Pinnacle Peak, Rocky summit in Scottsdale, Arizona

Pinnacle Peak is a rocky summit rising 3,169 feet (965 meters) from the Sonoran Desert near Scottsdale, distinguished by rugged granite faces and sheer rock walls. The formation displays angular, weathered stone surfaces that draw both hikers and climbers to its slopes.

The Hohokam hunted and gathered food around Pinnacle Peak before settlers took up ranching and mining nearby, with homes later built within sight of the summit. The area became Arizona State Trust Land, was annexed into Scottsdale in the 1980s and set up as a 185-acre park. In 1994, 35 acres were sold to a housing developer in exchange for funding and building the main trail; after six years closed, the park reopened on April 20, 2002.

The summit has become central to outdoor recreation in the region, with climbing and hiking now defining how locals and visitors experience the desert landscape.

The trail is 1.75 miles one way, not a loop, so hikers return the same way for a 3.5-mile round trip. Benches and mileage signs line the route, and half a mile from the trailhead it opens onto the Grandview lookout. Reaching the summit requires rock climbing skills via the South Crack route, a three-pitch trad climb with belay anchors.

The summit is reached by the South Crack, a three-pitch traditional climbing route on the east side, accessed from a spur of the main trail marked "rock climbing access". Each pitch has belay anchors at the top, and the flat summit holds large belay anchors and rap rings. The second and third pitches can be combined because the third is very short and its belay station is cramped between two boulders at a tunnel entrance.