There is an oasis in the Phoenix desert.
Well actually this oasis is in Gilbert which is in the Phoenix East Valley, but close enough.
Gilbert’s Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch is a 110 acre park organized into various vegetative zones that range from marshlands to native riparian and upland vegetation areas. Almost 200 species of birds have been identified in the preserve, as well as all sorts of critters from fish and amphibians to jack rabbits and coyotes.
Over 4.5 miles of trails cross the park and there is a fishing area that is stocked with bass, catfish and trout (an Urban Fishing License is required. More info on the Urban Fishing program is here — PDF file).
Blinds to observe birds and wildlife are available as well as picnic ramadas and camping areas. Educational tours are also available.
The preserve is also home to the Gilbert Rotary Centennial Observatory. A 16 inch Meade LX200R Advanced Ritchey-Chretien telescope is open to the public for astronomical observation on Friday and Saturday nights. Admission is free, though a $3 donation is suggested. The telescope is operated by volunteers from the East Valley Astronomy Club. The club also hosts a free monthly star party on the second Friday of each month at the Riparian Preserve.
The Riparian Preserve is a great place to walk and observe animals (and planets and galaxies!) in their natural habitat, right smack in the middle of suburbia. It is located in Water Ranch at the southeast corner of Guadalupe and Greenfield Roads. Water Ranch also includes the fabulous Southeast Regional Library, the Salt River Project Eastern Canal, and the Town of Gilbert Drinking Water Treatment Plant, a Fire Station, and Nichols Park.
Here are a few more photos I shot today at the Riparian Preserve (The photo at the top of this post was taken on yesterday’s Real Estate Biggest Loser walk. You can see that a cold front blew in overnight. . .)
The Phoenix Real Estate Guy was started by Jay Thompson, and I have a little blogging problem... he liked to say...
Thanks for pointing out places to visit. I'm going to be in Scottsdale in January for a week. Two days are devoted to working, so I have plenty of time to play!
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What a beautiful area to go hiking! My husband and I will have to keep that on our list of places to see. When do you think is the best time of year to visit? I'm a huge fan of the fall time-here in Raleigh the trees are so magnificent and colorful.
Hi Jay – Thank you so much for this tip! I had no idea that this lovely hiking area was so near — in fact, I'd never heard of it. And it looks pretty different from most of the desert hiking I do. 🙂 I'm saving this post, and plan to go visit this site as soon as I have a chance. Thanks!
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Thanks! Really good place for hiking,very nice area.
Greetings from Spain.
It's really beautiful. Do you know if they allow biking on the trails?
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@aaron – Bicycles yes, motorized no.
Thank you. Sounds and looks very peaceful. I like the idea of visiting observatory on Fridays, must be a good stress relief, but unfortunately I live too far from it.
Hey! Thanks for the great post – I am sure to be back in the future. This weekend Im going on a big trip and I was looking for some solid info when I ran into your site on google…thanks! I appreciate it!
The really interesting thing about this preserve is that it's in the middle of Gilbert. You'd never expect to find a nature preserve tucked between the unassuming Gilbert Public Library and track-home neighborhoods. Yet, it's there, and it's quite a gem of the east valley. Overall it’s a cool & interesting place to visit.
Regards, Shane, Guy into real estate in panama
Next time we're in Phoenix we'll definately have to check this out. Thanks.
Next time we're in Phoenix we'll definately have to check this out. Thanks.