3 Scottsdale trailheads to receive major upgrades

Scottsdale is spending $11.5 million to finish the final three significant trailheads in the city’s 30,500-acre McDowell Sonoran Preserve, adding amenities for hikers from shade structures to an amphitheater.

Scottsdale is spending $11.5 million to finish the final three significant trailheads in the city’s McDowell Sonoran Preserve, adding amenities for hikers from shade structures to an amphitheater.

Once completed, the 30,500-acre preserve will have eight significant trailheads leading to more than 180 miles of trails through pristine desert.

The Pima and Dynamite Trailhead, a popular starting point at 28777 N. Pima Road, will transform from a gravel to paved parking area with $4.5 million in upgrades by spring 2020.

Two other trailheads will each get $3.5 million in upgrades that will be completed next spring. The Fraesfield Trailhead is near Rio Verde Drive and 136th Street and the Granite Mountain Trailhead is at 31402 N 136th St.

Gravel lots at the three trailheads will be paved, with restrooms, shaded seating, electricity and equestrian staging.

Two of the three also will have water fountains. Granite Trailhead is too far from the nearest water source.

The Pima and Dynamite Trailhead also will be home to a small amphitheater used for educational sessions hosted through the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy. The amphitheater will be named after Art Decabooter, a former Scottsdale Community College president.

“The public will be able to come in and listen to educational programs on the Sonoran ecosystem and interact with raptors and reptiles,” said Scott Hamilton, a McDowell Sonoran Pre-

serve senior planner for the city.

It will also feature dog water bowls and water bottle filling stations.

The improvements will be the last for the preserve’s major trailheads, although other smaller trailheads will be added down the road, Hamilton said.

He said they would be similar in size to the Tom Thumb and Lost Wash Dog trailheads.

Scottsdale has been accumulating land in its preserve for nearly a quarter century. Scottsdale voters have OK’d sales-tax increases that have allowed the city to spend nearly $1 billion to acquire massive swaths of desert land.

The city has spent just under $20 million to construct trailheads, trails and other improvements to the preserve.

The preserve is home to a unique part of the Sonoran Desert. The elevation is about 1,000 to 2,000 feet above central Phoenix, which leads to greater rainfall and panoramic views.

Within the next two seasons, the preserve will add about 15 to 25 more trails.