New hiking trails at Lake Pleasant Regional Park

If you have a boat, now is the perfect time to leave it at home.

Head for Lake Pleasant with just your hiking gear. Go now, while the weather is sweetly seductive and wildflowers still linger. Without the summer crowds you'll enjoy a reasonable amount of solitude and a startling variety of scenery. And you don't have to get your feet wet unless you want to.

Suddenly, Lake Pleasant Regional Park has become a hiking hot spot, with almost 9 miles of new trails added in the past four months.

The park previously had nice but limited opportunities to get out and ramble. That began to improve in November when the Wild Burro, Cottonwood and Yavapai Point trails were unveiled. The latest addition, the Beardsley Trail, just opened and I was one of the first to etch my boot tracks into it.

A few weeks ago, I visited the park to check out wildflowers. That's when a ranger told me about the Beardsley. Construction was complete, signs were up, but no official announcement had been made. I was halfway to the trailhead before he finished the sentence.

There's something seductive about an untrammeled trail. You can keep your new-car smell; I'll take a new-trail smell any time, all fresh, earthy and sunbaked. I bent down to sniff a clump of lupines and wondered if I was the first to smell them. Granted, it's a weird thing to get excited about, but I like that sense of discovery.

At 4.1 miles, Beardsley is the longest trail in the park. It starts from Desert Tortoise Road and angles south through a nice desert medley, with clusters of brittlebush pooling around the bases of saguaros. A smattering of cholla dots the slopes amid paloverde trees and ocotillos.

The gangly ocotillos are one of my favorite Sonoran Desert plants. They seem so carefree as they reach toward the sky with slender arms. Often growing on open hillsides, they look like passengers in an invisible roller coaster, exhibiting that triumphant "throw your hands in the air like you just don't care" kind of vibe. They're a party unto themselves, ready to high-five the saguaros.

The trail offers a nice bit of solitude even though it parallels South Park Road. I met a couple of other hikers, so obviously I wasn't the first on the Beardsley. Must have been the trail-construction crew that blabbed.

The Beardsley overlooks Morgan City Wash and provides views of Waddell Dam. It ends at a junction with the Maricopa Trail, the ambitious 242-mile trail that is intended to connect major regional and municipal parks in and around Phoenix. It's partially completed and now, thanks to the Beardsley Trail, Lake Pleasant is in play.

Happy as I was to stroll on the barely ruffled soil of the Beardsley, the real gem of the Lake Pleasant trail system is the path to Yavapai Point. This is a short, moderate hike that ends with a bang, an eye-popping panorama of the lake. This 1.5-mile trail has to be in the mix when discussing favorite trails in the Valley. It delivers a big visual payoff for limited effort.

The hike starts from the Cottonwood Day Use Area and follows the Pipeline Canyon Tail before peeling off and scrambling into the hills. It gives you a couple of nice early peeks at the water, then angles up the slope in long switchbacks.

It's all dry, rocky desert until the final switchback snags the crest of the hill and you clamber out on top to see all of Lake Pleasant sprawled below. The vista is stunning. I found a comfortable sitting rock and, after carefully checking for snakes, plopped down and soaked it all in. There's something calming about water in the desert. I love being around it. Around it being the key. Because actually being on the water involves mostly sitting, I'm less enthralled with that prospect.

I'm a fidgety and restless man. Charles Dickens once said, "If I could not walk far and fast, I think I should just explode and perish." I'm wired the same way, with a powerful need to ramble. Besides, you never know when you may get to be one of the first to try out a new trail.

Lake Pleasant Regional Park Paddle Fest

Of course, not everyone is as big of a landlubber as me. If you're eager to get on the water but don't have a boat, Paddle Fest is for you. On Saturday, April 11, visitors can take free demo rides on kayaks, canoes, stand-up paddleboards and rafts. Booths will be set up from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the shore at Fireman's Cove.

There also will be live music, paddle clinics, races, scavenger hunts and a fee-based guided island-tour paddle. A fishing derby starts at 6:30 a.m., and you have to be signed up by 6:15. All activities are included in the $6-per-vehicle park-admission fee.

Find the reporter at www.rogernaylor.com.

Lake Pleasant Regional Park trails

All mileages are one way. Ranger-led hikes are offered. See the website for a schedule.

• Wild Burro Trail: This route generally follows the shoreline and offers a good opportunity to see the burros that roam the park. 2 miles.

• Cottonwood Trail: This easy path starts near the north entrance station and ends at Pipeline Canyon Trail. 1.2 miles.

• Pipeline Canyon Trail: This scenic hike cuts through a cleft in the hills and crosses a floating bridge. Look for a colorful grove of globemallows on the south side of the bridge. 2 miles.

• Beardsley Trail: This route officially opened in early March and is the longest trail in the park. 4.1 miles.

Where: Take Interstate 17 north to State Route 74. Go west to Castle Hot Springs Road and turn north to the park entrance.

Admission: $6 per vehicle.

Details: 928-501-1710, www.maricopa.gov/parks/lake_pleasant.

Meet Roger Naylor

Republic contributor and author Roger Naylor will discuss his latest book, "Boots & Burgers: An Arizona Handbook for Hungry Hikers," at North Mountain Visitor Center in April. Naylor will be share his favorite hiking trails, eateries and fun facts from around the state, answer questions and sign books. The gathering is part of the visitor center's Brown Bag Workshop series, so feel free to bring lunch or a snack.

Details: Noon Saturday, April 4. North Mountain Visitor Center, 12950 N. Seventh St., Phoenix. Free. 602-343-5125, www.northmountainvisitorcenter.org.