History of Dreamy Draw Recreation Area

My favorite recreational area or park for that matter in the greater Phoenix area is the Dreamy Draw Recreation area located at Northern and Highway 51 North. It is the lesser known, lesser travelled, and most northern part of the Squaw Peak area. The area attracts a lot of walkers, hikers, cyclists, and mountain bikers during cooler months, but during summer (May - September) there may be only a smattering of cars in the parking lot. What I like about this area is the 2-3 mile long concrete "sidewalk" which is good for walking or running (though watch out for speeding cyclists!) and the easy accessibility of the trails in the area. Plus there seems to be more wildlife on this side of the park - I regularly see rabbits and chipmunks along with the occasional Roadrunner or snake.

I'm not quite certain of the park's history, though the dam was apparently engineered by the Army Corps of Engineers some years back and it was at one time also a mining area - I assume copper mines. In my hikes out there, I have recovered a few "mining artifacts" of which the nicest is a wheel from a mining cart. I suspect that the area is also a likely "staging area" or Incident Command Post (ICP) for the local National Guard unit which is located nearby at 51st St. & McDowell.