Posted By Les Conklin on Jul 31, 2020

Click on “SELECT” in the directory to view the associated topic.

Scenic Drive plant exhibits have always been maintained by volunteers

The restored section of the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive, originally established in 1963, is located along the northern-most section of North Scottsdale Road from Happy Valley Road to Carefree Highway in Scottsdale, Arizona. Preserving the heritage and natural beauty of the drive is a community initiative supported by Friends of the Scenic Drive.

The Scenic Drive section of this website provides information about the past, present and future of Scottsdale’ Scenic Drive. This table of contents is provided to assist readers in exploring the information about the Scenic Drive and the City of Scottsdale.

Think of the information as being organized like a book; a book with seven chapters: 1. The Scenic Drive Home Page, 2. About Scenic Drive, 3. Enjoy Scenic Drive, 4. A Part of Our Heritage, 5. Read Scenic Drive Articles, 6. Review GPPA – Scenic Drive Events, and 7. Review Scenic Drive the Future. By clicking on “SELECT” below, you can read that part of the “book.”

#1.  Scenic Drive Home Page
Welcome to the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive  SELECT

#2. About Scenic Drive
Brief introduction to location, motivation for creating, and major features. SELECT

#3. Enjoy Scenic Drive
Provides introduction and links to the topic pages below.  SELECT

Desert Foothills Scenic Drive Entry Sign. (Courtesy of Cindy Lee.)

#3-1. Review Sonoran Desert Information and Photos
Provides introduction and links for pages listed below.  SELECT

#A.  Learn About Geography, Climate, Life Zones (Scenic Drive Geography, Climate, Life Zones)  SELECT

#B. Review Plant Guide (Scenic Drive Plant Guide)  SELECT

#C. Review Critter Guide (Scenic Drive Critter Guide)  SELECT

#D.  Scenic Skies (Scenic Drive: Scenic Skies)  SELECT

#E. View Spring Flowers (Scenic Drive: Sonoran Flowers in Bloom, 2001)  SELECT

#F. See List of Websites (Scenic Drive: Informative Websites)  SELECT

#3-2.  Review Events & Venues
Peak articles for upcoming events in Scottsdale and neighboring communities.  SELECT

#3-3. Review List of Attractions and Shopping (Scenic Drive: Attractions and Shopping)
Along or near the Scenic Drive with links to websites for more information. SELECT

# 3-4. Review Neighborhoods and More (Scenic Drive: Neighborhoods, Churches, Schools)
Neighborhoods, HOAs, schools, churches, with website links for information.  SELECT

This drive entry sign, installed in 1964, was located just north of the power line corridor on Scottsdale Road, south of Jomax.

#4. A Part of Our Heritage
Historical information with descriptions, documents, a timeline, photos, links to topics below  SELECT

#4-1. Read About History, View Old Photos  (Scenic Drive: History)
Historical details with links to the topical areas below.  SELECT

 #A. Review Black Mountain News Articles (Scenic Drive: Black Mountain News) SELECT

  #B. Early History Cave Creek Improvement Assoc. (Scenic Drive: Early History) SELECT

  #C. Diagram of Plant Sites (Scenic Drive: Diagram of Plant Sites) SELECT

  #D. Historic Photos (Scenic Drive: Historic Photographs) SELECT

  #E. Maricopa County Planning Report SELECT

  #F. Background Information, Jo Walker Report, 1987 SELECT

  #G. Paving the Way to Ruin (Scenic Drive: 1995 Newspaper Article Summaries) SELECT

 #H. View 1995 Photos  of Plant Identification Signs and Scottsdale Road (1995 Photos of Restored Plant Exhibits and Vicinity) SELECT

#4-2. Review Heritage Timeline
List s events in chronological order with links to documents indicated below. SELECT.

 #A,  Black Mountain News Articles, 1963-4 (Scenic Drive: Black Mountain News) SELECT

  #B.  Scenic Corridor Report, Jo Walker, 1990 SELECT

  #C.  Discovering Scenic Drive Article SELECT

  #D.  Newspaper Article Summaries, 1996 (Scenic Drive: 1996 Newspaper Article Summaries) SELECT

  #E. FOSD IRS Application, 1997 (Scenic Drive: IRS Application, 1997) SELECT

  #F.  Newspaper Article Summaries, 1997 (Scenic Drive: Newspaper Article Summaries, 1997) SELECT

  #G.  Scottsdale Places Award (Scenic Drive: Scottsdale Places Award) SELECT

  #H. Governor’s AZ Pride Award (Scenic Drive: Governor’s Pride in Arizona Award)  SELECT

   #I.  City of Scottsdale Desert Foothills Scenic Drive Scenic Corridor & Trails Analysis, Executive Summary SELECT 

#4-3. Review 55 Years Down the Road, June 17, 2018
Originally written in 2012 to mark the 50^th anniversary of the Scenic Drive and updated in 2018.  SELECT

#4-4. Review Archives (Scenic Drive Archives)
Summaries of newspaper articles (1995-1997), reports, and other documents  SELECT

#5. Read Scenic Drive Articles
A Peek at the Peak articles about the Scenic Drive.  SELECT

#6. Review GPPA – Scenic Drive Events
A Peek at the Peak articles about GPPA and Friends of the Scenic Drive events.  SELECT

#7. Review Scenic Drive – The Future   (Scenic Drive: The Future)
Information about the Memory Park that has been proposed by GPPA.  SELECT

END SCENIC DRIVE DIRECTORY