Gateway Saddle–Desert Park Trail Loop, 5 sights
5 mi · ▲ 702 ft · 2 hr 1 min
Gateway Saddle–Desert Park Trail Loop, 5 sights is a 5-mile loop in McDowell Sonoran Preserve near DC Ranch, AZ. The route reaches Gateway Saddle. It climbs 702 ft and is mostly dirt. It scores 17/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: paved and peopled.
Elevation
Getting there
Directions
Gateway Saddle–Desert Park Trail Loop, 5 sights
5 mi · ▲ 702 ft · 2 hr 1 min
Elevation 1,677–2,380 ft
Loop · McDowell Sonoran Preserve
Trailhead: 33.64797, -111.86178
Weather Sep 4: Overcast, high 98°F / low 82° · precip 4% · wind 3 mph · sunrise 6:04 AM · sunset 6:51 PM
Parking lot at the trailhead
- Start at the trailhead, heading E.
- 0.2 miTurn left, heading N.
- 50 ftTurn right, heading E.
- 400 ftTurn left onto Saguaro Trail, heading E.
- 350 ftBear right, heading E.
- 0.2 miContinue straight onto Saguaro Loop Trail, heading E.
- 50 ftTurn right onto Gateway Loop Trail, heading E.
- 1.8 miPass Gateway Saddle.
- 50 ftTurn right, heading E.
- 1.4 miTurn right onto Horseshoe Trail, heading SW.
- 0.7 miTurn left onto Desert Park Trail, heading W.
- 0.4 miTurn right, heading SE.
- 50 ftTurn left, heading SE.
- 50 ftTurn right, heading SE.
- 0.1 miThe loop closes back at the trailhead.
Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.
Trail surface
Weather
Sunset
The best sunset spot on this hike is 0.1 mi in (~3 min). Leave by 6:27 PM for the 6:51 PM sunset. Back at your car by 7:09 PM — 7 min before dark. Car visible from the viewpoint
Good to know
- Parking lot at the trailhead
More from this trailhead
- Very Large Cactus–104th Street Spur, 3 sights 1.4 mi · ▲ 107 ft
- Desert Park Trail–Horseshoe Trail, 3 sights 2 mi · ▲ 134 ft
- Desert Spring Park Lake & Desert Park Trail 3.4 mi · ▲ 217 ft
- Windgate Pass Viewpoint–Saguaro Trail, 3 sights 4.3 mi · ▲ 657 ft
- Gateway Saddle–104th Street Spur Loop, 4 sights 4.6 mi · ▲ 695 ft
- East End–Mountain Spring, 6 sights 11.8 mi · ▲ 3,045 ft
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