A Hike Through the Fountain Hills Botanical Garden

This old trail (1975) was officially established as a Botanical Garden in 2006. A wash, normally just for rain and wild-animal egress, was cleared enough so humans could take a walk and enjoy the scenery. The trail basically runs in a small valley behind some houses, but is surprisingly private.

 

There were signs on various things, most looking exactly like the last thing we'd seen (it hasn't rained in awhile), but I did find it interesting that it takes a saguaro cactus over 50 years before it even begins to grow an arm (or spear). They get as high as 60 feet, and they can live to be 200 years old (per the brochure you can pick up at the start of the trail).

Oddly, we didn't see a single bird, no hawks, turkey buzzards, or even crows, until we ran into some quail at the very end. Quails are like pigeons, they're everywhere, but they make really funny noises that always make me laugh (click on Quail Call 1). There were quite a number of caves, which were kind of tempting to check out.



 

Peek-a-boo.

No, I don't recommend you do this. 

There are a few trails that loop around, none difficult, and even a little dam to wonder about.

You could easily traverse the area in 10 minutes, but there are lots of benches to sit on should you want to spend a little more time there. If you're quiet enough, you'll probably see a few interesting critters pass by. Hopefully not the creepy-crawly kind.