Hike South Mountain via Holbert and Kiwanis Loop South Mountain Park & Preserve, AZ

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South Mountain is a fairly big peak on the south side of Phoenix that has a web of well-loved trails and roads used to access viewpoints all around the mountainside. While it's not exactly a wilderness experience, the extensive trail system makes for a nice alternative to the absurdly popular Piestewa Peak or Camelback Mountain. You can drive to the top of the Gila Valley Lookout point and skip the 8+ mile loop we did to get the views, but what's the point of that? The actual summit of South Mountain is heavily fenced off, so this lookout would have to serve as the legal high point as not to trespass to reach the cluster of radio towers on the true summit.

Austin and I set out along the Holbert Trail, which started east as it wrapped around the base of South Mountain along a well-maintained trail before starting to ascend. The Holbert Trail winds south around the slopes and through minor canyons as it leads away from Phoenix. This portion of the hike is really popular, likely because most people use the Holbert Trail to access Dobbins Lookout. We skipped the lookout point because a road leads to this minor bump and we wanted to avoid the loud portable speakers and other unpleasantness that comes from congested areas in the outdoors.

Past the Dobbins Lookout turn-off, the hike became much more secluded. We crossed over the "Summit Road" and took the National Trail. This trail runs along the crest of South Mountain, but we'd only be on it for a portion of that. The National Trail heads west, paralleling the Summit Road for a bit. There isn't an official trail to get from the National Trail to the Gila Valley Lookout, so we left it very briefly and headed south off-trail in order to meet with the road and continued to the summit on pavement. I marked this short off-trail portion on my attached map. The views were nice, but the towers on the true summit of South Mountain were exhausting to look at.

Once back on the National Trail, we continued west as the trail made its way around the north side of South Mountain, then paralleled the Summit Road for a while. It had some nice views to the west before the trail descended inefficiently to the junction with the Kiwanis Trail. Maybe I've just gotten used to the mentality of getting up and down via the most direct route, but this trail felt like it was taking forever. Once along the Kiwanis Trail, we headed north through a pleasant drainage. Along the way some historic dams lined the watercourse, and the foliage was relatively lush. We passed the Kiwanis Trailhead and continued along the Las Lomitas Trail to complete the loop.

PEAKS ON HIKE
Elevation (ft) / Prominence (ft)

Peaks on hike

Elevation

Prominence

South Mountain

2700 ft

1510 rise

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Starting along the Holber Trail.

Holbert Trail, heading east.

Pictographs along the Holbert Trail.

The trail passes this water tank and starts ascending.

Ascending along the Holbert Trail.

View back toward Phoenix along the Holbert Trail.

Switchbacks as the trail winds up South Mountain.

A shot back toward Phoenix.

Dobbins Lookout visible top right.

View back as the Holbert Trail ascends through a canyon below Dobbins Lookout.

A pretty canyon to the left of the trail.

View back as we near the junction with the Dobbins Lookout spur trail, which we didn't take. Phoenix visible in the distance.

Past the junction with the Dobbins Lookout spur, the trial became less crowded.

We crossed the Summit Road. This is a view back the way we came, Dobbins Lookout visible on the left.

South Mountain ahead.

Along the National Trail, South Mountain visible top right.

We left the National Trail to get to the Summit Road.

Along the Summit Road for a short time.

Gila Valley Lookout, view toward South Mountain (right) and the Estrella Mountains (left).

Bench at the Gila Valley Lookout.

Back on the National Trail.

Making our way around the north side of South Mountain along the National Trail.

The National Trail parallels the Summit Road for a bit. We will pick up the Kiwanis Trail at the bend in the road on the top right.

View back toward South Mountain along the National Trail.

Within the drainage that houses the Kiwanis Trail.

View back along the Kiwanis Trail, South Mountain visible top left.

Along the Kiwanis Trail, an old dam visible on the right.

Along the Kiwanis Trail.

View back at the Kiwanis Trailhead as we continue north to complete the loop.

View back along the Las Lomitas Trail.

Las Lomitas Trail, which we used to get back to the trailhead.

Hire me or show me some love!

Hire/refer me as a web developer or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I’m not sponsored, so all fees are out-of-pocket and my time preparing trip reports is unpaid. I really appreciate it!