Scottsdale’s Scenic Drive: 52 Reasons to Save a Landmark Community Service Project
Courtesy of Friends of the Scenic Drive, May 5, 2015 The Desert Foothills Scenic Drive (Scenic Drive) was created 52-years-ago to preserve, protect, and showcase the desert roads of a “special place,” and thus, moderate future development, encourage tourism, and create an amenity that would attract customers for local businesses. For decades, hundreds of individuals, businesses, and community leaders have donated many thousands of...
Scenic Drive Plant Guide
The Scenic Drive section of The Peak magazine includes introductory information about the plant species that are exhibited along the Scenic Drive. You can also take an optional Sonoran plant and animal trivia test. The photographs of the Scenic Drive plant exhibits are more than worth your click. These photos were taken in the late 1990s, after the plant exhibits were restored by Friends of the Scenic Drive. Look at the backgrounds...
Jane’s Critter List: Scenic Drive Wildlife Guide
Courtesy of Friends of the Scenic Drive The desert foothills is rich with unusual wildlife, like the Harris hawks pictured here. The cool desert nights are alive with native inhabitants of every description. In 1997, the Scenic Drive exhibit area was enhanced by the addition of exhibits that provided information about local history, climate, flora, and fauna. Artists Judy Conklin and Marg Nelssen contributed drawings of...
Scottsdale’s Scenic Drive Hits FIFTY-TWO!
Courtesy of Friends of the Scenic Drive/GPPA The Scenic Drive showcases FIFTY-TWO years of advocacy and community service by residents of Scottsdale, Cave Creek, Carefree, and Maricopa County, with the support of local governments and nonprofits. The Peak’s March-April 2013 issue’s centerfold, included below,  provides a snapshot (pun intended) of the Scenic Drive’s storied...
Photos of 1995- Special Year of Scenic Drive Community Service and Celebration
Courtesy of Friends of the Scenic Drive By Les Conklin 1995 was a banner year for the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive. It began with a thoughtful, supportive note from Scottsdale’s mayor, Herb Drinkwater. It ended with the publication of the December issue of A Peek at the Peak magazine that included numerous photographs of the monument sign dedication and celebration that was held in October. There was much to celebrate....
History of the Scenic Drive: Beginnings
For years, the only way into Cave Creek was via Cave Creek Road, a narrow two-lane road through open desert. There weren’t many houses in the foothills. In 1963, north Scottsdale did not exist. Scottsdale Road had just been paved from Pinnacle Peak Road north to the new town of Carefree. It was natural for residents to worry about the future of their beloved desert. Copies of Black Mountain News described the efforts and thinking...
Save the Scenic Drive: What Scottsdale Voters are Saying
By Cindy Lee A Scottsdale homeowner new to the neighborhood—husband, and father of a young family—wrote to express how he feels about the proposed up-zoning change to the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive area along the east side of Scottsdale Road between Happy Valley and Jomax Roads. The proposed change would switch 26 acres of resort/tourism zoning and 40 acres of commercial zoning into the Scenic Drive area that was zoned...
Save the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive and Say “No” to the Proposed Zoning Switch.
By Cindy Lee The historic Desert Foothills Scenic Drive, east of Scottsdale Road and north of Happy Valley Road, was created in 1963 by area residents to preserve and showcase the unique Sonoran Desert vegetation. It was created to provide a non-commercial corridor where visitors could come and appreciate the natural desert beauty, and learn about the many indigenous plants and animals there. The proposed zoning switch potentially...
December 2014 Update: Scenic Drive Revegetation Scheduled
Courtesy of Friends of the Scenic Drive/GPPA December 19, 2014 You might have noticed that the project to underground utility poles and lines along the northern part of Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale’s Scenic Drive, has been completed. Recently, Tim Conner, Manager – Office of Environmental Initiatives for the City of Scottsdale, sent Friends an update about the progress of landscape improvements. According to...
The Scottsdale Road Enhancement Project: A Brief History
Courtesy of Friends of the Scenic Drive In January, you are likely to see evidence that work is being done to beautify the northern part of Scottsdale Road, i.e. Scottsdale’s Scenic Drive. Our leaders deserve to take credit for the effort, because they and their predecessors since Herb Drinkwater have supported the Scenic Drive. To mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive and to...
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