wasn't many people there even tho there was a relay race going on. There was some parts closed off for the race but it was fine. Over all it was amazing and beautiful. read more

Estrella Mountain Regional Park - The view from mid mountain - Parks Near Me - Goodyear, Arizona

See all

Very well designed and a great place for families. Playgrounds for the kids are well kept and clean. Several bathrooms which are always pretty clean and well stocked as well. Only thing I wish were different is that several of the picnic areas don't have lights, or at least not working lights. But, really that's a minor issue. Other then that my family loves this place! read more

Trails that could take 4 days to discover. Amazing and if seeing Phoenix great quite location just 30 minutes out of the city. Pros -great location - great trails - great Rangers Cons - no showers - fully rustic - basketball hoop broken All in all great place for rustic, we just ran a generator and just needed to fill our water tank next time. read more

Estrella Mountain Regional Park - Parks Near Me - Goodyear, Arizona

See all

00 !!!!!! NO STAR AT ALL. Paid $7 to bring my daughter to the park to play and as we walk towards the playground there was a huge pile/trail of diarrhea!!!! that led all the way towards the playground. When asking the lady at the front for a refund she denied!!!! WORST PARK EXPERIENCE EVER MY DAUGHTER LOVED THE SLIDE! Now she's upset we have to go. read more

Lots of trails, lots of good makers, excellent maps, and an overall great, Sunday morning hike! 4 stars because you have to pay to access it. $6 is a bit steep to do every few days, which is how I like to hike. I'd go back but definitely not as frequent. read more

This park is one of my favorite park in West Valley. Trails, Camping area, picnic area, baseball field, horses are there near by the Toothacker trail. Well maintained. If you like outdoor you will love this place! You have to pay fee at entrance $6/vehicle. If you stay there for short-time you might think '' why i have to pay to go to park???' " but once you get in and experience all the things you can see and do it's worth it!!! And you can stay there all day if you want to! (I think you have to pay more if you camping or something, you might wanna research if you do so) well, only thing that I didn't like about was. I saw horse poops everywhere at Tootaker and Rainbow trail. Asking us to clean up after your pets but they are not picking up there Big chunk of hourse poops... Ouwner of hourse.... Please clean them up asap like I pick up my dogy poop! Thank God I didn't step on them. Oh, you will meet '' Road runner'' ( Bird) if you get Lucky!!! Can't wait to go back there again!!! read more

See all

Amazing Park with a View. I really enjoy the trails at Estrella Mountain Regional Park. The trails are moderate difficulty however it's great exercise. The trails are well marked and dispaly amazing views of the west valley. The park consists of beautiful desert, wetlands, a large grassy area, and lots of lush green trees. There are picnic tables under ramadas and primitive camping is allowed (for a fee). There are covered play areas for kids, and restrooms with running water for hand washing. Estrella Mointain Regional Park is a great place to take the family for a picnic, hiking, photos of the family, or relax and enjoy the beauty of Arizona. read more

Normally we love going to this park with the kids with our annual pass. We showed up to the entrance booth and were met with a disgruntled elderly man. We handed our vehicle pass to him. He the. Abruptly stated " where is the plastic card?" We stated we didn't have it. He then said "no good" and he ripped up our vehicle pass into pieces. We then Said ohh I thought we had until the end of the month and he replied no. The woman also in the booth then explained that it expires on the corresponding day we purchased it. The man then said "go to the Center and pay entrance fee or renew your pass for the year" We decided to leave and not visit the park at all :( What a shame Hope our next visit will be met with someone more pleasant at the entrance booth. Not a great face for the regional park. read more

Went back to the same trail last weekend. I still love this place for hikes. It is close to home, not crowded, clean, and just a nice trail. Brought my cousin along, and he liked the hike too. =) read more

I visited Estrella Mountain Regional Park for the first time on a Friday around 9 am for a short hike. When I pulled up to the booth at the entrance, I was greeted by a friendly gentleman, who took my entrance fee (they take cash and plastic), handed me a map and brochure, and told me that if I have any questions about the trails, there was a little lady in the park ranger station just ahead who knew much more about them than he did. Being my first visit, I decided to stop in and see which trails the little lady recommended. The little lady, Cat, was incredibly helpful. Since I was looking for a short hike, she recommended the Baseline Trail. I started out on the Quail Trail, which hooked up to the Saddle Trail. The Saddle Trail, in turn, intersected with the Baseline Trail. Once at the Baseline trailhead, you may choose to go left or right. Either way, you'll arrive back where you started since the trail loops around the perimeter of the park. The weather was gorgeous, so I decided to hike the Baseline Trail twice, for a grand total of 4.17 miles (this includes the Saddle Trail and Quail Trail). Each trailhead I passed was clearly marked and the views were decent for a fairly flat trail. My favorite part about this park, however, was that (aside from Cat and the gentleman at the entrance), I didn't see anyone around! I will definitely be back in the future to try the Rainbow Trail, another hike Cat recommended the next time I'm in the mood for a longer excursion. read more

Great park with lots of trails ranging from easy to difficult for different level trail goers. I take my two pups here for the easier trails. Of course it is hot so make sure to be prepared and bring plenty of water if you go on the trails. Not all are dog friendly but the ones that are has conveniently placed a doggy poop bag and disposal station at the beginning of the trail. There are also locations for picnics and camping and the view is lovely. $6 for daily parking/entrance but if you plan on going often then look into investing in an annual parking pass for about $85! read more

Estrella Mountain Regional Park - Starting the Gila trail, .5 mile loop. - Parks Near Me - Goodyear, Arizona

First off, I didn't know that they charged to PARK ($6 per vehicle or $2 per person if you walk in), normally I don't mind if I know about the charge prior to going but the person I talked to when I called mentioned nothing about it. Then when we got to the park, I told them that it was our first time there and wasn't really sure where to go, the two guys in the booth seemed only interested in getting my money first, to which I handed them my bank card, then and only then did he hand me a map and said, "Here you go." I wasn't given my card back so I asked, "Ummm, what trail would you recommend?" He just said, "If you look at the map it will tell you which trails are easy or hard." then he handed me back my card, said, "Have a good hike," and closed the window. I looked at my friend and asked her if I was exaggerating or if that was really just the rudest thing, she clarified that I wasn't over reacting. But, we were there for a hike not to argue so we left it at that and pulled forward. We weren't sure where to go at all so we just took the main road all the way to the back, still unsure of where to find which trail we just got tired of driving, pulled over and found the nearest trail. Coldwater trail, was the name, we looked it up and it was classified as 'Moderate'. We figured that was good enough, packed up our water, slathered on our sunblock and started walking... walking.... walking.... Nowhere in the trail did it become anywhere close to moderate. It really was just a walk in the desert. We were looking at each other wondering when the hike was suppose to begin, 2miles- nothing, 3-miles and we just turned around, completely disappointed. read more

Hikes on Estrella are EASY if you are a regular hiker. So come here for a nice walk as you won't have much elevation or challenge. Good for families who want to experience the magic of having two legs and feet. We did the Rainbow and TH trails. After you can always enjoy a good pic-nick in their ramadas. read more

We live in Laveen and usually hike South Mountain park. Today we drove out to Estrella Mountain Park and hiked Rainbow trail, to Dysart trail, to Toothaker for a roundtrip 4.5 mile hike. I was impressed with the well maintained trails and the trail markers. I guess when citizens pay $6 per car/$2 to hike in, we all get a nicely maintained park. Since this was our first visit, we asked for a map and for suggestions on trails for which the attendant highlighted his suggestions. We look forward to exploring more trails. read more

The only thing that would get this place a higher grade would be no charge at the gate to get in. The trails are well maintained and you can bike, hike, camp, play, BBQ, hangout or whatever here. Love the outdoors! The park service does a great job, but you can't beat free. I've been thinking about an annual pass, but it's $85 for the year. The one positive from that is that it starts the day you purchase it and you get 365 days from that day. read more

Estrella Mountain Regional Park - Post run sweat. - Parks Near Me - Goodyear, Arizona

Absolutely spectacular hiking with phenomenal views to match. Free parking if you can make your way through to thirteen and a half miles down the dirt road from the school to get there. Full of beautiful desert wildlife and untouched beauty read more

See all

We were very impressed with this park. The rangers at the park HQ building were very nice and helped us choose a trail suitable for our youngest son, aged 6. We did the Baseline trail, which had some easy up and down sections and nice views of the mountains and Saguaro cacti. The trails were well-maintained and the parking was really easy! We will definitely go back. read more

Great hiking trails very clean lots of things to do. Good people that I've met on the trails nice area would highly recommend it

OKay, I'm going counter to all the positive reviews here, but this is the worst city park I've been to in the Phoenix metro area, and I've been to most of them the 10+ years that I've lived here. It seems most of the glowing reviews are about the hiking. My review is of the picnic and ramada areas, which are simply hideous. My first question was, what is my $6 (entrance fee) being used for? It certainly isn't being used on weed maintenance, watering the 'grass', picking up trash, fresh paint, or trimming the dead branches from the trees. That I can assure you. Also, there is no concrete walking/biking path, making it not suitable for those activities or using a baby stroller. There are roads that lead to evidence of the park's perhaps once great past, such as baseball fields which are now overgrown with vegetation. While the hiking trails maybe great, the park itself is not. read more

We hiked a very nice loop. The Rainbow Valley to Dysart and back on Toothacker, about 4 miles. It's uphill at the beginning, which was good. A great view at the top and a pleasant walk back. It is so nice to have somewhere close to hike away from the crowds. read more

The gravel trails are well-groomed at easy to walk. Some of the signs are in need of repair. They are dog-friendly. The map distribution boxes are all empty. The admission price ($6) is a little steep. The playground is awesome!!! read more