White Tank Mountain Regional Park
White Tank Mountain Regional Park is a large park in west-central Maricopa County, Arizona. It covers 29,271 acres (about 45.7 square miles) and is the county’s largest regional park. Most of the White Tank Mountains lie inside the park and it was established in the 1960s.
The park is mostly desert and mountains and stays largely undeveloped. You can drive on existing roads, but hiking is on marked trails only. About 26 miles of trails let visitors walk, hike, bike, or ride horses. The Waterfall Trail is especially popular: a 0.9-mile hike to a seasonal waterfall. There’s also a 10-mile competitive track for faster activities. The area is great for stargazing on clear desert nights, and the park hosts regular astronomy and nature programs.
At the park entrance is the White Tank Library and Nature Center, opened in 2010 in a 29,000-square-foot LEED-certified building. It has a viewing area, live reptiles, an information center, and a gift shop, plus nature education programs for all ages.
Wildlife includes mule deer, coyotes, javelinas, small rodents, occasional mountain lions, roadrunners, cactus wrens, and many reptiles. Guided hikes help visitors learn about plants and animals.
Flash floods can occur in the canyons during late-summer storms, but they can also create temporary waterfalls. The park contains 11 archaeological sites, including seven Hohokam villages from 500–1100 CE; the Black Rock Trail leads to some remains. Petroglyphs, mostly Hohokam but some older, are found throughout. Visitors may photograph them but should not touch.
The park sits on the edge of the Phoenix metro area near Surprise and Buckeye. Rapid growth nearby raises ecological concerns, and planners are creating a greenbelt buffer between new homes and the park to protect its environment, though some worry the park could become an ecological island.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 20:51 (CET).