Camelback is one of the iconic hikes/mountains in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area. Hundreds of people hike this every day and thousands every year! There is a trail on two sides of the mountain and this FKT is for the Echo Canyon Trail on the northwest side of the mountain.
The trail starts and ends near water and bathrooms at the end of the parking lot. There's a trailhead to signify the start and end and there is also a Strava segment for the uphill ( https://www.strava.com/segments/6425977 ) and another one for the up and back version ( https://www.strava.com/segments/1995661 ). The trail starts off on a downhill from the bathrooms before taking a quick left and beginning the climb. The first .3 miles starts off with a relatively easy climb, then you'll get to the fun part! There's a section with stair steps, steep slippery rock with a handrail, and then you'll end your climb with a scramble up to the peak. There is a trailhead at the top of the mountain and you can enjoy amazing views of Phoenix at the top. Watch your step as you head back down the rock scramble and back to the trailhead! This is a short run but the technical trail and steep ups makes it a challenging one.
Make sure that you're watching out for hikers going up and down because this is a very crowded trail especially on the weekends. The rocks can also get pretty slippery if they're wet so watch out for that especially on the section with the handrail. This trail is really hot in the summer so come prepared for the heat or hike this in perfect weather in the winter. The parking lot opens and closes at sunrise and sunset and since the trail is crowded the parking lot can get very crowded as well so get there early on the weekends or try for a weekday run instead.
Comments
When I used to live in Phoenix I worked on getting my Echo Canyon round trip under an hour. My best was 31min up, 27min down on 11-11-2017. This might be my favorite route anywhere!