One of the things I love most about Fountain Hills is all the great hiking trails we have in and around the town.  For a quick day hike right in town, I really enjoy the Dixie Mine Trail.

The Dixie Mine Trail is a fairly easy 5.6 mile trail through the McDowell Mountain Regional Park. Along the way you will enjoy beautiful mountain views, stunning natural desert vegetation, and an opportunity to view desert wildlife in its natural habitat.

Parking for the trail is located just outside the entrance gate to the Eagle Nest subdivision at the end of Golden Eagle Blvd. It's about a .6 mile walk through the community to the trailhead. At the trailhead, you will need to pay a park entrance fee of $1 per person.

About 2.8 miles into the trail, you come to the highlight of this great hike, the Dixie Mine.  Although currently, not much more than a gated hole in the ground next to a pile of rubble, the site represents a time when prospectors scoured the hillsides of the McDowell Mountains in search of precious metals.

Mining began here sometime around 1917 and continued for nearly 50 years with the hopes of striking large deposits of commercial ore. But, despite drilling nearly 500 feet of tunnels and a 240 ft deep shaft, the mine never paid off and operations were shut down.

Shortly after, the City of Scottsdale filed an application to purchase the area for use as a city park. The area has subsequently been added to the McDowell Mountain Regional Park.

Many hikers turn around after reaching the mine, or you can keep following the trail for another 2.2 miles to its intersection with the Pemberton Trail.

This is also a popular trail for trail runners and mountain bikers.

For more information visit the McDowell Mountain Park website.