Phoenix has been overcast, cold and drizzly all day. It is very unseasonal. The photograph below is from my car heading north up the 101 and looking toward the McDowell Ranges.

Normally at this time of day the McDowell Ranges are in stark relief against a bright blue sky and the long shadows of their own peaks.

Ironically the desert sun and heat has created a market for undercover parking which is in short supply. One of my workmates just leased an under-cover site in the parking lot for $40 a month. Apparently this is normal practice to charge for parking under a carport-like tin roof which at least offers some relief from the direct sun.

Last year as my marriage obviously broke down I would travel out to Harpers Ferry in West Virginia and hike the mountain trails. It got me out of the house for several hours, left me to my own thoughts, and placed me in a very beautiful natural environment.

Sunrise over the McDowell Ranges

In Virginia you have to travel to a trailhead. They are not close, being generally outside of the suburbs by forty five minutes to several hours. Phoenix is the opposite. The trails are integrated into the city itself; whether Camelback, Squaw Peak or South Mountain. The northern mountain range is the McDowell's.

Phoenix has only really started to reach the McDowell Ranges in the last ten years so they are not as criss crossed with paths as the city hikes and South Mountain are. They are also behind a national park and a consequent fee of $6. Not a big issue, I used to pay to hike at Harpers Ferry as well.

Tall saguaro cactus

I am not sure if being behind a national park means that it is better conserved, it is less traveled, by humans though, not horses. The entrance to the park is on the eastern side of the mountain range which makes it inconvenient from the city side.

Either way the biggest Saguaro I have seen was in the McDowell Ranges. That is me at six foot one in the blue shirt.

I went up Bell Pass today. It was a tough hike of approximately four miles with the last two miles being steeply vertical. The pass bridges the mountain range between the western and eastern aspects.

Phoenix is perenially hot now and there is no good time to go and do a hike. I did it between 10am and 1pm which put the temperature around 105F (about 42C). I took three bottles of water up which summed to two pints of water and had used every last drop by the time I had got back down to my car.

The city hikes of Camelback, Squaw Peak and South Mountain are well known but with the expansion of Scottsdale so far north new trails are being put in the McDowell National Park for hikers and mountain bikers. Bell Pass is one of the new ones. I expect as it gets better known it will rival Camelback's Echo Canyon and Squaw Peak's main trail as a tough vertical hike. Personally I think it is harder than Echo Canyon.

We did the Tom's Thumb Hike on the northern side of the McDowell Ranges though we accessed the rock formations from the western side, rather than the north eastern trail-head. The hike was about twelve miles in total and took us four hours to complete. The rock formation known as Tom's Thumb in the picture above is at about 3500 feet. Getting up to it is pretty strenuous, there are a mountain's worth of switch backs to get to the ridge that leads to the rocks.

It was good challenging hike.

Bell Pass is about a three and a half mile hike the pass itself in the McDowell Mountains. The round trip from start to finish is about seven miles and takes somewhere from two hours to three hours depending how fast you do it. Bell Pass is at 3,500 feet and has a fairly steep ascent in the last part of the trail.

Trail Heads and Parking

Bell Pass has two trail heads. The trail head at Bell Rd and 104th St has a small graded dirt area for parking. It holds about fourteen cars maximum and can become crowded during the peak periods in spring and fall.

The larger main trail head is on Thompson Peak Parkway and Foothills Drive. This has a facility with toilets and drinking water. There is ample parking there as well, some paved, mostly finely graded dirt.

Hike Distance

Approximately seven miles from Bell and 104th St.

Hiking Time

Two and a half to Four hours. If you are very fit you can get to the pass within an hour.

Hike Elevation

3,500 Feet.

Hike Difficulty

Moderately difficult for experienced hikers. This can be a brutal hike in summer. Always bring plenty of water.

Trail Description

From Bell and 104th the trail goes up 104th St for a while before hitting the Levee Trail. You follow the levee up until it meets the main trail. From there follow the signs to Bell Pass. From Thompson Peak and Foothills the main trail is followed from parking area.

The trail itself slowly ascends up to Bell Pass at 3,500 feet. The scenery is stunning with centuries old saguaro's, fishhook cactus, cholla's and wildlife crowding the mountain sides. The last mile or so the ascent increases considerably and the last 200 yards is very steep.

We have seen mountain bikers on the trail but it isn't that often bike riders are on it. Probably because the trail is pretty strenuous in ascent.

Trail Map

Bell Pass on Google Maps. More on the McDowell Regional Park including trails and maps.

Trail Heads and Parking

The trail head is on Thompson Peak Parkway and Foothills Drive. This has a facility with toilets and drinking water. There is ample parking there as well, some paved, mostly finely graded dirt.

There is a secondary trail head on the north side of the McDowell's which is in a gated development. Apparently you have to park outside the development and then walk up to trail head.

Hike Distance

From the main trail head it is a long hike about four miles one way and an eight mile round trip.

Hiking Time

For a round trip from the gateway access area this is probably a four to five hour hike for experienced hikers.

Hike Elevation

Approximately 3,000 feet.

Hike Difficulty

Moderately to increasingly difficult for experienced hikers. Main issues are a series of difficult switchbacks prior to the Tom Thumb outcrop and the length of the hike necessitating a lot of water.

Trail Description

From the Gateway trail head the hike is not heavily strenuous until a series of switch backs is hit. From then on it is a very strenuous hike until the small Plateau the Tom Thumb's rocks are on are hit.

Because it is a lengthy hike from the gateway access trail head it is a quiet hike with not many others on the trail. At the Tom's Thumb section it is busy as numerous hikers come up the northern trail from the north trail head which is much shorter.

The main source of difficulty with this hike is its length mixed in with the switchbacks that are a difficult ascent.

Trail Map

Tom's Thumb on Google Maps. More on the McDowell Regional Park including trails and maps.

Trail Heads and Parking

The trail head is on Thompson Peak Parkway and Foothills Drive. This has a facility with toilets and drinking water. There is ample parking there as well, some paved, mostly finely graded dirt.

Hike Distance

Approximately 8 miles.

Hiking Time

Five hours for experienced hikers.

Hike Elevation

Approximately 3,000 Feet.

Hike Difficulty

Moderately difficult though mainly for the length. There isn't any difficult ascent's or switch backs on the hike.

Trail Description

Windgate Pass is a long and leisurely trail that runs from the gateway access to another of the passes from the western side of the McDowell's to the eastern side. This is a longer hike than some of the shorter but steeper ascents like Bell Pass so bring plenty of water. This can be an arduous hike in summer.

Trail Map

Windgate Pass on Google Maps. More on the McDowell Regional Park including trails and maps.

The McDowell Mountains are a large mountain range to the north of Scottsdale. The mountains are pretty tall, probably in the 4,000 feet area of height and gather snow in the winter despite being on the Sonoran Desert Plain.

The entire McDowell Mountain Range is within a Regional Park and there is no development on the mountains themselves though there is some encroachment from development in the northern area against the slopes.

There is a tonne of hiking and trails around the McDowell Mountains. It is largely split on the eastern and western sides. On the eastern side is a large access area off Thompson Peak Parkway. On the western side access is via the Regional Park and incurs a charge to get in.

Probably the best hike on the McDowell Mountains is Bell Pass. This is a strenuous climb from either the levee or the main trailhead to the pass. It is about three and a half miles to the pass and the trail rises to 3,500 feet.

Another strenuous hike is Tom's Thumb from the Thompson Peak trailhead. This is a longer hike that is not particularly difficult other than one set of difficult switch backs.

A milder hike than the other two is Windgate Pass. From Thompson's Peak Parkway the trail is the same as for Tom's Thumb until is diverges to the pass. This isn't as high or as strenuous as Bell Pass but is a difficult one.