Mount McDowell
Mount McDowell rises to 796 m in Arizona. Ironview Peak stands 1,531 m to the east-southeast, 16 miles off. The nearest named place is Arizona Dam Butte, a peak 1.0 miles away. Apache Trail Historic Road passes 12 miles off.
The story
Mount McDowell (O'odham: S-wegĭ Doʼag, Yavapai: Wi:kawatha), more commonly referred to as Red Mountain, is located on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Reservation, just north of Mesa, Arizona. It is named after General Irvin McDowell, a Union officer in the Civil War. Its elevation is 2,832 feet (863 m). It is not the same landmark as the McDowell Peak, which is 11 miles (18 km) away to the northwest. Mount McDowell is often called "Red Mountain" or "FireRock", due to its composition of sandstone conglomerate which gives it a distinctive red color that glows during sunset. The deep cleft on its western side (visible in the image at right) is known as "Gunsight" because of its resemblance to the narrow slot in a fort used for firing at attackers. The mountain is located on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Reservation, and has been declared off-limits to hikers, climbers and photographers since the early 1980s, due to vandalism.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q6922100, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Elevation
- 796 m
How to reach it
- 11.9 mi off the Apache Trail Historic Road
- 28.3 mi off the Gila-Pinal Scenic Road
Overlooks nearby
- Fish Creek Vista · 22 mi
- Apache Lake Vista · 26 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- Arizona Dam Butte: 1.0 mi
- Schlechts Butte: 2.2 mi
- Coon Bluff: 2.6 mi
- Apache Peak: 2.9 mi
- Peak 2303: 3.2 mi
- Desert Belle Cruises: 9.3 mi
- Taliesin West: 9.8 mi
- Whitman Square: 9.9 mi
- Butterfly Wonderland: 10.6 mi
- Ripley’s Believe It or Not!: 10.6 mi
- Jim Hart Memorial Monument: 1.9 mi
- Veterans Memorial: 4.3 mi
- Boeing Veteran's Memorial: 5.2 mi
- Camp Lehi Memorial: 5.5 mi
- Balbir Singh Sodhi: 8.4 mi
- Cottonwood Spring: 11.5 mi
- Mountain Spring: 11.7 mi
- Agua Chiquita Spring: 12.6 mi
- Hackberry Spring: 14.8 mi
- Hidden Water Spring: 15.2 mi
- Lion Statue: 7.9 mi
- Pioneer Park Grotto: 11.3 mi
- Pioneer Park Monument: 11.3 mi
- The Builder: 11.6 mi
- Quackers: 11.7 mi
- Fountain Hills Community Garden: 4.5 mi
- Brinton Desert Botanical Garden: 9.6 mi
- Scottsdale Community Garden: 10.8 mi
- Putting Green: 11.2 mi
- Pioneer Park Rose Garden: 11.3 mi
- Sunset Park: 3.2 mi
- Red Mountain Ranch Community Park: 3.5 mi
- Desert Vista Park: 3.8 mi
- Desert Vista Dog Park: 3.8 mi
- Red Rock Park: 3.9 mi
- River Of Time Museum: 4.6 mi
- Arizona Commemorative Air Force Museum: 6.5 mi
- Mesa Historical Museum: 8.9 mi
- Hoo-Hoogam Ki Museum: 10.5 mi
- Museum of Illusions: 10.6 mi
- Granite Reef: 1.9 mi
- Phon D Sutton Picnic Site: 2.0 mi
- Goldfield: 4.3 mi
- Golden Barrel Ramada: 4.3 mi
- Ironwood Ramada: 4.3 mi
- Usery Mountain Regional Park: 6.9 mi
- Echo Canyon Recreation Area: 15.9 mi
- Hayden Butte Preserve: 16.0 mi
- Pinnacle Peak Park: 16.5 mi
- Reach 11 Recreation Area: 17.9 mi
- Coon Bluff: 2.6 mi
- Blue Point: 7.1 mi
- Razorback Point: 10.7 mi
- Gardeners Wall: 11.7 mi
- Morrells Wall: 11.8 mi
- Sandy Beach: 13.2 mi
- Illinois: 16.8 mi
- Back Beach: 19.5 mi
- Fish Beach: 19.7 mi
- Massacre Falls: 15.7 mi
- Camp Creek Falls: 24.0 mi
- Goldfield Ghost Town: 13.1 mi
Other summits around it
The highest named summits within 16.0 miles of Mount McDowell. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ironview Peak | ESE 116° | 1,531 m | 15.7 mi |
| The Flatiron | ESE 117° | 1,419 m | 15.5 mi |
| East End | NNW 327° | 1,240 m | 11.4 mi |
| McDowell Peak | NW 319° | 1,230 m | 10.9 mi |
| Thompson Peak | NW 316° | 1,214 m | 9.9 mi |
| Tom's Thumb | NW 325° | 1,196 m | 11.9 mi |
| Drinkwater Peak | NW 318° | 1,192 m | 11.2 mi |
| Troon Mountain | NW 325° | 1,060 m | 14.7 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 06:31 | 18:06 | 18:39 |
| June solstice | 05:18 | 19:04 | 19:41 |
| September equinox | 06:16 | 17:52 | 18:25 |
| December solstice | 07:28 | 16:45 | 17:23 |
Local time (America/Phoenix).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Oct–May.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 54 | 57 | 62 | 69 | 78 | 87 | 92 | 91 | 85 | 75 | 63 | 54 |
| Precip in | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 1.2 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Fountain Hills, 4 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/359269139
Day trips start here
- Fountain Hills · 5 mi
- Mesa · 11 mi
- Gilbert · 14 mi
- Scottsdale · 14 mi
- Tempe · 15 mi
- Chandler · 18 mi
Take the scenic way to Mount McDowell.
Byway plans around your taste, mapped places, real weather and opening hours — then opens every leg in Google Maps with one tap.