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BROWN’S
RANCH INTERPRETIVE TRAIL
Sign on Brown's Ranch Interpretive Trail
Hikers walking the Corral Trail in Scottsdale’s McDowell Sonoran Preserve have for years wondered about the scattershot of crumbling concrete and contorted metal strewn about the site of the old Brown’s Ranch. The mysteries have been solved.
The new
Brown’s Ranch Interpretive Trail reveals the details in the detritus.
Cistern at the Brown's Ranch site
Opened in October 2024, the easy 0.3-mile loop trail features 20 educational displays that identify the rusty parts, and faint remains of a working cattle operation that operated from 1916 though the 1970s.
Also tells
the story of the ranch founders—the Brown family--- as well as the native
peoples, evolving technologies, military presence, and the personalities that
colored and shaped the area from prehistory through the “Old West” an into the
present.
Technology in the "Old West" explained
An old grain hopper rests among mesquite trees
Prior to
the opening of the interpretive trail, the site of the Northern headquarters of
the 40,000-acre cattle ranch operation was little more than a few acres of nameless
bullet-riddled stuff wrapped in a tangle of barbed wire. Now the history has been resurrected and
artifacts named. 
Entrance to the Brown's Ranch Interpretive Trail
For instance, what my hiking pals and I called “an airplane
engine fallen from the sky” is a gain hopper. And a deep concrete pit we
thought was a water trough is really the base of a cattle weigh station. Who knew.
Signs on Brown's Ranch Road point the way
The site
is reached by hiking 1.4 mile north on Brown’s Ranch Road from the Brown’s
Ranch Trailhead. 
Barbed wire surrounds the ranch site
The trail, which is
open only to foot travel, sweeps around the mesquite-and-grass choked artifacts
rolling out in chapters over its double loop layout. 
The new trail is located off Brown's Ranch Road
Beautifully illustrated
signs along the route address topics like how ranchers found water, what life
was like as a hired hand and inventive construction and manufacturing methods used
in the area.
First timers and regular preserve visitors alike will appreciate how the embellished trail enriches the hiking experience.
LENGTH: 3.1 miles roundtrip
RATING: easy
ELEVATION: 2,647 – 2,759 feet
GETTING THERE:
Brown’s Ranch Trailhead: 30301 N. Alma School Pkwy., Scottsdale.
From Loop 101 in Scottsdale, take the Pima/Princess exit 36 and go 6.5 miles north on Pima to Dynamite Road. Turn right and continue 2.7 miles to Alma School Pkwy., turn left and drive 1 mile to the trailhead.
HOURS: The preserve is open sunrise to sunset daily.
FACILITIES: restrooms, water, maps. No fees.
INFO:
McDowell Sonoran Preserve
https://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/preserve
