Thursday, March 31, 2016

McDowell Mountain Park, McDowell Sonoran Preserve and Fountain HillsPreserve

This is McDowell Mountain Park, McDowell Sonoran Preserve and Fountain Hills Preserve, just east of Scottsdale, AZ. And there is plenty more to the north that I have not seen yet, This place is ginormous! This is my go to long ride area. Along with at least a few killer mountain passes there are miles of rolling desert trails and even a mile long trail that was mainly rock garden techy. Just found Paradise, that is the name of that tech trail. Been missing true tech, Although there is a tech climb at another park, but that is a killer. Killer views abound as well. Come on down I will show you around.
One of my favorite parts is this swooping section of the Sonoran trail, in the Fountain Hills Preserve. The entire trail is great, nice climbs and descents.  There are several tight switch backs that I have not mastered yet.

Shorter version with the hardest climb at the beginning instead of the end.