Lookout Mountain Preserve

While glancing through a book featuring Arizona hiking trails at the local branch library one Saturday, the Lookout Mountain Circumference Trail at Lookout Mountain Preserve caught my eye. At 2.6 miles (3.8 including the Lookout Mountain Summit Trail), the trail seemed tailor-made for a Sunday afternoon. I reshelved the book, and we quickly made plans to squeeze in a visit after church the following day.

A full parking lot greeted us at the 16th Street trailhead, but, as luck would have it, a space opened up before we could seriously contemplate our next move. That was great because I really wasn't much in the mood for thinking; I wanted to hike. With much anticipation, we grabbed our water and hit the ground . . . walking.

The junction of the Circumference and Summit trails is within a stone's throw of the trailhead. So before two minutes had elapsed, we had a decision to make. Again, enough with the thinking already! Because the Summit Trail is the more difficult of the trails, we decided to hike this one first. The trail was steep and became steeper the higher we went. My wife was forced to turn around about halfway up, as it was just too much for her knees. Out of a sense of obligation, I hurried to the top so I could fill her in later on everything she missed.

Looking north over the city of Phoenix

The path up and down Lookout Mountain

I rendezvoused with my wife at the intersection of Summit and Circumference, and we headed counterclockwise along the 2.6-mile loop trail. This was a fairly easy hike. It's not without elevation change, but it's nothing drastic, to be sure. There are other established trails in the park, which created a certain degree of confusion for us, as the trail markers, or sometimes the lack thereof, left much to be desired. But we ended up making all the right decisions (too much thinking!) and closed the loop without incident.

On the Circumference Trail

The vast majority of the people we encountered this day were headed up or down the Summit Trail. The Circumference Trail, though surrounded by the city on all sides, offered a greater sense of isolation. I anticipate coming back to hike this trail again and again. By providing a convenient retreat from city life within city limits and without the large crowds that flock to many of the other area trails, Lookout Mountain Preserve is a true gem among the mountain preserves of Phoenix.