The Indian Bend Wash Lakes Were Funded in 2019. The Wedge Is Still on the Table.

When was it decided that the middle lake at Vista del Camino Park would go away?

The money came first. On Nov. 5, 2019, Scottsdale voters approved a package of bond projects that included Question 2, Project 23: Repair Lakes and Irrigation at Vista del Camino Park in the Indian Bend Wash. The plan followed. On March 3, 2020, City Council approved the Indian Bend Wash Municipal Use Master Site Plan, which was developed after extensive public input, and the lake project carries out the parts of that plan dealing with the lakes and irrigation. Removing the middle lake is part of the project's current scope. The fencing, the Miller Road detour and the lake reshaping along the greenbelt this fall are the result of decisions made years ago.

Half a mile north, things are at a much earlier stage. The city has just started gathering input on what Eldorado Park should look like next, and none of it is final. The Wedge Skate Park, the playgrounds and the shade are all open for comment through Oct. 28. The two efforts are also linked, because the last unscheduled phase of the lake project is tied to the Eldorado plan.

Why the lakes needed rebuilding

The lakes along the wash hold the water that irrigates park landscaping, and the city says many activities along the corridor depend on that water or on the lakes themselves, from the fishing lakes and sports fields to the disc golf course, skate park and aquatic center.

The city lists five ways the system was wearing out:

• Plants had rooted into the lakes and punctured the old clay liners, so the system was losing more water than normal.
• Eroding lake edges were creating poor conditions next to the multi-use paths.
• The irrigation systems were outdated, undersized and not working well.
• The open connector channels between lakes had eroded banks, sediment, heavy plant growth and decaying pedestrian bridges.
• The spillway just north of McKellips Road was leaking, which added to the water loss.

The project budget is $34,611,546, funded by bonds and sponsored by the Community Services division. It covers the wash from Murray Lane to McKellips Road. Most of that money goes to liners, channels, pumps and pipe.

What Vista del Camino looks like this fall

Work on Area 4, the stretch of Vista del Camino Park between McDowell Road and Roosevelt Street, started in October 2025. When it's finished, this part of the park will look different. The north and south lakes get new liners and concrete edges, and both will be deeper to improve water quality. The middle lake will be removed and replaced by a new low-flow channel connecting the other two. The work also adds a new irrigation pump station, a smart two-wire irrigation controller, and new routes for the multi-use paths.

In its latest progress note, the city says "the north lake by the ball fields has been removed and a new low flow channel is complete," and that the dam at the south end has been rebuilt, with "a new lake liner and concrete edge" finished on the south lake. Sod installation was scheduled to start in September 2026. That progress note is worded a little differently from the Area 4 plan above, which talks about removing the middle lake. The project manager listed on the page, Annette Grove at 480-312-2399, is the right person to ask about exactly which basin is which.

For walkers and cyclists, the key date is the path closure. The city scheduled the multi-use path through this part of the park to close from Sept. 14 to mid-October, with a posted detour along Miller Road between McDowell and Roosevelt. The project page was last updated Sept. 10, 2026, before that window ended, and no reopening notice had been posted as of Oct. 12. Several other amenities in the segment remain behind construction fencing, and no reopening date has been posted for them. Check the city's project page before you plan a route that depends on the path.

There's also a fishing detail people often get wrong. The city's Vista del Camino Park page lists two lakes for fishing and boating. But the water Arizona Game and Fish stocks in Scottsdale is Chaparral Lake, according to the city's fishing page.

The wash, segment by segment

The lake project is built in six areas, from Murray Lane south of Eldorado up to McKellips Road. Here's where each one stood as of the city's Sept. 10 update:

Area 5 shows how quickly these schedules change. A Bond Oversight Committee packet from August 2024 projected that Area 5 would start in March 2026 and run for 14 months, with Area 6 starting in 2027. The city's current page now lists both as undetermined. The McKellips Lake Park plan does note that "the dog park will remain in its current location."

Eldorado Park is where your input counts

The Scottsdale Independent reported on Oct. 2 that, nearly 60 years after Eldorado Park opened as Scottsdale's first community park, the city is beginning to plan its next round of recreational improvements. The city has set aside $780,000 in fiscal year 2026-27 for the first phase of design, paid for by the voter-approved Parks and Preserve Sales Tax, Proposition 490.

The list of possible changes includes playgrounds and shade, the Wedge Skate Park, restrooms, ramadas, picnic areas, landscaping and other aging amenities. A new pump track is also being considered. The city says nothing has been finalized and that community feedback will help set priorities.

The city's design timeline has three stages. In fall 2026, it collects input through the feedback form, the interactive map and community meetings. Concept alternatives follow in winter 2026, and a final concept plan with implementation strategies is expected in summer 2027.

Area 6 of the lake project, the low-flow channel through East Eldorado Park, has no construction date. The city says that phase "will be constructed with the changes to the park" under the Eldorado master plan. That ties the last unscheduled piece of the lake project to the same plan that is taking public comment now.

How to weigh in before Oct. 28

The first public meeting was held Oct. 7 at Eldorado Community Center, 2311 N. Miller Road. If you missed it, there are still several ways to take part:

1. Attend the Bike & Skate Park community event at The Wedge on Thursday, Oct. 22, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The city is collecting ideas for skate park improvements and possible bike park features such as a pump track.
2. Fill out the Eldorado Park feedback form. It asks you to rank general amenities and choose possible additions, including expanded skate park features and a bike park or pump track.
3. Drop pins on the interactive map to mark specific spots in the park. Each person can place up to 15 pins.
4. Take the Wedge Skate Park survey. It asks about park style and skill level, whether the existing skate park should be replaced, redesigned and expanded, or kept as is, and which bike features you'd want.

The two forms and the map all close Oct. 28, 2026. You can find them on the Speak Up Scottsdale project page.

What hasn't been decided yet

The $780,000 pays for a first design phase. It is not a construction budget. Neither the Scottsdale Independent report nor the city's announcement gives a construction schedule for Eldorado. Neither the pool nor the pond is on the list of changes under consideration, and the pond already got a new pump station and other work in the earlier phases of the lake project. McKellips Lake Park is fully designed on paper but has no start date.

What is set right now is the Vista del Camino work under construction and an Eldorado feedback window that closes Oct. 28. The Area 4 path was scheduled to reopen in mid-October, and the Wedge event on Oct. 22 is the next scheduled chance to tell the city what you want at Eldorado.

At Newman Realty Group, we follow projects like this one because the parks and paths near a home are part of what makes a street feel like home. If you have questions about how the greenbelt work or the Eldorado plans relate to a home you own or are considering nearby, we're happy to talk it through. Schedule a free consultation, and we'll bring the latest city updates to the conversation.