The best running path in Central Phoenix! Love the architecture, landscape & proximity to my house. read more

Murphy's Bridle Path - Green trees, blue sky, shade on my running route - Hiking Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

What is a good reminder that I live in the wild wild west? Where can you see families riding their bikes, friends out for a good walk, athletes training for marathons and me pretending I love marathons? The lovely bridle path, that's where. And how do you know when you're at the bridal path? When you get to the horseshoe and dirt path. Yep. I'm serious. And, it's in the middle of Phoenix. I love the bridle path. It's my favorite place to get a good jog in and do a good bit of people watching at the same time. And stay in the city. When I'm not on a hike, this is usually where my run takes me. It is a little bit of the olden days right here in the city. The path is pretty frequented on weekend mornings, especially Saturdays, but it's not too crowded that there won't be room for you. Trust me. You should try it out. You'll get a good workout, some beautiful scenery, and it's a lot better than running on the pavement :) read more

Murphy's Bridle Path - Hiking Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

I love this path for many reasons. It's definitely one of those places that should be preserved. I see no reason to review it at anything less then 5 stars. I began to enjoy it even more once I started to learn more about it's history, like the Arizona Ash trees were planted in the 1970's to replace pine trees which in the past replaced Ash trees. All those olive trees are the originals planted at the turn of the 20th century shortly after the area was platted out by W.J Murphy. Yeah there are no horses, but there are no brides either so all the times you see it referred to as Bridal Path is wrong. Also it used to reach Camelback. Almost any time of year you'll see people walking, jogging or riding their bike. read more

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Great place for an out-of-towners to walk. Nicely compacted dirt trail. Not good for kids not in strollers; it runs along a busy street. If you happen to come on a Saturday morning there's an awesome farmer's market in the church parking lot across from the trailhead. read more

Great trail, I will be back. It was not packed and was easy on my bike. Great place for joggers and bikers

I enjoy walking and running down this beautiful path. It was hard for me to find because I was looking for something more private---so basically it was right in front of my face and I didn't see it. Neat trail with beautiful houses all around. read more

I was fortunate to grow up near this enchanted stretch of Central Avenue between Bethany Home Road and Orchid Lane. Not only because the neighborhoods are idyllic, but also because this stretch of Central Avenue is lined with arguably Phoenix's best walking and running path. Murphy's Bridle Path is a piece of history that the CenPho neighborhoods have worked hard to keep alive, despite the fact that its original intended use has long since disappeared. To understand why it's still here, you have to understand its origins. Back in the late 1800s, William John Murphy was an Illinois transplant who moved to the Phoenix area. His work in the west valley would eventually earn him the title as the "founder" of Glendale. But before then, he set down roots in the Phoenix area to build the Arizona Canal (the canal which today traverses the Phoenix area and runs into Central Avenue right at Orchid Lane (midway between Northern and Dunlap). It was here at that Murphy not only began construction of the canal, but also the buildout of what was then the northernmost neighborhood in the city of Phoenix. The landscape would eventually be lined with ranches and citrus groves all the way south to Bethany Home road. To make sure there was a clear path for the public (and by extension their horse drawn carriages) to travel southward towards to the main part of town, Murphy had a dirt roadway carved out on Central Avenue between the canal and Bethany Home Road. In the 1940s, increased auto traffic required the city of Phoenix to pave over the old dirt road, but the city agreed to preserve a portion of that dirt path on the east side of the street for pedestrian and equestrian usage. Thanks to the hard work of the Arizona Horse Lover's Club, the Murphy's Bridle Path was dedicated in 1948 with the intent to preserve and maintain this pathway for the public. When my family first moved into Central Phoenix, the neighborhood still had a fair number of ranches with horses right along Central Avenue and it wasn't unusual to see ranchers rent out their horses to families for slow rides along the bridle path. And you could still find a fair number of large citrus groves near Central Avenue as well, with everything from oranges, to grapefruits, to limes. Overtime though, ranches were replaced by large luxury homes and citrus groves turned into brand new luxury home communities as affluence exploded into what was previously a relatively affordable middle class neighborhood. But through all the changes and all the modern updates to the neighborhood, residents' dedication to keeping the Murphy's Bridle Path unaltered remains firm. Today you'll see an abundance of walkers, runners, and even cyclists traversing the east side of Central Avenue along the path on a daily basis. The wideness of the path (about three times the width of a normal sidewalk) provides plenty of space for northbound and southbound pedestrian traffic. Even during the summer months, when the weather is usually too extreme for even the most dedicated fitness junkies, you'll see a pretty good crowd on this path. This is thanks mostly to the well preserved dome of trees (a mixture of primarily olive and ash trees) that line the entire length of the bridal path, making summertime walking and running a little more tolerable. I used the bridle path daily for most of my youth and will still occasionally take a stroll along the path when I visit my parents. So if you're in the neighborhood, I invite you to check out the bridle path. If you're up for a good workout, I'd invite you to try walking or running the length of the path (I've done it a couple of times myself). Chances are you'll meet dog walkers, couples, families, and workout enthusiasts along the way. All the while you'll be traversing a stretch of Phoenix pathway that has survived relatively unchanged for more than a century. Can only imagine what Mr. Murphy would say if he saw it today. read more

I call it Central Avenue Hiking Trail. I've heard folks call this the Bridle Path, but there are a lot more running shoes and strollers than riding boots and saddles. NOBODY says Murphy Bridle Path, except maybe some grisly old dudes munching stogies and kicking out women at Phx Country Club. "there are no brides either so all the times you see it referred to as Bridal Path is wrong. " Artur C. ell oh ell 8^ D I really love this path. I like going out into wilderness more than strolling through the city's center, but THERE'S SHADE ON THIS TRAIL !!! Yea! If you were to go all heat stroke it wouldn't take a helicopter to extract you! Yea! Lots of friendly people of various hobbies and fitness levels, and a Boy Scout troop (I cannot recall the name of to give credit to) has even continued to supply the doggie mitt boxes with real pick-up bags, even though the city of Phoenix has stopped supplying them to all of the dog parks. At the north end of the path, you are a little south of Dunlap ave, near Corbin's and Bombero's, and at a crossroads with the Trail going along the Canal. You can park in the lot at Senior Villa Mexican Restaurant [*Edit: Formerly this mexican rest, but now the new Central Grille at 8525 N Central*]. If you want to start further south, then there are plenty of churches where you can prob park, but this restaurant is not open in the early part of the day, so even on weekends, this is a nice place to park. Lock up! Despite your surroundings, and those even more posh further to the south, you are only a 5 minute walk from downtown Sunnyslope. On the southwest side of the canal, there's a house with it's back wall bordering the canal path. The folks here have built a few Guard Towers for their little dog, and s/he gets to runs up the steps to see over the wall and bark at whomever is going by. NEAT and FUN for that dog, but was a little distracting to my dogs, who wanted to eat that yappy little....) Only trouble I had: once you're down the road a bit further south on Central, you are moving past various houses, estates, and condominiums, and are no longer near any of those restaurants up near Dunlap, however there is a distinct odor of DIRTY SPENT FRYER GREASE all up and down the path. I wonder if the city sprays a petroleum product on the unpaved path to keep dust down? I hope not; they did that on my street as a kid in Detroit, and anyone who walked on it barefoot got blisters, cracking, and peeling skin. Blech! Even if I lived near here, I'd rather have the dust, and I don't want that on my dogs feet, either. One reason I'd use this path in the summer is that with all the nice sized shade trees, you don't need to get your dog booties. Pick up after your dogs. What's with the people who tie it up in a baggie, but then leave the baggie? read more

When the weather is nice, the Bridle Path is a wonderful place to walk with friends or go on a run! In fall the trees are beautiful, and in Spring there are fun farmers markets to check out! Venture off the path a little and take in some of the beautiful Central Phoenix homes and neighborhoods. I love to start at Northern and go down to about Glendale, read more

I am extremely fortunate to live right off of the Bridle path and have enjoyed running, pushing the stroller, and walking the dog down Central. It's nice to see people outdoors being healthy! Bring your sneakers and a water bottle and you are good to go! read more

I was visiting out of town for a conference and staying at the Quality Inn and Suites near McDowell and Central. I was training for a half-marathon and this was the perfect place to get a 5mi training run in on a dirt trail instead of pavement for a change. You can just drive up Central and park at the church on the corner of Central Ave and Bethany Homes Rd. The 'trail' itself isn't anything special, its right alongside a busy road but there are some cute houses alongside it and overall I was glad I chose this place to run. I ran in the middle of the day on a Wednesday and felt very safe; there are very few intersections to cross which is nice and all the drivers were very courteous (quite a change from my home in LA!) read more

Love this walking path. I am up to two miles and almost ready to go for more. It is a nice way to cap my day off. Also, a very friendly crowd jogs and walks on this trail. It is one of the great things about Phoenix. read more

I am on this path most days as I live on Central about four blocks south from the start of it at Bethany Home and Central. I'm not sure what the other guy was talking about but the locals here do call it the Bridle Path and I've never heard anyone ever call it the Central Avenue Hiking Trail. It's been there for about 110 years I believe. It is a really nice place to run due to the shade and most of the people are really friendly along it. It goes all the way up to the canal as the other poster stated and the canal is also really nice place to go as well due to there being tunnels that go under the cross streets. I'm also a biker and will bike up to the canals as well though I don't bike on the path. read more