The Dixie Mine Trail joins the Sonoran Trail to form a challenging 6.5 mile roundtrip hike through McDowell Mountain Regional Park and Fountain Hills Preserve. This lightly traveled route is highlighted by exceptional flora and views across each park.

Brittlebush is a member of the sunflower family, and known to engage in allelopathy

Biologists disagree on the cause of crested saguaros; some believe it's a genetic mutation; others attribute it to freeze damage

Challenging grades lead across poppy-coated hillsides

Costa's hummingbirds are common throughout McDowell Mountain Regional Park

Over 2000 plant, shrub and tree species are found in the Sonoran Desert

Open space in the lower bajada is filled with comb bur, an ephemeral spring annual

Red spines are a primary distinction between barrel cactus and saguaro, whose spines are grey

The Sonoran Trail rises quickly with panoramas over McDowell Mountain Regional Park

Quartz is one of the most abundant minerals on earth; exposed deposits line the trail

The Dixie Mine Trail connects with the Sonoran Trail in .65 miles

The Phainopela feeds primarily on mistlestoe berries and small insects

Views over the Verde River Valley; the river runs 195 miles from outside Flagstaff to its confluence with the Salt River near Phoenix