SCOTTSDALE

Trail to link preserves in Scottsdale, Fountain Hills

Beth Duckett
The Republic | azcentral.com
  • Hikers in Scottsdale have never been able to directly reach the Fountain Hills McDowell Mountain Preserve.
  • In June%2C Scottsdale will raise the curtain on a new trail that is the first direct link between the Scottsdale McDowell Sonoran Preserve and the Fountain Hills McDowell Mountain Preserve.
  • Both municipalities and their residents have worked years to protect the desert and mountains in perpetuity.

In less than five years, Scottsdale has more than doubled the size of its McDowell Sonoran Preserve.

Bill Craig (left) and Steve Fleming hike a trail that will soon link preserves in Fountain Hills and Scottsdale. The cities will consider a proposal to name the trail after two preserve advocates, one of whom died earlier this month.

The protected land of 47 square miles encompasses the McDowell Mountains and surrounding desert. To open up the land to hikers, Scottsdale has an extensive web of trails, which now cover an estimated 120 miles.

But despite the efforts, hikers in Scottsdale have never been able to directly reach the Fountain Hills McDowell Mountain Preserve. Until now.

In June, Scottsdale will raise the curtain on a new trail that is the first direct link between the McDowell Sonoran Preserve and its neighbor to the east.

The roughly 2½-mile trail will give hikers a new outlet to experience the pristine desert that they helped protect, and pay for. Once complete, hikers will be able to depart from a trailhead at the south end of the Scottsdale preserve and hike along the eastern McDowell Mountains up to northern lands and as far north as the Tonto National Forest.

"It's something so many people have wanted for so long," said Steve Fleming, co-chairman of the Fountain Hills Sonoran Conservancy, a non-profit that supports the town's nearly 1,000-acre preserve.

A proposal would name it the Andrews-Kinsey Trail in honor of preserve advocates Chet Andrews and Roy Kinsey, though the moniker has not been officially approved.

The idea for such a trail dates to the 1990s, Fleming said.

Preserve advocates have waited years for Scottsdale to acquire a tract of land in the area, and the city bought it last year. It was the final piece of land needed for the trail.

"We knew there were a lot of things that would have to fall in place first," Fleming said.

Since 2009, Scottsdale has added nearly 15,600 acres of state trust land to its 30,200-acrepreserve, at a cost of roughly $250 million, according to Republic calculations.

The state's Growing Smarter fund covered more than $85 million of the cost. Scottsdale paid for the remainder using money generated by two dedicated sales taxes for the preserve, approved by city voters in 1995 and 2004.

In 2013, Scottsdale finalized its most recent land purchase of 2,365 acres, which includes most of the ridgeline in the southern McDowell Mountains, south of the Bell Road alignment.

Andrews and Kinsey developed preserve volunteer programs in Scottsdale and Fountain Hills, respectively.

Andrews, a key player in the creation and enjoyment of Scottsdale's preserve, died on April 12. He was 84.

Kinsey is the founder and a former chairman of the Fountain Hills conservancy, whose efforts helped make the Fountain Hills preserve a reality.

Both men championed the preserves in their respective communities, creating landmark volunteer programs, serving as preserve commissioners and leading trail building, among other efforts.

"To me, it is a fitting tribute to two gentlemen who worked hard in the early days to form the basis for the preservation efforts we all are so blessed to be enjoying and benefiting from now," said James Heitel, chairman of Scottsdale's McDowell Sonoran Preserve Commission.

Elected officials in Scottsdale and Fountain Hills still must approve the trail name.

On Thursday, the Scottsdale Preserve Commission will consider the naming request. The commission will make a recommendation to the City Council, which has the final say, said Scott Hamilton, Scottsdale preserve planner.

While this is the first direct link between the preserves, hikers in Fountain Hills could reach Scottsdale's preserve via the McDowell Mountain Regional Park, a county park north of Fountain Hills and east of Scottsdale's preserve.

Fountain Hills has already built its portion of the trail. In Scottsdale, the trail is about halfway complete and is expected to open in early June, Hamilton said.

Scottsdale agreed to pay Okanogan Trail Construction $97,000 to build the estimated 2.1 miles of trail in its preserve, which will split off from the city's Sunrise Trail and head north along a canyon.

"What really struck me is the views off to the distance, especially to the east," Hamilton said.

In Scottsdale, hikers will be able to access the path from several trailheads along the southern slopes of the McDowells, including the Sunrise and Lost Dog Wash trailheads.

The Andrews-Kinsey Trail has views of nearby peaks, the Superstition Mountains, the Four Peaks and the fountain in Fountain Hills.

Once the trail enters the Fountain Hills preserve from the south, hikers will be able to take the Western Loop Trail, which connects to the McDowell Mountain Regional Park via the Sonoran Trail.

The trail will be closed to horses, Hamilton said.

Land purchases

Scottsdale has bought close to 15,600 acres of state trust land for its preserve since 2009.

2009: 400 acres

2010: 2,000 acres

2011: 4,420 acres

2012: 6,400 acres

2013: 2,365 acres

Source: Scottsdale