Background
This past Saturday morning, January 18, 2025, I was drinking coffee and flipping through the channels on the TV, when my mother asked me if I was going hiking that afternoon. I had not decided on what I was going to that afternoon. I checked the time on my phone. It was 11:00 AM. I noticed that the weather forecast for the afternoon would be 66 degrees Fahrenheit with a slight breeze. Why not, I figured. It seemed to be a good day to go ahead and go hiking somewhere.
Initially, my thinking was to go to Sunrise Mountain in northern Peoria, AZ. Sunrise Mountain had a lot to recommend it. First, it is relatively close to my mother's house. Second, there are a lot of short trails that you can combine in various combinations to get a really good hiking workout. Third, it has been several months since I had hiked over at Sunrise Mountain. Fourth, hiking at Sunrise Mountain would fit in with how I had been hiking at places like Thunderbird Conservation Park and Deem Hills in recent weeks. On the face of it, hiking at Sunrise Mountain seemed liked a pretty good idea.
However, a part of me wanted to go somewhere different. I had the desire to go somewhere new.
In my recent visits to the Carl T. Hayden VA Hospital in downtown Phoenix, I have been driving north on 7th Street to get to Bell Road on my way back to the Peoria-Sun City area. No real reason to go that way other than out of sheer curiosity. There are easier routes back to Sun City from downtown Phoenix to be sure, but I wanted to explore Phoenix more. As a result, when I drove north on 7th Street from the VA Hospital back in October, I drove by the North Mountain and Shaw Butte Park on my way north to Bell Road. I was interested with what I saw as I drove by at 45 MPH.
Why not go to North Mountain and Shaw Butte Park, I asked myself. Since I started hiking again in mid-December, my knees seemed to have recovered as much as they are going to after hiking the Piestewa Peak Summit Trail (see this link for a post about that hike). Thus, it seemed to be as good a time to go as any.
After performing some map reconnaissance on Google Maps, I noticed that there was a trailhead for North Mountain and Shaw Butte Park with a parking lot located south of Thunderbird Road on N. Central Ave. I also looked up North Mountain and Shaw Butte Park on Alltrails.com. At a total length of 4.5 miles, the Shaw Butte Trail (aka Shaw Butte Loop) seemed like an ideal place to go on a January afternoon in Phoenix. Additionally, Alltrails.com categorized the trail as a "moderately challenging route" that would take approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes to complete.
I had made my decision.
Instead of going to Sunrise Mountain, I was going to go to North Mountain and Shaw Butte Park.
Getting Ready to Go Hiking
After getting all of my things together to go hiking, such as adding more water to my hydration pack and doing a quick inventory of my backpack, I was ready to go. Unfortunately, large stretches of Highway 101 were closed for construction for the weekend. As a result, I drove down North Del Webb Blvd to West Thunderbird Road and then headed east toward North Mountain and Shaw Butte Park. Driving along West Thunderbird Road can be a real drag. Fortunately, radio station KWSS 93.9 FM played several good songs in a row. I didn't have to change the radio station for nearly thirty minutes. It was amazing. Before I knew it, I had driven past Zia Records (I still have yet to pay a visit) and Thunderbird High School. I then made the right turn onto North Central Avenue and followed the road to the Shaw Butte trailhead parking lot. According to my cellphone, the time was already past 1:30 PM. Surprisingly, the Shaw Butte trailhead parking lot still had some empty spaces available.
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| The parking lot at the Shaw Butte Trailhead. |
After turning off and locking my car, I put on my Zamberlan hiking boots, my Gregory hydration pack, my wide-brimmed hat from REI, a pair of gloves, and a scarf for my neck. Why do I wear gloves and a scarf when hiking? Back when I lived in Maryland, I underwent chemotherapy for cancer for close to five years. When I would go outside for an extended period of time, like to go walking, I noticed that I would develop either a heat rash or heat sores on my hands and arms. The heat rash and heat sores would stay visible for many days at a time. As a result, whenever I would go walking or hiking in the Baltimore area, I would wear gloves and long sleeve shirts. It seemed to work in preventing a heat rash from occurring. Once I got everything on, I was ready to hit the trail.
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| Getting ready to hit the trail at Shaw Butte. |
Hiking the Shaw Butte Trail
After walking through the parking lot, I quickly found the map for the Shaw Butte area of North Mountain. Once at the trailhead map, I was faced with a decision to make. I could follow the recommendation from All Trails and hike the steep portion of the trail first and then circle my way back to my car on the lower, and mostly flat, part of the trail. Alternatively, I could start the trail on the low portion and then work my up to the radio and TV towers at the top before walking down the steep part of the trail back to my car. After thinking about the two options for a minute or so, I decided that I was going to hike up the steep portion of the trail first.
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| Park Map at Shaw Butte Trailhead. |
I then started up the trail. I ignored the turn off to go left (south) on the trail. The trail got rather steep. Quickly. According to All Trails, the grade can get as high as 22% once you get going on the trail. Depending upon your physical fitness level, you might find the steepness of the Shaw Butte Trail slow going. Despite working out several times per week, I still had to take breaks occasionally on the trail to get my breath back and to take a drink of water. Usually, when I go hiking, I am in no hurry to get where I am going. To me, the journey is just as important as the destination. Therefore, I would also stop at random points on the trail, so I can take a look around the environment and take a photo or two or three. The views of the Phoenix area from the Shaw Butte Trail are quite amazing. To the north, you can see as far as Deems Hills and the TSMC manufacturing facility. To the south, you can see as far as downtown Phoenix. To the east, you can see the other sections of North Mountain Park, including the nearby Hilton Phoenix Tapatio Cliffs Resort. To the west, you can see into Glendale and Peoria.
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| Staying to the right on the Shaw Butte Trail (Trail 306). |
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| Looking back toward the trailhead. |
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| The Thunderbird High School area. |
The people I saw along the Shaw Butte Trail were quite similar to those that I have seen on other trails in the Phoenix area: trail runners, joggers, other hikers, and the occasional family with children of various ages. There were even a few people walking up and down the Shaw Butte Trail with their pet dogs.
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| Distant view of the broadcast towers on Shaw Butte. |
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| Other hikers on the trail. |
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| Getting steep on the Shaw Butte Trail. |
There are a couple of interesting features about the Shaw Butte Trail. The first feature is that the trail is a bit wider that your typical hiking trail. The trail looks wide enough to accommodate a truck or SUV. The second interesting feature about the trail is that the trail will occasionally alternate between dirt with loose or compacted rocks and patches of asphalt. The Shaw Butte Trail doubles as the service road that leads up to the radio and TV broadcast towers located at the top of Shaw Butte. In addition, there is a second mountain on the Shaw Butte Trail that also contains several radio and TV broadcast towers. At the beginning of the hike, there are signs warning hikers about the potential presence of service vehicles going up and down the Shaw Butte Trail. I didn't encounter any service vehicles during my hike.
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| Trail marker. |
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| Getting closer to the top. |
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| View of the Hilton Phoenix Tapatio Cliffs Resort. |
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| Approaching curve in the trail. |
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| The broadcast towers are getting closer. |
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| Looking toward northern Phoenix. |
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| View of Northern Mountain. |
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| Still have a way to go up the trail. |
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| Another view of northern Phoenix. |
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| The trail got really steep. |
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| Looking back at my progress thus far. |
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| Looking south toward central Phoenix. |
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| Another view of North Mountain. |
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| Looking south toward central Phoenix II. |
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| I can almost reach out and touch the broadcast towers. |
At a saddle point below the radio and TV broadcast towers (approx. 1.1 miles from the trailhead), I was taking some photos as I was taking a break. A fellow hiker on the trail volunteered to take my picture. The photos she took weren't the greatest photos that I have been taken of me, but I appreciate the nice gesture. Yes, I know that she was essentially shooting into the sun while taking the photos. The woman was on her way up the trail to the radio and TV broadcast towers. After she took my picture a couple of times, I followed her up the trail. Since she maintained a moderately fast tempo as we hiked, I surmised that she goes hiking for the cardiovascular workout.
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| Photo of me I. |
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| Photo of me II. |
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| Photo of me III. |
Before I knew it, we had reached the top of Shaw Butte Trail. According to All Trails, the top of Shaw Butte Trail has an elevation of 2,133 feet. From what I have experienced in the Phoenix area on other hiking trails, that elevation seems to be about average. There were a couple of clusters of radio and TV broadcast towers. All of the towers are enclosed behind chain-link fences, so there really isn't much to see. However, there is a really nice vantage point beside one of the gated enclosures that does offer an impressive view of downtown Phoenix to the south and the urban sprawl of the West Valley to the west. The view was worth the 1.4-mile hike to the top of Shaw Butte. There were other people at the top of Shaw Butte. However, after reaching the top of the mountain and looking around for a bit, most of the people simply turned around and headed back down the trail toward the trailhead. The woman I hiked to the top of Shaw Butte with took a couple of photos and then headed back down the trail. The top of Shaw Butte is a good place to take a break after that steep hike up the trail. My recommendation is to find a rock to sit on with a good view, drink some water, and have something to eat before heading back down the trail.
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| Broadcast Tower I |
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Broadcast Tower II
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| Broadcast Tower III |
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Broadcast Tower IV
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| Broadcast Tower V |
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| Looking south to North Mountain I |
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Looking south to North Mountain II
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| Looking west to Phoenix and Glendale, AZ. |
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| Broadcast Tower VI |
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Looking south to North Mountain III
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| Rest Area on Shaw Butte I |
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| Looking south to downtown Phoenix, AZ. |
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| Looking west to Phoenix and Glendale, AZ II |
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| Rest area on Shaw Butte II |
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| Broadcast Tower VII |
Decision Point(s)
After wandering around the top of Shaw Butte, I had a decision to make. I could either hike back down to the parking lot or I could continue on with hiking the Shaw Butte Trail. I decided to push-on. After leaving the broadcast tower area, I rejoined the Shaw Butte Trail and made an immediate left turn. I was then confronted with a very steep downward slope as the trail was covered with cracked asphalt. I slowly hiked down trail, trying to avoid any potholes in the asphalt. It was slow going, but I eventually made it down to the saddle point. From this location, the Shaw Butte Trail branches off in two directions. For the first branch, the trail briefly ascends another mountain top with more broadcast towers. For the second branch, the trail heads south and begins its descent from Shaw Butte. I decided to leave exploring the second mountain top for another visit. As a result, I then started hiking south on the Shaw Butte Trail. Curious as to my position on the trail, I decided to check Google Maps on my cellphone. No service. Google Maps would open, yet no map was displayed. Compared to the hike up to Shaw Butte, the trail was a gentle descent with some turns. Before I knew it, I had reached the ruins of a restaurant on a plateau below Shaw Butte. The story is that the restaurant had burned down sometime in the 1960s and was never rebuilt. Like the second broadcast tower area, I decided to leave investigating the ruins for another hike. I noticed on my cellphone that the time was already past 4:00 PM. As a result, I continued hiking on the Shaw Butte Trail just a little further past the ruins before turning around. Plus, it's always fun to feel bone-on-bone contact in both of my knees whenever I take a step forward.
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| Leaving the top of Shaw Butte. |
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| Walking down to the saddle point. |
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| Trail leading to the second mountain top at Shaw Butte. |
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| Heading south on the Shaw Butte Trail. |
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| Ruins of restaurant on Shaw Butte Trail. |
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| Looking north on the Shaw Butte Trail. |
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| Below Shaw Butte. |
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| Looking west from the Shaw Butte Trail. |
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| Foundation of restaurant that burned down. |
Heading Back
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| Map of the portion of the Shaw Butte Trail that I completed. |
Thus, after deciding to turnaround where I was on the Shaw Butte Trail, I started the hike back to the trailhead. Once I returned to saddle point, I had to hike up the steep hill to get back to the top of Shaw Butte. After spending five minutes or so to return to the top, it was smooth sailing hiking back down the Shaw Butte Trail to the trailhead. In fact, my hike down to the bottom was mostly a blur. I don't remember taking a single photo on the way back down. At one point, I do remember passing a very attractive woman, who was hiking up the trail with her rather large dog. She was also wearing dark sunglasses and had bluetooth earbuds in each ear. I figured that she didn't want to be bothered, so I quickly pushed on down the trail. I was also surprised at the number of people who had just started hiking up the trail. My guess was that they wanted to reach the top of Shaw Butte prior to sunset, so they could see Phoenix after dark. After about a half hour or so, I was back at the trailhead parking lot.
Upon my return, I saw that the parking lot now was at about half full. I opened the trunk to my car and started taking off my hiking boots. I was tired, but not exhausted. However, I did sweat A LOT during the hike. To me, that was an indicator that I had a good workout. According to All Trails, I had hiked close to five miles total. Not a bad result for an afternoon of hiking. I didn't complete the entire Shaw Butte Trail, but I resolved to come back and try again at a future time. I also took quite a few photos with my cellphone. After putting on my running shoes and loading my gear into the trunk, I was ready to leave. As I was leaving the trailhead parking lot, I was thinking about what I was going to next as it was only a little after 5:00 PM. Then, I had an idea.
Lake Pleasant Brewing Company
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| Lake Pleasant Brewing Company |
I decided to go to the Lake Pleasant Brewing Company to go and drink some REALLY GOOD beer. My intent is to eventually dedicate a post to Lake Pleasant Brewing Company here on my blog, so I will keep this brief. As I drove out of the Shaw Butte Trail parking lot, I realized that the drive to Lake Pleasant Brewing Company wasn't too far away (for the Phoenix area). I then drove west on Thunderbird Road and then headed north on 19th Avenue. Eventually, I passed through Bell Road and under Highway 101 before reaching Rose Garden Lane. The parking lot for Lake Pleasant Brewing Company was PACKED!!! I then realized that the NFL playoff games were being played that day. Since I have a great time whenever I go to Lake Pleasant Brewing Company, I decided to go ahead and park the car. Boy, I'm glad that I did. I put on my purple Baltimore Ravens hat and entered Lake Pleasant Brewing Company. For beer, I mainly focused on drinking the German beers. That meant ordering 20 ounce glasses of the Fest Bier, the Rauch Bier, and the Hefeweizen. As per usual, all of the beers were terrific. Since I was starving after my hike, I went out and ordered a pizza from Cheezy's Wood Fired Pizza, who had a food truck outside in the parking lot. I was unfamiliar with Cheezy's Wood Fired Pizza, but I am glad that I ordered the sausage pizza. It was excellent. I spent my time at the bar, watching the Kansas City Chiefs play the Houston Texans. I also happened to chat with some people who were also watching the game.
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| Fest Bier from Lake Pleasant Brewing Company |
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| Hefeweizen from Lake Pleasant Brewing Company |
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| Rauch (Smoke) Bier from Lake Pleasant Brewing Company |
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| Cheezy's Wood Fired Pizza |
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| Cheezy's Wood Fired Pizza kitchen in the parking lot. |
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| Sausage pizza from Cheezy's Wood Fired Pizza. |
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| Wearing my Baltimore Ravens hat at Lake Pleasant Brewing Company. |
Conclusion
All-in-all, it was a GREAT DAY. While I did not complete the Shaw Butte Trail, I still had a great time hiking up the steep trail to Shaw Butte. The North Mountain and Shaw Butte have a lot to recommend it. There are a lot of trails to explore in a relatively small area, so I will definitely be back. I will also definitely be heading back to Lake Pleasant Brewing.
Update #1
The following week I returned to North Mountain and Shaw Butte. I successfully completed the Shaw Butte Trail. With the camera on my brand-new Samsung S24 cellphone, I took quite a few photos during the hike. I am planning on making a follow-up post with some of the photos that I took. The photos with my new Samsung S24 cellphone are, well, quite amazing to look at compared to my old LG Stylo 6 cellphone.
Update #2
On my second hike on the Shaw Butte Trail, a fellow hiker who has lived in the Phoenix area for many years informed me that the ruins on the trail belonged to a restaurant known as Cloud 9. The restaurant burned down in the 1960s and was never rebuilt. I found a blog post about the restaurant that also contains some photos that were taken when the restaurant was open. Additionally, I also took several photos of the ruins. I will include all of this information in my follow-up post about the Shaw Butte Trail.
