When Pinnacle Peak Closes at 5:30: Troon North's Late-November Evenings Shift to Pima and Pinnacle Peak

On Sunday, November 15, Pinnacle Peak Park changes its hours to 6:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Through November 14 the gate is open until 5:45 p.m., so the late-afternoon window on the trail gets 15 minutes shorter, and the morning start moves 15 minutes later. That shift lands in the same month ALMA reopened at The Citadel on Pinnacle Peak Road, with a dinner service that starts at 3 p.m. For the rest of November, an evening near Troon North runs on those two schedules.

The Gate Schedule, and Where the Car Goes

The City of Scottsdale's annual hours sheet for Pinnacle Peak Park splits November into two blocks:

Parking matters more when the window is short. The paved lot has 90 spaces plus four motorcycle spots, according to the City's park page. The park FAQ says parking is prohibited on the west, or Jomax, side and that citations are enforced. If the lot is full, curbside parking along Jomax is off the table.

The Programs That Run Past the Gate

The Friends of Pinnacle Peak Park calendar includes two November programs that go later than the regular closing time, plus three daytime programs. All five are free, but the registration rules differ.

The Astronomy Evenings program on November 13 sets a high-end refractor telescope up in the lot. The guide aims it at planets, multiple-star systems, globular clusters and nebulae, talks through what's in view and takes questions. Registration is required, so a Friday-night stargaze takes a few minutes of planning ahead.

The Sunset–Full Moon Hike on November 24 is the one chance this month to be on the trail after the gate closes. It's a moderate 1.5-mile round trip to Grandview Overlook. It starts at 4:30 and ends at 6 p.m., half an hour after the 5:30 closing time that starts November 15, and you go at your own pace. You don't need to register. The group returns to the lot just as dinner service down the road is well underway.

ALMA Opens at 3 p.m., Which Is What Makes the Evening Work

ALMA Southwest Steakhouse opened Monday, November 2, at The Citadel, 8700 E. Pinnacle Peak Road, Suite 115, on the northwest corner of Pima and Pinnacle Peak. The space was previously home to Preston's Steakhouse, Forking Scottsdale reported. The same outlet listed the OpenTable hours as 3 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 3 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with happy hour from 3 to 6 p.m. every day. It noted that hours could change during the first few weeks.

The new location has more than a dining room. In its November 4 write-up, Mouth by Southwest describes an upstairs rooftop lounge called Copper Club with live music, a tequila-and-mezcal tasting bar, and the return of Barbwire Western Couture, a boutique selling boots, hats and jewelry. The ALMA website takes dinner reservations, and calling ahead about the lounge and boutique hours before a visit is a good idea.

Little Snitch, a café, is ALMA's next-door neighbor on the same corner. Forking Scottsdale points out that the move also puts ALMA closer to other Soul Hospitality Group restaurants: Soul Café, Vic & Ola's and Pescada. The outlet's view is that the corner gives North Scottsdale a major evening destination in an area where many people used to drive south to Old Town for that kind of night out.

Putting the Two Schedules Together

Taken together, the times give you two evenings that work well this month:

1. Friday, November 13. Register for Astronomy Evenings, be in the park lot by 6 p.m. and stay through 8. ALMA serves until 11 p.m. on Fridays, which leaves time for a late dinner afterward.
2. Tuesday, November 24. Start the Full Moon Hike at 4:30, get back to the lot around 6 and head to The Citadel. Happy hour ends at 6, but on a Tuesday the dining room stays open until 10 p.m.

On ordinary weekdays, ALMA's 3-to-6 p.m. happy hour now covers the stretch when the trail closes. After November 15, a late-afternoon hike that ends at the 5:30 gate closing still leaves half an hour of happy hour.

Mornings Move to Brown's Ranch

When the evening window shrinks, a morning on the trail becomes the easier plan, and one of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve's trailheads is back. The City of Scottsdale reports that Brown's Ranch Trailhead reopened October 30. The work added a new trail dispersal area with five rerouted trails, resurfaced the equestrian lot, improved pedestrian connections and replaced aging infrastructure. The preserve covers more than 30,500 acres with more than 230 miles of multi-use trails.

The Resort at the Base of the Peak Has a New Owner

The third change this fall is less visible from the road. On October 29, investment firm Sixth Street announced it had acquired the Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North from Braemar Hotels & Resorts for $372 million, in partnership with Riller Capital. According to the announcement, the 210-room resort sits on about 38 acres at the base of Pinnacle Peak and includes about 13 acres of developable land outside its current footprint. It also has a private on-site trailhead and preferred access at the neighboring Troon North Golf Club. Sixth Street said it plans to work with Four Seasons to further enhance the resort.

The resort's festive-season announcement lists a Thanksgiving Day feast on November 26 with live music, a bourbon tasting, culinary stations and family activities, at $225 per adult before tax and gratuity. The next day, November 27, the resort hosts a free Holiday Market open to the public from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with local vendors and artisans. December brings children's gingerbread-house decorating at Proof on the 12th, 19th and 20th at 2:30 p.m., and a Winter Solstice meditation and sound-healing session on December 21 at 5:30 p.m. for $25.

Back at the park, the December calendar has another Astronomy Evenings session on Friday, December 4, and a Sunset–Full Moon Hike on Wednesday, December 23.

If this fall's changes along Pinnacle Peak Road have you thinking about how Troon North is shifting, from new tenants at The Citadel to a resort under new ownership, I'm always glad to talk it through over coffee at Little Snitch. Reach out to Annie Cole anytime. Let's Connect.