The Fountain Hills McDowell Sonoran Preserve provides a network of trails that extend over 10 miles in the 800-acre preserve and those trails offer access to hundreds of miles of trails within the Scottsdale Sonoran Preserve and the McDowell Mountain Regional Park.

One aspect of the Preserve trail system within Fountain Hills is that every mile was built by hand by a team of volunteers. Soon after the incorporation of the town there were those who began looking toward the McDowell Mountains as a place to develop a natural preserve. Roy Kinsey was a driving force behind those efforts planning a Preserve boundary, pushing for acquisition of the land and planning and building the trail system.

Kinsey founded the Trailblazers group and led it until he reached age 90. Many of the volunteers are retired and into their 70s and 80s. About a dozen years ago Bill Craig signed on to volunteer with the group. When Kinsey retired to California (he has since passed away) Craig took over the leadership responsibilities of the trail building group.

Last week Craig had a group of about a dozen interested hikers gather around him as he explained the background of the trails and what goes into the construction. He led the group to the start of the Ridgeline Trail, a recently completed pathway that runs south from the Adero Canyon Trailhead (ACT) along the ridge above the subdivision and the resort hotel below the south end of the ridge.

Craig used the Ridgeline as an example of how the process works, beginning with a vision. A few years ago, Toll Brothers Homes, the developer of the Adero Canyon subdivision, donated the 80-plus acre parcel that includes the ridge to the Town of Fountain Hills to add to its Preserve. At this point Craig saw the opportunity for a new trail running along the ridge leading to a peak that has been a prominent feature for years from the SunRidge Canyon subdivision below the east side of the ridge.

In developing the vision for the trail, they used high-tech tools including Google Earth and GPS along with good old-fashioned legwork and bushwhacking, Craig explained to the group.

He said he used Google Earth for mapping to establish a potential corridor. Once that is done, he goes out and marks a corridor about 30-feet wide with ribbon. With two or three other sets of eyes they go out to establish the path that will be cut by the trailblazers.

The Preserve is Town of Fountain Hills property and there is a formal process for getting the trails established. It is the process used for setting up all the trails including the Ridgeline. Craig said they are currently in the process for a potential trail alignment on a ridge farther to the north, off the Promenade Trail that leads out of the trailhead.

The process includes the Sonoran Conservancy of Fountain Hills, a volunteer group that organizes hikes in the Preserve and other locations, as well as provides volunteers to act as Trail Stewards to lead hikes and serve as Trailhead hosts on in-season weekends at ACT. The board of the conservancy researches and advises on various trail issues. They make recommendations to the McDowell Mountain Preservation Commission, a seven-member advisory panel appointed by the Town Council. Proposals that are approved by the MMPC are passed along to the Council for final approval or rejection.

Craig said these proposals often come with a lot of questions and issues to consider. For instance, the proposed trail on the northern ridge has potential neighborhood impact, and an issue they must consider for all Preserve development going forward is the parking capacity at ACT. It has about 50 parking spaces with limited overflow space.

Craig said when he is flagging a trail he considers two key elements – sustainability and safety. The main element to consider for sustainability is erosion. He said this past summer is a good example. With as much as a foot of rainfall over the summer monsoon the Trailblazers are spending a lot of time right now making repairs in the system. One trail they maintain is the Lake Overlook Trail near the downtown area. The Trailblazers have spent the better part of November making repairs to that trail. Craig notes that trail was built by a developer and not the Trailblazers. It sustained a lot of erosion damage.

There are also some repairs to be made on the Preserve trails before they continue work on the companion to the Ridgeline, the Lower Ridgeline parallels the Ridgeline down slope from the top. It will offer a loop and alternative route for hikers.

As the group continued along the Ridgeline Trail Craig pointed out the connection to the Lower Ridgeline and provided some insight on how trail routing decisions are made during construction.

Craig said there are about 30 volunteers in the Trailblazers group, and they often work every Saturday between November and the end of March. There are normally 12 to 15 working at one time. The group is always willing to talk to someone interested is signing on as a volunteer. Anyone wanting more information may email contactSCFH@gmail.com. The Conservancy is also looking for volunteer Stewards and Trailhead hosts.