Trail users at Pinnacle Peak Park can explore the unspoiled Sonoran Desert on a 3.5-mile, moderately difficult out-and-back route. The summit is 2,889 feet above sea level. In addition to paths, rock climbing areas, picnic areas, and an informational trailhead office, there are also interpretative signs scattered throughout the park.
Scottsdale, Arizona is home to a granite pinnacle known as Pinnacle Peak. The peak is 3,169 feet above sea level. It is a part of the City of Scottsdale Park District’s 150-acre Pinnacle Peak Park. The park, which is located in the Sonoran Desert, is home to numerous desert species. To get to the top, hikers take a 1.75-mile trail that requires some rock climbing expertise.
Hohokam tribespeople gathered and hunted in the area around Pinnacle Peak. Ranches and mines were established by settlers in the vicinity, and eventually homes were built within sight of Pinnacle Peak.
This area around Pinnacle Peak is now part of the Arizona State Trust Land. The 185-acre park was developed in the 1980s after the land was seized by Scottsdale. When the park’s main route was built in exchange for funding and construction funds from a housing developer, they received 35 acres in exchange. The park was closed for construction for six years before it reopened in April 2002.
There is a trail that goes around the mountain for 1.75 miles. It’s a 3.5-mile round-trip trek because hikers have to return the same way they came, as the trail doesn’t make a loop. Benches and informative signs detailing the trail’s distance and features have been placed throughout the park. The trail’s highest point is 2,889 feet, while the lowest point is 2,366 feet. The trailhead is at an elevation of 2,570 feet. About a half mile from the trailhead is a magnificent overlook known as “Grandview.”
To reach the top of Pinnacle Peak, hikers should take the “rock climbing access” branch off the main trail, which is located on the peak’s eastern side. The “South Crack” is the common name for the most common way to the top. There are three trad climbing pitches on the South Crack route. The summits of every pitch feature secure belay anchors. Large belay anchors and rap rings may be seen on the flat top. Since the third pitch is so brief and the belay station is so congested, the second and third pitches can be combined into a single one (located between two boulders that form the entrance of a tunnel that extends through to the north side of the peak). Downclimbers should rappel from the top of the second pitch to the top of the first pitch by traversing to the right (east) of the second pitch and down a huge, flat face. Downclimb the route or use a rappel to descend the first pitch.
McDowell Sonoran Preserve
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