McDowell Sonoran Conservancy

Bird Walk
2025-02-09 08:00 - 10:00 (America/Phoenix) | Brown’s Ranch Trailhead, 30301 N. Alma School Road, Scottsdale, AZ, 85262, United States

Desert Connections - Educational Walk
2025-02-13 09:00 - 11:00 (America/Phoenix) | Fraesfield Trailhead, 13400 East Rio Verde Drive, Scottsdale, AZ, 85262, United States

Romance in the McDowells - Educational Walk
2025-02-15 09:00 - 11:00 (America/Phoenix) | Fraesfield Trailhead, 13400 East Rio Verde Drive, Scottsdale, AZ, 85262, United States

Biodiversity in the Sonoran Desert - Educational Walk
2025-02-20 09:00 - 11:00 (America/Phoenix) | Fraesfield Trailhead, 13400 East Rio Verde Drive, Scottsdale, AZ, 85262, United States

Desert 101 - Educational Walk
2025-02-22 09:00 - 11:00, 2025-03-29 09:00 - 11:00 UTC | Brown’s Ranch Trailhead, 30301 N. Alma School Road, Scottsdale, AZ, 85262, United States

Geology of the McDowells - Educational Walk
2025-02-27 09:00 - 11:00 UTC | Fraesfield Trailhead, 13400 East Rio Verde Drive, Scottsdale, AZ, 85262, United States

Desert 101 - Educational Walk
2025-03-02 09:00 - 11:00 UTC | Gateway Trailhead, 18333 N. Thompson Peak Pkwy., Scottsdale, AZ, 85255, United States

Wildflower Walk
2025-03-06 10:00 - 12:00, 2025-03-22 10:00 - 12:00 UTC | Brown’s Ranch Trailhead, 30301 N. Alma School Road, Scottsdale, AZ, 85262, United States

Birds, Bees, and the Matriarchy - Educational Walk
2025-03-08 09:00 - 11:00 UTC | Brown’s Ranch Trailhead, 30301 N. Alma School Road, Scottsdale, AZ, 85262, United States

Bird Walk
2025-03-11 08:00 - 10:00 (America/Phoenix) | Fraesfield Trailhead, 13400 East Rio Verde Drive, Scottsdale, AZ, 85262, United States

Surviving and Thriving in the Sonoran Desert - Educational Walk
2025-03-13 09:00 - 11:00 UTC | Brown’s Ranch Trailhead, 30301 N. Alma School Road, Scottsdale, AZ, 85262, United States

Phenology Educational Walk
2025-03-15 08:00 - 11:00 UTC | Gateway Trailhead, 18333 N. Thompson Peak Pkwy., Scottsdale, AZ, 85255, United States

Hunter/Gatherers - Educational Walk
2025-03-20 09:00 - 11:00 UTC | Lost Dog Wash Trailhead, 12601 N. 124th Street, Scottsdale, AZ, 85259, United States

Wildflower Walk
2025-03-23 10:00 - 12:00 UTC | Tom’s Thumb Trailhead, 23015 N 128th St., Scottsdale, AZ, 85255, United States

Hidden Desert Educational Walk
2025-03-27 09:00 - 11:00 UTC | Fraesfield Trailhead, 13400 East Rio Verde Drive, Scottsdale, AZ, 85262, United States

Bird Walk
2025-04-13 08:00 - 10:00 (America/Phoenix) | Tom’s Thumb Trailhead, 23015 N 128th St., Scottsdale, AZ, 85255, United States

Bird Walk at Quartz Trailhead
2025-10-07 08:00 - 10:00 (America/Phoenix) | Quartz Trailhead, J4GV+Q5R Scottsdale, Arizona
Bird Walk at Quartz Trailhead
Join our birding experts on this easy 2 hour walk over a rocky trail. In addition to seeing our year-round bird residents, we may see some migrants passing through. Possible sightings include: phainopepla, American kestrel, gilded flicker, curve-billed thrasher, Abert’s towhee or various warblers.
Meet at the Quartz Trail parking lot (SW corner of McDowell Mountain Ranch Rd. & 104th St.). No bathrooms at trailhead. Bring water and snacks for the trail. Bring your binoculars. No dogs, please. Arrive 15 minutes before start of walk.
Space is limited! Please save your spot with the RSVP below.

Sonoran Desert 101 - Educational Walk
2025-10-18 08:00 - 09:30 (America/Phoenix) | Brown’s Ranch Trailhead, 30301 N. Alma School Road, Scottsdale, AZ, 85262, United States
Sonoran Desert 101 at Brown’s Ranch Trailhead
This walk provides a geological and ecological overview of what lives in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, and how the flora and fauna survive and thrive.
Restrooms and water are available at the trailhead. Please bring water and snacks for the trail. Plan to arrive 15 minutes before start of walk.
Space is limited! Please save your spot with the RSVP below.

Brown's Ranch Stories - Educational Walk
2025-10-23 08:00 - 09:30 (America/Phoenix) | Brown’s Ranch Trailhead, 30301 N. Alma School Road, Scottsdale, AZ, 85262, United States
Brown’s Ranch Stories at Brown’s Ranch Trailhead
Join us on a half mile 90-minute walk on the Jane Rau trail where we will talk about the people and events that shaped the history of the Brown’s Ranch area. We will discuss the Indigenous people who lived here, the role of the military in the region, the ranching history of the region and some of the people who laid the groundwork for what Brown’s Ranch is today.
Please arrive 15 minutes start of the walk. Restrooms and water at the trailhead. Please bring water and snacks for the trail. No dogs, please.
Space is limited! Please save your spot with the RSVP below.

Predators and Prey - Educational Walk
2025-10-25 08:00 - 10:00 (America/Phoenix) | Lost Dog Wash Trailhead, 12601 N. 124th Street, Scottsdale, AZ, 85259, United States
Predators and Prey – Balancing the Ecosystem at Lost Dog Wash Trailhead
Join us for a fascinating two-hour leisurely walk exploring the dynamic relationship between predators and prey. Discover how desert animals like coyotes, bobcats, mountain lions, raptors, and snakes have evolved to hunt, and how their prey—such as deer and rodents—have adapted to survive.
Please arrive 15 minutes prior to scheduled departure. Restrooms and water at the trailhead. Please bring water and snacks for the trail. No dogs, please.
Space is limited! Please Save your spot with the RSVP below.

Boojada Adventure - Educational Walk
2025-10-30 08:00 - 10:00 (America/Phoenix) | Gateway Trailhead, 18333 N. Thompson Peak Pkwy., Scottsdale, AZ, 85255, United States
Boojada Adventure Walk at Gateway Trailhead
When you think about Halloween, it’s normal to think of spooky and scary symbols like spiders, spider webs, and bats. But if you learn a little more about these creatures in the Sonoran Desert, you may discover that there is not much to be afraid of! So, join us while we turn Halloween on its head and discuss all things related to our spooky Sonoran Desert.
Bathrooms and water are available at the trailhead. No dogs please. Bring water for the trail. Arrive 15 minutes before the walk.
Space is limited! Please save your spot with the RSVP below.

Sonoran Desert 101 - Educational Walk
2025-11-01 09:00 - 11:00 (America/Phoenix) | Fraesfield Trailhead, 13400 East Rio Verde Drive, Scottsdale, AZ, 85262, United States
Sonoran Desert 101 – The Hidden Desert at Fraesfield Trailhead.
Walking through the desert gives you half the story. There is a hidden world of nocturnal critters. If you look carefully, you can see the evidence of their middens, burrows, and holes. What else is concealed around you? Let us unlock those mysteries on the Camino Campana Trail and reveal the hidden desert.
Restrooms are available at the trailhead. Please bring water and snacks for the trail. No dogs please. Plan to arrive 15 minutes before start of walk.
Space is limited! Please save your spot with the RSVP below.

Bird Walk
2025-11-02 08:00 - 10:00 (America/Phoenix) | Granite Mountain Trailhead, 31402 N. 136th Street, Scottsdale, AZ, 85262, United States
Bird Walk at Granite Mountain Trailhead.
Join our bird experts on this 2-hour walk for a good chance to see some of our year-round bird residents such as: cactus wren, Gila woodpecker, ladder-backed woodpecker, Harris’s hawk, verdin or Say’s phoebe – as well as some seasonal arrivals.
Restrooms available at the trailhead, but no water. Bring water and snacks for the trail. No dogs please. Bring your binoculars. Arrive 15 minutes before start of walk.
Space is limited! Please save your spot with the RSVP below.

Geology Along the Campana Trail - Educational Walk
2025-11-06 09:00 - 11:00 (America/Phoenix) | Fraesfield Trailhead, 13400 East Rio Verde Drive, Scottsdale, AZ, 85262, United States
Geology Along the Campana Trail at Fraesfield Trailhead.
This two-hour, leisurely-paced guided walk will highlight some of the geologic features visible from the Camino Campana Trail. We’ll discuss the rocks, landscape, and geologic history with reference to how they influence the climate, ecology and human history of the region.
No dogs please. Restrooms are available at the trailhead but no water. Please bring water and snacks for the trail. Plan to arrive 15 minutes before the start of the walk.
Space is limited! Please save your spot with the RSVP below.

Walk Like a Tortoise - Educational Walk
2025-11-08 09:00 - 11:00 (America/Phoenix) | Brown’s Ranch Trailhead, 30301 N. Alma School Road, Scottsdale, AZ, 85262, United States
Walk Like a Tortoise Educational Walk at Brown’s Ranch Trailhead.
Join us as we learn about and look for signs of the Sonoran Desert Tortoise. This leisurely walk of less than 1 mile on the Jane Rau Trail will give us plenty of time to tell stories about the tortoise. We will talk about their history, how they survive, how they play host to so many other animals, and the research that the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy is doing to learn more about them.
Water and restrooms are available at the trailhead. Bring water and snacks for the trail. No dogs please. Plan to arrive 15 minutes before start of walk.
Space is limited! Please save your spot with the RSVP below.

Desert Connections - Educational Walk
2025-11-13 09:00 - 11:00 (America/Phoenix) | Fraesfield Trailhead, 13400 East Rio Verde Drive, Scottsdale, AZ, 85262, United States
Desert Connections Educational Walk at Fraesfield Trailhead.
Everything in the desert is connected and always changing. We’ll explore how the environment–the mountains, the rocks, the climate, the washes–affects the plants and animals that live here, how living things in turn change the environment, and how climate change and increasing development may impact what we see here.
Bring water for the trail. Restrooms are available at the trailhead. No dogs please. Plan to arrive 15 minutes before start of hike.
Space is limited! Please save your spot with the RSVP below.

Nature's Medicine Cabinet - Educational Walk
2025-11-15 09:00 - 11:00 (America/Phoenix) | Brown’s Ranch Trailhead, 30301 N. Alma School Road, Scottsdale, AZ, 85262, United States
Nature’s Medicine Cabinet Educational Walk at Brown’s Ranch Trailhead.
Take a global look of the importance of plants and their physical properties and how they were used throughout the centuries to aid in man’s wellbeing. We will start globally but then move to look at some of medicinal plants found in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve.
Restrooms and water available at the trailhead. No dogs please. Plan to arrive 15 minutes before start of walk.
Space is limited! Please save your spot with the RSVP below.

Sonoran Desert 101 - Educational Walk
2025-11-29 09:00 - 11:00 (America/Phoenix) | Gateway Trailhead, 18333 N. Thompson Peak Pkwy., Scottsdale, AZ, 85255, United States
Sonoran Desert 101 at Gateway Trailhead.
This walk provides a geological and ecological overview of what lives in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, and how the flora and fauna survive and thrive.
Restrooms and water are available at the trailhead. Please bring water and snacks for the trail. Plan to arrive 15 minutes before start of walk.
Space is limited! Please save your spot with the RSVP below.
