Tom's Thumb Trail, Scottsdale Arizona

 

This was a fabulous hike!  Tom's Thumb Trail had remarkable scenery and was a lot of fun hiking.  There is a large parking lot with complimentary parking.  This place is equipped with bathrooms but there is no running water. 

The trail begins as an easy winding gravelly path until you get to the mountain area.  Even in the first part, it gradually goes uphill the whole way.

This photo was taken at the base of the mountain.  On the trail is one person, this lends perspective on how large these boulders are.

Early in the trail are these outlier boulders.

This is about 1/4 of the way up the mountain.

Climbing the mountain is reported to be a one-mile hike up.  Many switchbacks are going back and forth to help you to conquer the mountain.  The views along the way are of large boulders and great vistas.

You immediately see Tom's Thumb sticking up like a sore thumb at the top of the mountain.  The trail leads you up and over to the right where Tom's Thumb is.

You can see Tom's Thumb sticking up at the top of this photo.

You must climb up and through these boulders to get to the Thumb.

Once you get up the mountain and begin to hike toward the Thumb this is where the real beauty of the trail begins.

Teddy Bear Chollo Cactus, not so Teddy Bear-like.

This vista leads to another trail 6 miles long to a different location in Scottsdale.

This was a magnificent conglomeration of boulders.

The beauty here is like no other.

 

Don't stop your hike at the pretty cacti, continue to the right of the cacti and climb over and around some boulders on a very narrow path towards Tom's Thumb which is hiding behind the other large mountaintop.

While we were up looking at the pretty cacti a young local showed me what she said is really Tom's Thumb.

Notice the rock behind me which matches my hand shape.

Finally at the summit.  Some people with the assistance of ropes climb to the very top of the thumb.

Take in the views and start the trail back.  I learned from a fellow hiker to gingerly jog down the steep paths which is bouncier and lighter on my knees.  I got down the bottom of the mountain 20 minutes before Darren did and I will continue to do this because it hurts less.

View of North Scottsdale in the background.

This is one of the prettier hikes that we have ever accomplished.

I recommend this trail which takes 2-3.5 hours depending on how many breaks you take on the way up and how fast you can get down.