The Reach 11 Recreation Area is a huge plot of land that stretches from Cave Creek Road, north of the 101, all the way to Scottsdale Road. This park is odd, because the western portion of it is a well developed sports complex with a bunch of soccer fields, restrooms, parking lots, etc, but then, as it stretches eastward, it leaves any signs of development behind, and it just kinda wanders through the desert, crossing an occasional road, or going under a highway underpass here or there. I have seen more rattlesnakes on this trail (by far) than anywhere else in my travels, and other people have mentioned the same thing. I prefer to ride my bike here, and sometimes I'll do some training runs in the park, but it's wayyyyyy too tame for a hiking trail (boring). A lot of people seem to like to ride their horses here as well. There are a variety of wide, well groomed trails to choose from, and you can do any distance you like, from a mile or two, up to 16+ miles. My ride of choice is about 12 miles long, and pretty flat. I actually just ride my bike to the trail from my house for a little extra distance. I go from the trailhead on Cave Creek Road, all the way to the underpass at 56th street, and then turn around. There are so many options for variations. Another one I like is closer to 15 miles, and it branches off the trail at the Highway 51 underpass, then heads south on a paved path all the way to a little park just south of Thunderbird Road, and east of the 51. The moral of the story here is: it's a huge recreation area, with tons to do; from sports, to horses, biking, running, wildlife watching, etc, and it's easy to get to.....grab your bike, and hit the trail.
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