Wrap up the year on Saturday, Dec. 29, with a hike hosted by the Sonoran Conservancy of Fountain Hills into one of the town’s hidden treasurers.

This is an easy walk getting to know the town’s Botanical Garden.

Carol Carriere and Judy Dragiewicz will lead this hike in the garden and talk about the desert plants and how they are/were used.

Meet at the Fountain Hills Library parking lot at 8 a.m. to carpool. There is limited parking at the garden site on Fountain Hills Boulevard.

Start the New Year with a very challenging 9.5-mile hike across the McDowell Mountains on Friday, Jan. 4.

Jim Grajek will lead this hike from the Sunrise Trailhead in the Scottsdale Preserve up and across the Fountain Hills Preserve to the Golden Eagle Trailhead.

Meet at 8 a.m. at the Golden Eagle Trailhead at the end of Golden Eagle Boulevard. There will be a carpool shuttle to the Sunrise Trailhead. For a shorter option hikers can arrange for pickup at the Adero Canyon Trailhead. There is a $2 fee to enter McDowell Mountain Park on foot on the return trip.

Besides the length of the hike there is a 2,000-foot elevation change on the trails.

Hikers need to expect to maintain an exercise pace.