Thunderbird Conservation Park's Smallest Trailhead Is Now Its Main Entrance

"It's very exciting. It's a very popular facility and these trailheads really were lacking a sense of arrival when you got there," Glendale Parks and Recreation Director John Kennedy told the Glendale Star when work began at Thunderbird Conservation Park this spring.

For the rest of 2026, the main way in is at 67th Avenue and Patrick Lane. That lot has fewer parking stalls than either of the other two trailheads, and the city's posted schedule has it serving as the main lot until the end of the year.

The Plan Was One Trailhead at a Time

Kennedy's original description was simple. The Glendale Star reported that one trailhead would close while the other two stayed open, and that all three were projected to reopen in February 2027. The city's April 1, 2026 announcement had the 59th Avenue trailhead closing first, on April 6, with work at 55th Avenue to follow in August.

Then the schedule moved up. A July 6 update in the Cholla District's weekly newsletter said that "thanks to excellent progress being made and advanced site preparations," fencing at the 55th Avenue trailhead would begin a couple of weeks earlier than planned. The new start date was July 13. The 59th Avenue lot is still listed as closed through December, so the two closures now overlap for most of the second half of the year.

The same update said the overflow parking lot at 55th Avenue and Pinnacle Peak Road would stay open during this phase. The 67th Avenue trailhead also stays available.

The city's park page says the closure schedule is "subject to change." The most recent official status we found is the July update. Before driving over, call the project information hotline at (602) 532-6250 to confirm what's open that day.

A Lot of Visits for 85 Stalls

Kennedy puts Thunderbird at 75,000 to 80,000 visits every month. The park covers 1,185 acres in the Hedgpeth Hills, and he called it the city's largest park by a wide margin. The second largest, he said, is around 80 to 100 acres. Parking was tight even before construction. "Especially during some of the peak months of the year, parking was a challenge," he said.

The city's planning boards from May 2025 count 327 existing spaces across the three main lots. With 59th and the main 55th lot both fenced, the only counted spaces left are the 85 stalls at 67th Avenue. The July update confirms the 55th Avenue overflow lot stays open but gives no count for it. The park is open sunrise to sunset, and the city doesn't list separate gate times.

Your Loop Depends on Where You Park

Every trail stays open during construction. Thunderbird's roughly 15 miles of multi-use trails were built largely by volunteer groups, and they're open to hiking, mountain biking, running, and horseback riding. What has changed is which trailheads you can start from. The city's trail table shows which routes begin at each lot.

From the 67th Avenue and Patrick Lane lot:

• Coach Whip, about 5.0 miles and rated easy, runs east to 51st Avenue and Potter. It isn't a loop. The city doesn't list a trailhead or public lot at the 51st Avenue end, so if you park at 67th, plan on walking back or arranging a pickup.
• Desert Iguana is about 0.75 mile, rated easy, and ends at parking lot B.
• Ridgeline, about 0.4 mile and rated moderate, branches off Coach Whip and climbs to meet the Sunrise trail.
• Sunrise is about 2.0 miles including its west branch and is rated moderate. The west branch leaves Ramada 11 and meets Coach Whip on the west side of the park.

The city's ramada map places Ramadas 12 and 13 at the 67th Avenue entrance. That's where Chuckwalla starts, a short, easy quarter mile from Ramada 13 to Ramada 9.

From the 55th Avenue side, using the overflow lot:

• Flatlander is an easy 1.25-mile loop from the 55th Avenue and Pinnacle Peak lot.
• Cholla Loop is about 3.0 miles, rated moderately strenuous and difficult in certain areas. It starts at parking lot A and ends at Coach Whip near 55th Avenue and Pinnacle Peak Road.
• Arrowhead Point is about 1.5 miles and rated moderately strenuous. It leaves Coach Whip south of the Pinnacle Peak lot and ends at Ramadas 14 and 15.

The wildlife viewing blinds are affected too. Four blinds line the north side of the sedimentation basin, a man-made water feature that the city says draws more than 50 species of birds and other wildlife. Three are reached from trails off Pinnacle Peak Road. The fourth is the accessible blind, located off 59th Avenue. With the 59th Avenue lot closed, that accessible blind is probably hard to reach until the lot reopens. The city hasn't confirmed this either way, so call the hotline before planning a visit around it. Ramadas 1 through 8, which the city map places in the 59th Avenue area, are in the same situation.

What the Construction Will Add

Kennedy said the park's infrastructure hasn't been improved in roughly 20 years. A city contract amendment names Haydon Companies, LLC as construction manager and sets a guaranteed maximum construction price of $18,957,609.

Each trailhead gets a different package, according to the May 2025 public meeting boards:

• 67th Avenue goes from 85 to 106 stalls. It gets a restroom building with a built-in shade canopy, a refurbished ramada, and equestrian amenities: hitching posts, a water trough, and mounting blocks.
• 59th Avenue gets the biggest parking increase, from 115 to 170 stalls. It also gets an entry plaza with seat walls, refurbished ramadas, and a new restroom with a shade canopy. The old restroom will be removed.
• 55th Avenue grows to 150 spaces. It also gets a restroom with a shade canopy, an entry plaza with seat walls, entry gates, and a direct connection to the Flatlander trail.

All three lots get paving, native plantings, and historical and environmental signs. Kennedy said the signs are an entirely new addition and will cover the area's plants and animals. The new gates are also meant to save rangers some driving:

"Being able to provide a better vehicular traffic throughout will make it easier for folks to be able to use the trail heads." John Kennedy, Glendale Parks and Recreation Director

Kennedy explained that automated gates mean rangers won't have to drive to each lot to open it in the morning and close it at night.

January Changes Which Lot Is Open

On the city's current schedule, the 59th Avenue lot is closed through December 2026. In January 2027 the 67th Avenue lot closes, and it stays closed through August 2027. The 55th Avenue main lot is listed as reopening in February 2027. So after New Year's, the main entrance should move back to 59th Avenue and its expanded lot, and Coach Whip's western trailhead will be the one behind fencing.

The published end dates don't agree. The Glendale Star article said 67th Avenue work would wrap up in February 2027, with all three lots open again that month. The city's April release projected completion in late summer 2027, and its park page now lists the 67th Avenue closure through August 2027. The city's schedule is the more recent one, so plan around it.

If you want another short desert walk this fall, ASU's Deer Valley Petroglyph Preserve at 3711 W. Deer Valley Road in Phoenix has a self-guided quarter-mile nature trail plus a museum and gallery. It's open Wednesday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. On November 14, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., the preserve holds an Indigenous Heritage Month Celebration with artists along the trail and flute music. Admission is the regular rate, and Culture Passes aren't accepted that day. An Indigenous poetry reading follows on November 21, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., also included with regular admission.

At HAUS Real Estate Team, we keep track of changes like this new trailhead schedule because access to places like Thunderbird is part of what living in north Glendale means day to day. If you'd like to talk about how the park and its upgrades connect to your home plans, Let's Work Together.