One of Scottsdale’s well known landmarks is the camel shape mountain made popular by hikers called the Camelback Mountain. Situated at Phoenix’s highest point, this reserve of untamed land offers some amazing views along with its red sandstone hills in the distance.
In order to make it to the summit it is required that hikers and would be nature lovers trek over 1,200 feet within the distance of a mile. But once at the top the view of the whole Phoenix and Scottsdale area is absolutely breathtaking.
The small park area surrounding the mountains serves as a means of conservation for this little piece of the Sonoran Desert. The area is right in the middle of the paradise valley area. Preserved by the City Phoenix Parks Department the Camelback Range is part of the Echo Canyon Recreation area.
The location of the mountains, to many nearby resorts has made it a popular destination by vacationers. Though the top of the mountain was fortunately preserved, tourists shouldn’t be surprised to see the base of it dotted with upscale homes.
Among the hiking trails in Arizona the Camelback Mountain rates very highly. The Echo Canyon summit trail is the one that many tourists take to reach the top, which is actually towards the top of the camel’s head.
Along the trail, hikers can expect to see beautifully rich red sand stone having been worn out into artistically shaped boulders, caves and even spires of all sizes. The trail starts at the bottom with a few steps made out of railroad wood. Just ahead is the famous praying monk, a rock tower in the shape of a monk kneeling down and stands at over 80 feet.
Just at the saddle of the figure of the camel shaped mountain is where tourists could snap some amazing scenes of the cliffs in the background of either side of the trail. After this point the trail continues to wind upwards from the mountain side, and gets a bit steep but is definitely worth the climb.
While taking in the view, hikers will have to climb up gullies with boulders dotting the area quite frequently. The return journey takes the same route down and there are hand rails positioned on the side of the mountain to help along the way.
An exhilarating trek up Camelback Mountain deserves some rest and relaxation, and hikers are in luck since the Millennium Resort Scottsdale McCormick Ranch is quite close by to the mountain. This Scottsdale resort is a welcome escape to soothe and rejuvenate the spirit. It’s surrounded by lush green golf courses with the camelback mountains as its backdrop.