Hike Maricopa Peak and San Juan Hill South Mountain Park & Preserve, AZ

Jan 21, 2023 — With some time to kill, I set out for a couple of minor summits in South Mountain Preserve. My priority was to reach Maricopa Peak, a summit reached via the Alta Trail almost the whole way. I also decided to tack on San Juan Hill. The pair worked nicely together, though San Juan Hill is a bit more of an endeavor than Maricopa Peak and most hikers would likely be content to enjoy the trail hike and skip this extra lump of a peak.

I intended to start my hike from San Juan Lookout, the named saddle separating the two peaks, but the road leading to this lookout is only open for a couple of days a month. Rather than reseach if this was the case today, but more so to save myself a long drive through the Preserve, I parked in a neighborhood to the north on W Estrella Drive. Although this is not a popular trailhead and there are no amenities, I asked a local walking by if this was legal, and she confirmed the road is public and it's not a problem. I parked where a few other hikers had left their vehicles and hiked along the road a short way before locating a well-traveled trail leading up to the San Juan Lookout. This was a short section of trail.

Now at the San Juan Lookout, I started along the Alta Trail toward Maricopa Peak. This peak is the high point of Ma Ha Tauk Ridge, and the Alta Trail ascends via just below the crest of this ridge. I suppose the crest is too rocky to keep the trail along it, but the switchbacks really didn't offer views to the south often enough and I found it to be a bit bland until getting higher up. There were a couple of steeper portions along the Alta Trail, but it was mostly a well-graded hike that surprisingly wasn't particularly crowded despite its proximity to town. Phoenix came into view to the north, as did San Juan Hill to the west.

I reached a spot where the Alta Trail began descending, marking the turn-off to reach Maricopa Peak's summit. A social trail leads east and up to the ridge crest, which undulates a little bit as it approaches the peak ahead. It was really nice hiking along the short-lived ridge, and the rocky twin summit block ahead stood out starkly against the suburban backdrop. Some light Class 2 led to each of these twin blocks, and I'm not sure which is higher.

I backtracked to San Juan Lookout and continued on an unmarked trail toward San Juan Hill. It's initially well-graded and clearly gets some traffic, so I incorrectly assumed this would be the case all the way to the summit. About halfway the trail sort of just ended at a small overlook point, but the peak itself was still a bit of a hike away. I noted the remainder would be lumpy, so I prepared myself for a bit more effort than anticipated. A social trail continued along the crest, efficiently taking the path of leat resistance to avoid occasional brush and rocky patches, though there were a couple of steep ups and downs and some very light Class 2 terrain.

The final few hundred feet to San Juan Hill included some talus-hopping, and despite this not being a particularly interesting peak I honestly enjoyed looking down at the highway from this little perch. From the summit I noted a mountian biking that wraps along the northern slope of San Juan Hill, and this might serve as an easier option for reaching the peak, though I enjoyed being up high on the ridge crest and decided to return the way I came.