Little-Known Trailhead Getting Improvements

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The Anthem Equestrian Trailhead on Desert Hills Drive, looking north toward Daisy Mountain.

When Daisy Mountain Fire Department’s rebuilt Fire Station 145 opens on Desert Hills Drive later this year, there will be a community room available for public use, a larger parking lot, and improvements to the adjacent equestrian trailhead that connects to the 315-mile-long Maricopa Trail.

In May, Anthem Community Council voted to convey ownership and maintenance responsibility of the Anthem Equestrian Trailhead to the Daisy Mountain Fire District. The fire station at the site was demolished to make way for a new one, scheduled to open by the end of November, said DMFD spokesperson Paul Schickel. Among the improvements DMFD will pay for:

  • An additional 33 parking spaces in a combined lot with a new, shared entrance, all graded and resurfaced.
  • Lighted sidewalk from parking lot to fire station community room.
  • New water line to replace broken one to existing horse trough.

Given expected demand, the community room will require reservations, Schickel said.

The dry horse trough.

“This is a great example of the partnerships that Daisy Mountain Fire Department likes to build in the communities we serve,” Schickel said. “We think fire stations should be a focal point in our community.”

The Maricopa Trail, a giant loop through the county, is intended for non-motorized use. It connects Lake Pleasant and Cave Creek regional parks with a section that passes under I-17 at Daisy Mountain Drive and runs and along the southern edge of Anthem.

The trail also connects faraway county parks like Estrella to the south and San Tan in the southeast.

The front of Fire Station 145, which is under construction. The trailhead is in back.
A rendering of the planned replacement for DMFD Station 145. Image courtesy Daisy Mountain Fire Department
Robert Roy Britt
NoPho resident Robert Roy Britt has written for In&Out publications since its inception in 2005. Britt began his journalism career in New Jersey newspapers in the early 1990s. He later became a science writer and was editor-in-chief of the online media sites Space.com and Live Science. He has written four novels. .

Robert Roy Britt

NoPho resident Robert Roy Britt has written for In&Out publications since its inception in 2005. Britt began his journalism career in New Jersey newspapers in the early 1990s. He later became a science writer and was editor-in-chief of the online media sites Space.com and Live Science. He has written four novels. .

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