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Pinnacle Peak

Far-sighted preservationists saved this hill from becoming little more than a grand backyard of one of the mega-mansions that surround the North Scottsdale peak. Now it's one of the Valley's most cherished mountain parks, with a moderately steep 1.75-mile (in one direction) trail leading through 150 acres of pristine Sonoran Desert. Cholla cactus, saguaros, palo verde trees, and wild flowers decorate the craggy landscape like a scene from an old western, and the apex is a naked 150-foot-tall spire of granite popular with rock climbers. Houses and shopping centers just outside the park now flank the mountain, but they're all pleasantly upscale. (Trail vistas include the Four Seasons Resort.)