PHOENIX — Grab the sunscreen and lace up your outdoor shoes -- the Dreamy Draw Recreation Area may have shut down a few years back, but this prime piece of the Phoenix outdoors is finally set to reopen.
The city’s parks department is hosting a grand reopening at 8:30 a.m. Thursday at the revamped area located east of State Route 51 off Northern Avenue.
The area will now gives more people access to Phoenix’s great outdoors especially with the addition of ADA accessible paths and parking.
“Our trails should be open to everybody so the more opportunities we can give to any individual regardless their abilities or whatever challenges they may face,” said Josh Parnell with the parks department. “These outdoor spaces are beautiful and should be cherished and everybody should have that ability,” added Parnell.
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How to visit Dreamy Draw and what will you notice?
- It’s located at 2421 E Northern Avenue in Phoenix.
- They have added ADA accessible paths, so more people can access the trails and amenities of the Phoenix Mountains Preserve.
- The city said they more than doubled the parking spaces and there is also better parking now for horse trailers including a trough you can refill for trail rides.
- There’s also four brand new ramadas and new roofs have been added to the existing structures.
- There’s a new restroom with single stalls and a nice, clean area to wash your hands and also to fill up your water bottles.
- The bike path has been redone. A 68-inch water line was installed where the original path was as part of the Drought Pipeline Project. A new bike path was placed on top of it.
The term Dreamy Draw dates to the mercury miners in the area who were in what was described as a ‘dreamy state’ after being in contact with the element.
Now it’s a place where you can see some dreamy scenery and enjoy Arizona’s desert, valleys and mountains. The gates to Dreamy Draw are open every day from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m.
“Last year we had six and half million people on our trails. Those are only on our trails where we have counters. We know it’s passionate. People love these places,” said Parnell.
The city says the $6.4 million from the Phoenix Parks and Preserve Initiative Program, also known as 3PI funding was used for the remodeling. This initiative sets aside one-cent of sales tax for every ten-dollars of purchases to improve and renovate existing parks, and to expand and improve the city's desert preserve system.
The city said Dreamy Draw closed initially in 2020 when Drought Pipeline Project work was happening in the area. Construction on the remodeling of the recreation area started one year ago. The trails in the area remained open during the entire time.
Parnell said the city is always looking towards its next project or improvement. Currently they are working towards gathering feedback on possible upgrades at North Mountain Park.
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