Usery Mountain Regional Park

Usery Mountain Regional Park is a staggeringly beautiful place. It’s as “Arizona” as it gets. You will love the view of Scarface Mountain and all of the giant Saguaros. The park is named after a character named “King” Usery who was a famous horse thief.

You probably have driven by the Usery Mountain Regional Park many times on the way to Saguaro Lake and the Salt River Tubing experience. What can you see here?

In the spring there are the Arizona wildflowers but you will discover there is so much more!

There are some amazing hikes in a Saguaro Forest. Like the Merkel trail or the Wind Cave trail where you can see a cave like hollow in the light rock.

Maybe you like the sport of archery and want to try out your Rambo skills in a spectacular desert environment. Or camp under the stars. Or pack your horses and go for a nature ride. Or just picnic in the peaceful Arizona desert. It’s all here and you will find this is a jewel right in the backyard of Phoenix next to Mesa.

Arizona Wildflowers

In the springtime and early summer after a wet winter you can see all sorts of Arizona desert wildflowers. You can hike on the trails and see the fragile spring flowers until the hot weather dries them up.

Mexican Gold Poppy

Ocotillo Flowers

Then when it gets warmer the flowers on the various cacti bloom with intense colors!

Usery Visitor Center with ranger talk schedule

First stop is the visitor center so you can investigate what the park has to offer you. A helpful volunteer can answer your questions like what to see and where to go. There are pictures of flowers with their names. There are maps of the many trails that you can hike. There are directions to all the various kinds of campgrounds.

And there are lots of things to look at. They have glass cases with a rattler snake, gopher snake, tarantula, and scorpion for example.

Then there are lots of books and free information to help you understand the beauty of the desert and appreciate what an amazing park this is.

This is a fee area and the time we went the cost was $6 dollars a carload for the day. You can also get a year pass if you visit very often which is good for all the Maricopa parks that are fee areas.

The volunteers are helpful. You can ask for the latest info on things like flowers or snakes or bugs.

There were lots of cool things to buy too. Like scorpion flashlights. I asked the volunteer if the thing worked and he said “check this out.” We walked over to a glass critter case. All you could see is a big rock and a twig in the back.

Anyway, the visitor center had scorpion flashlights made by Scorpion Master in Chandler Arizona. The light is easy to use and very portable. Sure beats walking around with the old style UV lights with big heavy batteries or an ac cord.

There is even a ranger led hike at night where you can go out for a scorpion hunt! Bring your scorpion flashlights and good shoes!

The park rangers give a lot of walks and talks about the desert. Here’s where to find the upcoming events at the Usery Mountain Regional Park: http://www.maricopa.gov/parks/usery/EventsDetailPublishers.aspx

Hikes and bicycle rides

A nice easy self-guided hike is the Merkle trail around the base of the Merkle Hills. A hike over the top of the Merkle Hills (too rocky for bicycles) will give you a view of Scarface Mountain also known as Pass Mountain.

The hikes have an occasional sign so you can understand the flowers, animals and geography.

For example, the scar in Scarface Mountain is the result of giant volcanic explosions millions of years ago. The light colored material that makes up the scar is volcanic tuff. Tuff is the name for the layers of lava and ash with lots of quartz that were compressed in this scar-like formation. The whole area used to be a volcanic caldera that blew up. Above the scar is a darker layer of volcanic basalt.

Usery Mountain Regional Park Camping

There are 73 individual places to camp. You can find places for giant bus-sized RV’s. Or if you like things more primitive, you can find a campground for tents. There are showers and bathrooms, and out-houses next to the primitive campgrounds. The campgrounds are mostly first-come, first-serve. Call ahead for group camping.

Archery with the Usery Mountain Archers

Even if you don’t use a bow and arrow the range is fantastic to see. Be sure to watch the signs because you don’t want to stray into a target zone. First stop is a covered area over park benches. This is the practice range with targets at different distances.

The people are cordial too. I didn’t know what to expect and was walking around the 3D course and met a friendly local couple that were coming back down the mountain. They even asked if I needed any water!

Directions

The Usery Mountain Regional Park is about 10 minutes north on Ellsworth exit north of the Superstition Freeway. Hours and fees can change so here is the number to check for the latest info: Ph: 480-984-0032.

Here is a detailed pdf map with roads, trails, etc. http://www.maricopa.gov/parks/usery/pdf/2009_maps/usery-11x17-3d.pdf

This is the main link for the park for more details: http://www.maricopa.gov/parks/usery/

Park Hours
Sun-Thu: 6am-8pm
Fri-Sat: 6am-10pm
- 365 days a year

Usery Mountain Regional Park
3939 N. Usery Pass Road
Mesa, AZ 85207