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Jstuby · CC0

Scenic Trail & Tortoise Trail via Pemberton Trail is a 4-mile out-and-back in McDowell Mountain Regional Park near Rio Verde, AZ. It is mostly level, with 193 ft of elevation gain, and mostly dirt. It scores 79/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: genuinely wild.

Elevation

0 mi1,739 – 1,965 ft4.1 mi

Getting there

Trailhead: Maricopa Trail Trailhead;Tortoise Trail Trailhead 33.69304, -111.72910
Nearest town Rio Verde, AZ

Directions

AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com

Scenic Trail & Tortoise Trail via Pemberton Trail

4 mi · ▲ 193 ft · 1 hr 26 min

Elevation 1,740–1,965 ft

Out & Back · McDowell Mountain Regional Park

Trailhead: Maricopa Trail Trailhead;Tortoise Trail Trailhead · 33.69304, -111.72910

Weather Sep 4: sunrise 6:04 AM · sunset 6:50 PM

Parking lot at the trailhead

  1. Start on Tortoise Trail, heading NE.
  2. 0.7 miTurn left onto Pemberton Trail, heading NE.
  3. 200 ftBear left, heading N.
  4. 0.1 miTurn right onto Scenic Trail, heading E.
  5. 1.2 miReach Tortoise Trail, then turn around and head back the way you came.
  6. 1.2 miTurn left onto Pemberton Trail, heading W.
  7. 450 ftTurn right, heading S.
  8. 350 ftTurn right onto Tortoise Trail, heading SW.
  9. 0.7 miArrive back at the trailhead.

Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.

Trail surface

99% dirt1% unspecified

Weather

Sunrise 6:04 AMSunset 6:50 PM

Good to know

  • Parking lot at the trailhead

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