Scorpion Point
SCORPION POINT Tarantula Trail "bear" overlooks Cone Mountain Scorpion Point doesn’t rise particularly high over the boulder-strewn flats of the far west sector of Scottsdale’s McDowell Sonoran Preserve. Yet, even without cloud-scraping height, the weather-worn mound provides a platform for viewing a sprawling desert landscape and a concentrated maze of tightly-woven trails favored by mountain bikers for their challenging turns and narrow passages. Sweeping mountain views from Scorpion Point Scorpion Point sits at the core of a vast field of granite boulders laid out in jumbled piles, fortress-like walls and isolated pinnacles. Some have been shaped into bizarre, often amusing forms by millions of years of exposure and erosion. Watch for blind curves and oncoming traffic Easily accessible by either the Brown’s Ranch or Pima Dynamite trailheads, a hike to the point unspools in an environment of rich botanical diversity and an outdoor museum of sorts with natur...