Blog > Scottsdale's Walking and Running Hub: The Greenbelt, the Canal, and the Run Clubs That Make 85250 Different
Scottsdale's Walking and Running Hub: The Greenbelt, the Canal, and the Run Clubs That Make 85250 Different
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Most of the Phoenix metro is built for cars. You drive to the gym, drive to dinner, drive to the grocery store. Then there's the corridor running through 85250 — where walking and running aren't a workaround, they're the point. Between the Indian Bend Wash Greenbelt, the Arizona Canal, and an active local run club scene, this part of Scottsdale has quietly become one of the best places in the entire Valley to live a car-optional, outdoors-first lifestyle.
Here's the full picture of what makes this neighborhood a genuine walking and running hub — not just a place with a nice park nearby.
The Indian Bend Wash Greenbelt: The Backbone of It All
The Indian Bend Wash Greenbelt is the centerpiece. This paved, multi-use linear park runs roughly 13.5 miles from East Cactus Boulevard in the north down through Scottsdale and into Tempe Town Lake to the south, threading through a chain of parks, lakes, and golf courses along the way. It was originally built as a flood control solution decades ago, and the city made the rare and visionary choice to turn that infrastructure into green space instead of concrete channel.
For 85250 residents, the Greenbelt isn't an occasional destination — it's a daily option. Chaparral Park sits directly along the corridor, meaning you can walk out your door, hit the path, and choose your own distance: a quick mile loop around the park lake, or a much longer run that connects you mile after mile through some of the most scenic green space in the Valley.
It's also one of the rare off-road running routes in the region long enough to train for an actual race, which is part of why it shows up repeatedly as a recommended route for runners training for events like the Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon.
The Arizona Canal: A Different Kind of Walking Path, Right Through the Heart of Town
Running roughly parallel and intersecting with the Greenbelt is the Arizona Canal Trail — a separate, equally significant walking and biking corridor that's actually one of the longest multi-use trails in Maricopa County, stretching nearly 40 miles from Peoria through Glendale and Phoenix into central Scottsdale and beyond. The canal itself is more than a century old, originally built as part of the valley's irrigation system, with paths along both banks that have since been transformed into one of the most-used recreational corridors in the region.
The Scottsdale stretch of the canal is the showpiece. As it moves through Old Town, it becomes the Scottsdale Waterfront — often compared to a smaller-scale version of the San Antonio Riverwalk — featuring the striking Soleri Bridge and Plaza, public art installations, and direct access to restaurants and shops along the water. Walk it at night when it's lit up and you'll understand immediately why so many visitors and locals alike call it one of the most underrated features of the entire city.
For 85250 residents, the canal trail provides a second, completely different walking and biking experience than the Greenbelt — more urban, more art-forward, and directly connected to Old Town's restaurant and retail scene. Having both corridors essentially in the same neighborhood is a genuine rarity in the Phoenix metro.
Scottsdale's Run Club Scene: A Real Community, Not Just a Trail
What turns a good trail into a great neighborhood amenity is the community that uses it — and Scottsdale's run club scene has grown into something real. Scottsdale Run Club holds beginner-friendly group runs twice a week, Wednesdays at Tempe Town Lake Marina and Saturdays at the Scottsdale Waterfront, with a relaxed three-mile route and a conversational pace that welcomes walkers and joggers alongside more experienced runners.
For a faster-paced, more competitive option, Unlisted Run Club meets weekly in Old Town with no sign-up required — just show up and run a three or five mile route, with details shared on Strava and Instagram. There's also the Goldwater Group Run, a monthly social run organized out of Goldwater Brewing in Old Town that splits into five, three, and 1.5-mile groups, turning the run into as much of a social event as a workout.
What all of these groups have in common is geography: they all anchor around Old Town, the Waterfront, or the Greenbelt — meaning 85250 residents are essentially at the center of Scottsdale's entire organized running community, not on the outskirts of it.
Why This Matters for Buyers
I bring this up constantly with relocating clients, because it answers a question that's hard to capture in a listing description: what does daily life actually feel like here? In most of the Valley, "walkable" is aspirational marketing language. In 85250, it's a literal description of a lifestyle that's available to you the moment you move in — a five-minute walk to the Greenbelt, a short distance to the canal and the Waterfront, and an established run club scene that makes it easy to meet people and build a routine.
For buyers who valued walkability in their last city and worried about losing it in the desert, this corridor is the strongest argument I can make for why that fear doesn't apply here.
Come Walk the Neighborhood With Me
If you want to actually experience this before you buy — not just hear about it — I'd be glad to walk the Greenbelt or the canal with you and show you exactly what daily life in 85250 looks and feels like.
Elizabeth Vijan | eXp Realty Chaparral Park Resident & 85250 Real Estate Expert
Search homes for sale near the Indian Bend Wash Greenbelt and the Arizona Canal in the 85250 zip code at chaparralparkhomes.com.
