Trail Maintenance

Trail Overview

Scottsdale's neighborhood trail system provides valuable recreation and transportation opportunities for city residents and visitors. Our unpaved trails serve as transportation links between schools, neighborhoods, McDowell Sonoran Preserve trailheads, parks, places of employment and other areas of interest. Trails are a place for residents and visitors to spend time with friends and family in the beautiful Sonoran Desert in a peaceful and protected setting.

Scottsdale has 160 miles of trails with an additional 150 miles of trailways planned for future construction. Oversight of neighborhood trails is the responsibility of the city's Transportation and Streets Department. Trails exist in city right-of-way or on easements dedicated to the city on private property. In some locations, properties that hold public easements are owned by homeowners associations while others are owned by individual property owners; maintenance of these trails is the responsibility of the adjacent property owners.

Trail Maintenance

Maintenance of a city trail is a lot like maintenance of a city sidewalk. Most Scottsdale property owners already maintain the public right-of-way in front of their home.

Most of Scottsdale's trails are regularly maintained and are kept in good condition however, some trails require maintenances. The city finds out about trails in need of maintenance a variety of ways including routine trail inspections by Transportation and Streets and Code Enforcement staff and citizen reports of unkept trails via Scottsdale EZ.

Request Maintenance or Report a Trail Issue

Property Owner Responsibility

Maintenance of unpaved trails in the public right of way is the responsibility of the adjacent property owner. Property owners with unkept trail sections are notified by the city and asked to remedy the situation within a specified timeframe. All unpaved trails should meet the following guidelines:

• Maintain the trail width and tread
• Trim plants and trees
• Shrubs should be trimmed to allow a two-foot side clearance from trail edges
• Mature height of vegetation within 3-feet of the trail edge shall not exceed 3-feet in height
• Trees should be trimmed to allow a 10-foot height clearance above the trail, with 12-foot overhead clearance desired
• Remove thorny or spiny plants within three feet of trail edges
• Remove weeds and invasive grasses
• Remove litter and debris
• Prevent erosion from drainage off the property, including discharged water from pools and spas

The city appreciates your commitment to the ongoing maintenance of our trail system. The trail system is part of the voter-approved General Plan 2035 and city council adopted 2022 Transportation Action Plan.