Lookout Mountain
Place Name: Maricopa County
Place Description: State: Arizona
Date: 11/29/2019
Elevation: 2,054 Feet
Prominence: 574 Feet
Miles: 1.1
Elevation Gain: 510 Feet
Lists: None
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Difficulty
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Solitude
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Kid Friendly
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Summit Views
Quick Hike
Lookout Mountain is a quick and easy hike in the Scottsdale area.
Overall
2.1Pros
- Ample parking
- Easy trail to follow
- Quick
Cons
- Light exposure
- Would be brutal in summer
- Neighborhood views
Thanksgiving Weekend I found myself in Scottsdale and needing to bag some peaks. Lookout Mountain looked as good as any and provided a nice short family hike.
The Trail
Getting to the trailhead was easy and there was plenty of parking. I read that this park was a less traveled trail in the region, and that appeared to be right.
The trail is easy to follow and well signed up to the ridge line. We had a quick rain shower on the way up, however, we reached the saddle very quickly and easily. From here, we went left to gain the summit.
The saddle.
The trail here is not marked and has some exposure if one were to slip and fall. Overall, it’s not bad as long as you are careful. I’m sure it felt worse since I was being overly cautious with my 8-year old son through here.
This section isn’t very long and it gains the ridge. From here, it’s straight forward to the summit which is marked by a metal pole.
The summit of Lookout Mountain.
The Summit
There are some very nice views from the summit. Piestewa Peak lies straight out to the east. The surrounding neighborhoods and golf courses make up the rest of the view. We stuck around for about 10 minutes since it was windy before heading back down.
Piestewa Peak off in the distance.
The Final Word
Lookout Mountain is a very quick and easy hike to reach the summit. Most can do this in less than an hour. There is a longer loop trail that circles the mountain as well. If we had more time, that looked like a nice trail. The folks in the Phoenix area so lucky to have all of these awesome trails to train on in their backyard.
