The desert has long been a magnet for artists, dreamers and nature lovers. In sunny Scottsdale, this spirit is thriving, from the trails that crisscross the Sonoran landscape to the chefs redefining desert dining.
With its world-class fairways, high-end shopping malls, spas offering every type of treatment you can imagine (and some you can’t: prickly-pear cactus massages and CBD gemstone facials), it’s easy to see why Scottsdale is a popular destination all year round. Golfers come for the more than 200 scenic courses; celebrities come for a lavish desert hideaway. But beyond the links and luxury, there’s another beat to Scottsdale, thrumming just beneath its sun-kissed surface. You’ll find it in the tucked-away mid-century-modern marvels, on the trails where hiking boots trump golf shoes, and in a culinary scene that’s as surprising as a desert bloom.
Morning
In the Arizona desert, where afternoons can reach temperatures of 105°F, mornings aren’t just the best time for a hike, they’re the only time. So I start my day at McDowell Sonoran Preserve, a sprawling, protected landscape 36 times the size of Central Park with a 225-mile network of trails.
I rendezvous with Denny, a guide from REI Co-op Adventure Center Arizona, at the preserve’s main entrance, about a halfhour drive from downtown Scottsdale.
As we set off on the 4.4-mile Gateway Loop Trail, the air is cool and perfumed with the sweet, soapy scent of the creosote bush. Denny, a retired snowbird who traded snow for the desert sun more than 20 years ago, peppers our journey with survival tips: “If you ever need to remove cholla cactus needles from your skin, use a hair comb.” The further we venture into the two-hour hike, the more the desert feels like a backdrop from a Sergio Leone spaghetti western (Scottsdale is, after all, dubbed the “West’s Most Western Town”). We spot the hardy cactus flower, tall saguaros with prickly arms that jut out like inflatable tube men at car dealerships, and a mule deer, which scampers across the rocky trail just yards from us.
As the loop comes to its end, my rumbling stomach reminds me that adventure works up more than just a sweat. To refuel, I head to Hash Kitchen, one of Scottsdale’s buzziest brunch joints, which offers breakfast with a beat courtesy of a live DJ. But its star feature is the build-your-own Bloody Mary bar — the largest in Arizona. Diners craft Mason-jar masterpieces from a buffet of more than 50 fixings, including tempura shrimp, Italian meatballs, pickled cactus and oysters, before digging into dishes like fried-to-order cannoli donuts and Billionaire’s Bacon flecked with gold (an edible nod to the city’s glitzier side).
Post-brunch, I’m ready to immerse myself in the sanctuary of architectural giant Frank Lloyd Wright. Taliesin West, nestled in the foothills of the McDowell Mountains, is Wright’s desert tour de force. It served as his winter home and living laboratory for bringing his philosophy of “organic architecture” (connecting buildings with nature) to life.
Rising boldly from the rugged landscape, the low-slung buildings constructed by Wright and his apprentices in the 1930s cut a striking visual. A guided tour of Taliesin West, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the closest thing you’ll get to a walk-through of Wright’s mind: From the drafting tables in his private office to the Japanese-influenced origami chairs and pioneering open-concept spaces, every corner reflects Wright’s ahead-of his-time thinking.
Afternoon
Just a tumbleweed’s roll from downtown Scottsdale, Postino Highland is a wine bar housed in a mid-century architectural treasure — a former Valley National Bank branch designed by Frank Henry, a protégé of Wright’s. The menu highlight is a mix-and-match board of loaded bruschetta (make sure the Mexican street-corn variety is on yours), which yields a light yet satisfying hot-weather lunch, especially when paired with a bottle from the wine list that features small, sustainable producers.
After lunch, delve into a corner of the desert that underwent a trippy makeover starting in the late 1950s: Cosanti is the former residence and studio of Paolo Soleri, the late Italian-American architect, designer, philosopher and utopian-city planner. The sprawling complex of otherworldly buildings, located a 15-minute drive north of downtown Scottsdale, looks like it was imagined during a desert fever dream — terraced land morphs into rounded clay and concrete structures that feel natural rather than constructed. Every corner of Cosanti seems a defiant challenge to conventional architecture and ways of building. It’s no wonder that George Lucas is rumored to have taken inspiration from this surreal setting for Star Wars.
Today, the site continues to pulsate with originality as the headquarters and foundry of Cosanti Originals, Soleri’s distinctive handcrafted bronze and ceramic sculptures and wind bells, which sound as you walk the paths of the gallery grounds. (And if you visit on a weekday morning, you can witness the pouring process, as artisans tip molten bronze heated to 2,200°F from a crucible into carved molds.)
Evening
When the desert sun starts to dip and the air shifts from searing to soothing, make your way to Old Town Scottsdale, a lively hub where high-end art galleries rub up against bustling, open-air bars and souvenir shops peddling every take on the humble cactus. In one, I snag two scorpions encased in lollipops for my kids, a nod to their parting advice: “Watch out for scorpions!”
Tucked into a nondescript courtyard, FnB is considered the heartbeat of Scottsdale’s flourishing culinary scene. In a refurbished mid-century space, chef Charleen Badman, a James Beard Award winner, showcases the rhythm of Arizona’s growing cycles with a veggie-forward menu.
Badman works with local farmers to push the boundaries of what the desert can produce. The results show up in dishes like grilled spicy broccolini with Meyer-lemon aioli, Gilfeather rutabaga with ginger crème fraîche and a persimmon salad that will linger in my mind for months.
WHERE TO STAY
FAIRMONT SCOTTSDALE PRINCESS
Situated on 65 acres of Sonoran Desert, the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess is home to five restaurants (including La Hacienda for innovative Mexican and more than 200 varieties of tequila) and six sparkling pools (one even has a white-sand beach). For a secluded “resort within a resort” experience, book one of the Privado Villas, complete with lushly landscaped grounds and an exclusive lounge area and pool.