The Town Council has approved changes to the Fountain Hills McDowell Mountain Preserve regulations in the Town Code that will now restrict geocaching and allow bicyclists access from the Golden Eagle Trailhead.

In the listing of items prohibited within the preserve there is the addition of “geocaching, except within three feet on an established trail.”

The Golden Eagle Trailhead is a public parking area that allows for access into McDowell Mountain Park and also, via a park trail, to the Fountain Hills Preserve.

Users of the Golden Eagle Trailhead are directed along public access easements through a private subdivision until reaching the McDowell Mountain Park entry point.

The council action addresses a listing of activity prohibited from the Golden Eagle Trailhead by deleting the portion that read, “although bicycles may be permitted within McDowell Mountain Park, bicycles are not permitted in the preserve, even if accessed from the north through McDowell Mountain Park.”

The changes to the regulations came to the council as a recommendation from the McDowell Mountain Preservation Commission.