Due to Covid and expensive plane tickets we decided to stay home these holidays with an out of state trip planned for the beginning of the following year. Therefore we need a place to go close to home and decide on an area we haven’t been before in Fountain Hills. It is the McDowell Mountain Preserve with the planned starting point being Adero Canyon TH. In retrospect we should have visited this on a different weekend as given the holidays it was crazy busy, with us barely finding a parking spot in the large lot before starting on our desired loop following Promenade Trail.
There are lots of people on this first portion of the trail with some even on bikes which can be annoying as they are going at crazy speeds without any regard for the hikers on the trail. Luckily the trail is really a road here so we can avoid them and enjoy the spectacle of two ravens fighting likely for a scrap of food.
The flat portion of the trail is beautiful with some great views and is also the most popular section, it is quite difficult to avoid other hikers/bikes on this section.
As we pass the end of the road portion the trail becomes more wild with most people turning around at the end of the road. It continues to have some great views including of what seem to be (and are) quite expensive mansions.
This section is a real trail with some ups and downs through washes but with limited altitude changes. Unfortunately there are many blind curves that are quite dangerous with the bikes speeding along the trail.
We enjoy the birds and other wildlife along the trail. There are quite a few species of birds including curve-billed thrashers (which really are everywhere) and canyon towhees.
The return loop is on a higher trail which is more rugged and has more sections where speed is impossible for bikes which is welcome. It also has views of the area from higher up which are different from the more closer up views from the initial section.
As we return to the end of the road we decide to avoid the road part and take a section of trail that loops over an imposing mountain. It is a tough climb made to our surprise by many people, likely to enjoy the great views especially at sunset. We enjoy the views and then continue down towards the parking lot and our car where we arrive about an hour prior to sunset, just enough time to return home before the sun sets.
