Estrella Mountain Lake Parks

Fast Flight Facts

Target Species:  Waterbirds in winter

Elevation: 970'

Habitat:  Two big park lakes with open water

Overall Birding Rating: 2

Difficulty: 1 (Easy)

Birding Type: Easy Hiking

Facilities:  Parking, restrooms

Fees/Ownership:  None/Estrella Mountain Community

Closest Town or City/How far from Phoenix:  Goodyear /22 miles southwest of Phoenix

Getting there:  Reached by different streets in the area that go around to both lakes

Overview:  The Estrella Mountain Lake Parks are two big parks in the Estrella Community that feature two big lakes that are always worth a check for waterbirds.  These two big lake parks, located directly north and south from each other, offer easy walking paths around both lakes.  With the large lakes and open water, different species of aquatic bird species will be present.  The surrounding trees and desert habitat might offer good birding opportunities also.

Birding Tip:  A scope is very helpful here.  The walk around either lake is simple and easy.  If not wanting to drive to both lakes, the lakes are very close to each other and a nice walk can even include both lake parks, which are almost connected to each other.

Directions:  From the 1-10 Freeway (West), take the Estrella Parkway exit south for 8.5 miles to the Estrella Mountain Lake Parks.  Once being close to this spot, there are two lake parks, a north park and a south park.  To view the north park, this spot is at the 8.5 mile mark when coming south from the 1-10 on Estrella Parkway.  Make a right (west) on Elliot Road, where a noticeable restaurant and park with basketball courts will be on the south side of Elliot.  Park here and explore the lake on this north side of the park.  To reach the south lake, continue west on Elliot Road for one mile until San Miguel Road is reached.  At this intersection, turn left (south) on San Miguel Road for 0.6 miles until the south park is reached, which is very similar to the north park.  Another option to reach the south park would be to continue south past Elliot Road on Estrella Parkway for almost a mile until San Miguel is reached.  Turn right (west) on San Miguel Rd for a little over a mile to reach the south lake park.  Another cool thing about these parks is that they almost connect.  If walking clearly around one of the lakes by following the paths, the paths cross over to the other park.  It's a nice walk for any birder!

Pages:

Estrella Mountain Lake Parks Maps

Estrella Mountain Lake Parks eBird Data

Scenes and Sights from the Estrella Mountain Lake Parks:

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