Thrasher Night Trail

Thrasher Night Trail - Cave Creek Regional Park

Thrasher Night Trail is a series of night trail races held at Cave Creek Regional Park in Cave Creek, Arizona. The event uses an 11 kilometer loop that includes the Slate, Quartz, Go John and Overton Trails, and offers the following distances:

• 33K
• 22K
• 11K
• 5K

Longer distances consist of multiple laps of the 11 kilometer loop, with runners passing the start and finish after each lap. The loop includes rolling desert single-track with both fast smooth sections and more mountainous sections, and features two climbs per loop on Quartz and Go John.

Aid support includes a fully stocked main aid station at the start/finish and a remote Go John aid station on the long loop. Stations provide water, ice, electrolyte drinks (Gnarly Hydrate), salty and sweet snacks, fruit, peanut butter and jelly, bean rollups, and hot food such as quesadillas and grilled cheese. The race offers chip timed results, finish line photos, live split tracking, and a finisher award by Aravaipa Artworx.

Logistics note that the start and finish are based at the Horse Staging Area just beyond the Nature Center at the end of East Cave Creek Parkway. Crews are allowed at the start/finish only, pacers are not permitted, and a drop bag area is provided at the start/finish. Packet pickup is available at the Aravaipa Running Warehouse and at Cave Creek Regional Park on race day.

Additional on-site information includes a CUPLESS policy for cup use, a park entry fee of $10 per vehicle as of 1/1/26, and a requirement that any pets at the event be leashed and supervised. Course markings use orange ribbons with black polka dots, reflective medallions, laminated signs, and blue and white checkerboard flagging to indicate wrong-way trails. Visit the organization's website for the most recent information.