Camelback Mountain Parking (Echo Canyon & Cholla Trails) In Scottsdale, Arizona
Looking For Details On Parking At The Camelback Mountain Hike In Scottsdale, Arizona?
As a former Arizona resident (I lived in Scottsdale for 12+ years), I’ve hiked Camelback Mountain myself, and while looking up info on parking for the Camelback Mountain hike on either Echo Canyon trail or the Cholla trail seems pretty straightforward (there’s a parking lot and a street to park on), there are a few things you should know before heading over to this hike, otherwise you might not get a spot.
🅿️ Parking At Camelback Mountain: Echo Canyon Trail
I would say the Echo Canyon trail is the more popular of the two Camelback trails (it’s my favorite), and it starts on the northwest side of the mountain closer to the Paradise Valley area.
While this Camelback Mountain trail does have a two section parking lot at the trailhead, it gets very full very quickly and they will close it off once it reaches capacity, but at least it is free to park here.
To get a spot in the Echo Canyon parking lot, you’ll need to arrive pretty early no matter what season it is (this also helps for the summer time heat and the winter season crowds). When I last visited in May, I got to the parking lot around 4:45 am and left by around 7:15 am when there weren’t any open spots left.
🅿️ Parking At Camelback Mountain: Cholla Trail
The Cholla trail is on the other end of Camelback Mountain (to the east) right next to The Phoenician Resort and Golf Course, but this side does not have its own parking lot.
Instead, you have to park along Invergorden Road to get to the Cholla trailhead, but there’s at least no cost to park here either.
Like the Echo Canyon parking lot, it’s still very necessary to arrive early for street parking at Cholla trail because the line of cars does build up pretty fast and you may end up having to hike 20+ minutes before your Camelback Mountain hike even starts if you arrive too late.
⛰ Other Ways To Get To Camelback Mountain
If you can’t control what time of day you arrive to do the Camelback Mountain hike and you don’t want to worry about finding a spot, there are a few other ways to get to the trailheads:
- Rideshare options like Uber or Lyft are widely available in the Phoenix/Scottsdale areas and they’re the most convenient ways to get to the trailheads without a car
- Arizona does offer public transportation and there are bus stops just outside the parking lot of Echo Canyon trail and just down the street a ways from the Cholla trailhead
- There are also some hiking tours available for Camelback Mountain like this one that takes you on an e-bike ride up to the Cholla trail
🔁 Sum Up: Parking At Camelback Mountain
Parking at Camelback Mountain in the lot at Echo Canyon trailhead or on the street near the Cholla trailhead is fairly simple, but it is still necessary to arrive pretty early to avoid a closed lot at Echo Canyon or a super long line of cars at Cholla trail no matter what time of year you visit, or you can find a few other ways to get to the trailheads without a car.
