HIKING

This McDowell Sonoran Preserve hike has some crazy rock formations. Here's how to see them

Mare Czinar

Special for The Republic

Scorpion Point doesn’t rise particularly high over the boulder-strewn flats of the far west sector of Scottsdale’s McDowell Sonoran Preserve.

Yet, even without cloud-scraping height, the weather-worn mound provides a platform for viewing a sprawling desert landscape and a concentrated maze of tightly woven trails favored by mountain bikers for their challenging turns and narrow passages.

Scorpion Point sits at the core of a vast field of granite boulders laid out in jumbled piles, fortress-like walls and isolated pinnacles. Some have been shaped into bizarre, often amusing forms by millions of years of exposure and erosion.

Easily accessible by the Browns Ranch and Pima Dynamite trailheads, a hike to the point unspools in an environment of rich botanical diversity and an outdoor museum of sorts with natural stone sculptures.

Get sweeping mountain views from Scorpion Point in Scottsdale's McDowell Sonoran Preserve.

From the Browns Ranch trailhead, begin the hike on the Latigo Trail heading west.

From the start, the trail dips into a largely shadeless expanse of desert where sun-loving plants like Christmas cactus, turpentine bush, jojoba, chuparosa, desert hackberry and desert lavender stand out over acres of prime wildflower territory.

With ample rainfall, this exposed tract produces carpets of colorful blooms in spring that creep up the slopes of nearby Cone and Brown’s mountains.

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At the 1.2-mile point, pick up the Hackamore Trail, hike 0.2 mile and turn left onto the Tarantula Trail. The next half-mile is packed with whimsical stone sculptures.

Saguaros soar above the Hackamore Trail in Scottsdale's McDowell Sonoran Preserve.

It won’t take much imagination to spot lumps of granite that resemble a rabbit, hog, guppy, hippo and an enormous standing bear. (Rock formation interpretations are my own and not intended to imply any official designations.) Once through the rock art gallery, the trail encounters a sign warning of dangerous conditions ahead.

This is the aforementioned bike maze where slickrock and blind curves warrant paying attention to footing and oncoming traffic. Hikers will find the well-signed obstacles within the maze only moderately tricky. Follow the Dare A Sarah and Scorpion Trails to get to the point.

A tight spot on Dare A Sarah Trail en route to Scorpion Point in McDowell Sonoran Preserve.

A short spur path leads to the bald lookout for unobstructed vistas that stretch all the way to the peaks of Tonto National Forest in the north to the familiar profiles of Pinnacle Peak, South Mountain and the distant Sierra Estrella range to the southwest.

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Make Scorpion Point your turnaround spot or use the excellent preserve maps available online to build your own loop or car-shuttle hike.

Scorpion Point hike

Length: 5.3 miles round trip.

Rating: Easy to moderate.

Elevation: 2,513-2,732 feet.

Getting there: Browns Ranch trailhead, 30301 N. Alma School Road, Scottsdale. From Loop 101 in Scottsdale, take Exit 36 (Pima/Princess) and go 6.5 miles north on Pima to Dynamite Road. Turn right and go 2.7 miles to Alma School Parkway, turn left and drive 1 mile to the trailhead. To reach the start of this hike, walk 0.1 mile south from the parking area on Alma School to the Latigo Trail access point on the right near the pedestrian crosswalk. There are restrooms at the trailhead.