The Town Council has adopted the Trail Master Plan 2022 for the Fountain Hills McDowell Mountain Preserve. The plan proposes an additional 4.8 miles of trail in addition to the approximately 7 miles of existing trails in the Preserve.

The trail system provides for loops and crossovers to offer a variety of routes for hikers in the Preserve.

The Adero Canyon Trailhead, the central trailhead in the Preserve, opened in November 2018, but paving on Eagle Ridge Drive leading to the trailhead was not completed until 2020. Since that time tens of thousands of hikers have enjoyed the trails, including Fountain Hills residents, winter visitors, hikers from across the Valley and now guests at the Adero Scottsdale Resort.

Scott Grzybowski, chairman of the Town’s McDowell Mountain Preservation Commission, said the updated master plan is consistent with guiding principles dating back to 1997 as well as the 2004 Master Plan. He said the updated work was done in collaboration with the Sonoran Conservancy of Fountain Hills.

“The MMPC believes the Fountain Hills McDowell Mountain Preserve has evolved to the point that a long-term master plan is warranted,” Grzybowski said. “Such a plan serves to provide a coordinated approach to possible future trails that will serve to achieve the master plan goal ‘to provide the public the opportunity to explore all directions within the Preserve.’”

Council members did raise some concerns regarded to the ability of the Adero Canyon Trailhead to handle potential visitors to the expanded trail options. There is sometimes overflow parking on busy weekends during the winter season.

Grzybowski believes that with the expansion evolving over a decade, additional parking options can be explored, but at this time there is no clear solution.

Grzybowski said the five proposed additions in the plan are projected for construction over about a 10-year period. The first trail, North Leg Trail, was also approved by the Town Council last week and is slated for work to begin immediately.

The North Leg Trail is an out and back leg extending off the Promenade Trail onto the northern “leg” of the Preserve. It runs along a ridge that separates residential development in Eagles Nest and Shadow Canyon.

Bill Craig, leader of the Trailblazers, the volunteer group that builds all the trails in the Preserve by hand, said the trail would be more than 550 feet from the nearest lot in Shadow Canyon and 650 feet from the nearest home. He said there are six undeveloped lots in Eagles Nest with building envelopes approximately 100 feet below the Preserve boundary.

The North Leg Trail is approximately .09-mile in length from the Promenade Trail, making it 1.8 miles out and back and a 2.8-mile round trip from the trailhead.

There is space along the North Leg ridgeline to construct a secondary trail to loop back, which is included in the plan for future construction.

The North Leg Trail would be rated moderate difficulty. 

Other trails

The Upper Sonoran Trail is a 1.2-mile trail that extends from the existing Western Loop Trail to the existing Sonoran Trail. This would be rated as a difficult hike.

The Upper Sonoran runs near the western boundary of the Fountain Hills Preserve and is relatively isolated, resulting in nearly no impact to residential areas or views.

Potential crossover trails to the Sonoran Trail provides for additional hiking options.

The Quartz Trail Connector would extend from the Sonoran Trail across the Upper Sonoran Trail and into the Scottsdale McDowell Sonoran Preserve. The majority of this trail would be in Scottsdale with just 300 feet from the Upper Sonoran path, or about .25 miles from the Sonoran Trail.

This trail would be difficult and would provide access to a rugged, remote portion of the Scottsdale preserve. The connection would primarily provide access to the Scottsdale trail system from the northern portion of the Fountain Hills preserve.

The Sunridge Loop Trail is a loop extension of the Ridgeline Trail at its southern end. It would be .9-mile in length and provide additional scenic views above the SunRidge Canyon Golf Course, the Fountain and a bird’s-eye view of the town.

This loop adds hiking options when combined with the Ridgeline and Lower Ridgeline trails.