Volunteers for Outdoor Arizona is building new trails
New trail work in South Mountain Park started in February, 2010 to connect two new trails to the existing National Trail. In the future, these trails will arrive at a new trailhead to be built on Chandler Blvd, a short distance west of 19th Ave. While construction of the trailhead is some time off, the City of Phoenix is proceeding with these trails at this time to help direct use that is already taking place onto a well planned, properly constructed and sustainable set of trails. These trails will reduce the number of unsustainable paths people create on their own - paths that can create scars that are unpleasant to view from within and outside the park and that can contribute to erosion of fragile desert soils. As construction disturbances fade, little of the new trail will be visible from the surrounding community.

Work was substantially completed in April. City design directives resulted in many sections with excessive grades. Tread hardening and other fixes by paid and volunteer crews are on-going during the normal work season.