McDowell Mountains

The McDowell Mountains create a natural barrier between Fountain Hills and the rest of the Valley of the Sun. Fountain Hills resides on the eastern slope of the range as it descends to the Verde River at the bottom of the Lower Verde Basin.

The McDowells have received quite a bit of attention over the last decade with regards to environmental protection from development. Between the City of Scottsdale and the Town of Fountain Hills, thousands of acres have been set aside for the McDowell Mountain Sonoran Preserve. Between this preserve and the 20,000+ acre McDowell Mountain Regional Park, the area will continue to offer beautiful, pristine mountain vistas for generations to come.

Why all of this effort to preserve a small desert mountain range? The answer to that question is evident the moment you see the range in all its glory. The McDowell Mountains are a majestic range with stunning vistas, diverse vegetation and an abundance of wildlife. Step onto a trail and a mile later you will find it hard to believe how much peace and quiet exists so close to a big metro area. These happen to be the same reasons developers find the property so valuable for upscale residential development. Existing privately held property in the McDowells is very valuable.

Voters have spoken, however, and a great deal of the land has been and hopefully more will continue to be set aside Most agree it is worth the expense to preserve the McDowell's beauty and solitude for future generations.

The McDowells offer many fine opportunities for outdoor activity. There are numerous trails in the range for hikers, horseback riders, and mountain bikers to enjoy. Trails are accessible via trailheads located in Fountain Hills, Scottsdale, McDowell Mountain Regional Park and also on the far north end of the McDowell Mountains. The range holds quite a few historical secrets too. Explorers will find numerous petroglyphs carved in rock faces scattered throughout the range.

A favorite destination on the east side of the McDowells is the Dixie Mine, an abandoned gold and silver mine hidden in one valley of the range below Thompson Peak. Operated around 1900, the Dixie produced over $50,000 in gold, silver, and some copper. Considered a "Glory Hole," a mine with enticing veins of ore that abruptly vanish due to shifts in the earth during prehistoric times, miners soon abandoned the property. The mine is located at the base of Thompson Peak. Note that no public automobile traffic is allowed. To get there you must hike, bike or horseback ride. The shortest official route is to use the Dixie Mine Trail from its offical trailhead at the parking lot at the end of Golden Eagle Blvd at the entrance to the gated Eagle's Nest community. The hike takes about 1 hour and although having some ups and downs does not gain significantly in elevation. TAKE CAUTION as there has been sightings of a large bee hive in the trees below the mine and along the stream. This is a desert hike so please take all precautions necessary before venturing out there.

The character of the range changes dramatically at the north end of the range with thousands of car and house-sized boulders stacked on top of each other and embedded in the soil. One of the most popular rock structures is known as Tom's Thumb. This rock pinnacle is popular among rock climbers and makes a great destination for a day hike. There are several trails that offer access to Tom's Thumb and the other-wordly boulder fields of the northern McDowell range, but the most popular and overall easiest route is via the trailhead that is near the end of 128th street off of Rio Verde Dr/Dynamite Rd.

The McDowell Mountains, McDowell Peak, Mt. McDowell (aka Red Mountain), and the Fort McDowell Reservation were all named after General Irvin McDowell of the Union army. General McDowell served as a US Cavalry officer in late nineteenth century Arizona.

To give you an idea of the size of the McDowells, the three tallest peaks in the range are East End Peak (at the far northeast end of the range) at 4067 feet MSL (above Mean Sea Level); McDowell Peak at 4034 feet MSL (north of the center of the range) and Thompson Peak at 3982 feet MSL near the center of the range. Thompson Peak is easily identified as it has numerous radio antennas on it. For comparison, Sky Harbor airport is at an elevation of 1135 feet MSL and Fountain Lake is at about 1550 feet MLS. This means that the peaks of the range are almost 2500 feet above downtown Fountain Hills.

Related Links:

• View Google Topo Map of McDowell Mountains
• McDowell Mountain Regional Park Official Site
• McDowell Sonoran Conservancy