March 1, 2022

By Tim Briese

6.1 miles, 1500’ elevation gain, 4:30 roundtrip time

While on a weeklong visit to Scottsdale, AZ my wife Teresa and I hiked to Tom’s Thumb in the McDowell Mountains just northeast of the city.  This vast mountain preserve contains a splendid array of trails for all to enjoy. The Thumb is an impressive rock tower about 120 feet high, and the hike up to it is one of the best in the Phoenix area. We had done it a couple of times before over the years and deemed it well worth doing again.

We left the spacious parking lot at the Tom’s Thumb Trailhead about 8 am and headed southwest up the trail. We hoped to beat most of the afternoon heat by leaving at this hour. The trail switchbacked sharply several hundred feet up a slope with nice viewpoints along the way.

on the early part of the trail, with tom's thumb on the ridgeline ahead

cacti and rock formations along the way

a sign that was brilliantly worded to keep hikers on the trail!

a rocky wonderland, with tom's thumb on the ridgeline to the right

we could see the famous fountain in fountain hills throwing water 300 feet in the air, about seven miles away

We turned right at a junction and hiked up through the scenic rocks toward Tom’s Thumb. We saw at least a hundred other hikers on the trail today.

After a couple of minor rock scrambles on the trail we hiked up to the base of the Thumb.

tom's thumb

There was a young guide who had brought a couple from Dallas up here and we had a nice visit with him for a few moments.

a view down towards scottsdale from the vicinity of the thumb

After a short break we headed back down the trail and took a spur trail we had not done before a little over half a mile out to a spot called The Lookout, where more photos were in order. 

a view of the city from the lookout

a barrel cactus, and a view on the distant horizon of four peaks, a landmark northeast of phoenix

Then we hiked back toward the trailhead as the 80 degree heat ensued.

some colorful mexican gold poppies blooming along the trail

a prolific array of teddy bear cactus

We took our time on the slippery gravel on the trail’s steeper sections while most other hikers just scampered past. We got back to the truck early in the afternoon and headed back into the city.