Located on Cimmaron just south of Blue Diamond Road, Paiute Park has good parking and feels far from traffic. The park itself is relatively small, and would be a lot of laps for a 5k. So what’s the best Paiute Park walking route?
Fortunately, Paiute Park is part of a small trail system that connects to Exploration Peak Park, which makes this park a good starting point for a running or walking route.
Starting at the park, make a loop and then head west on the trail. That should give you about half a mile. Coming back, take another loop around the park and continue east to Buffalo. That should finish up your mile.
Head back west, with an optional loop at Paiute Park in the middle. Go all the way to the end of the trail at Durango for Mile #2. Back east to Paiute Park, and finish up with loops of the park to hit your distance goal.
Note that the trail is a flood mitigation feature, so be cautious when heavy rain is forecast.
To minimize the back-and-forth, you can cross Buffalo to Exploration Peak Park and add a loop there, whether through the park itself or up the mountain. You’ll get more miles exploring the mountain.
A second alternative is to make a square – Pauite Park east to Buffalo, south on Buffalo to the Le Baron Paseo Trail, LeBaron Paseo Trail west to Durango, Durango north to the trail to Paiute Park.
