The Scottsdale, Ariz., property has unveiled the Interactive Trail Guide, which allows hikers to customize a trail map and share it to their mobile device. The club is home to a 15-mile private trail system on seven separate segments.
Desert Mountain Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.—home to a 15-mile private trail system on seven separate trail segments—has installed new technology that enhances the outdoor experience for novice and expert hikers alike.
The new Interactive Trail Guide is a rugged and weatherproof, 55-inch touch-screen monitor mounted at the trailhead. Hikers are able to select a hike by distance, degree of difficulty, or even based on best views of the sunset.
Once the hike is selected, a customized map is created and can be scanned onto the hiker’s mobile device. Twenty of the most common routes and accompanying GPS data are pre-loaded into the system to assist in selecting each person’s ideal hike.
“When designing the guide, I felt like a kid in a candy shop because the technology, the richness of our trail data, and the demands of our users, allowed us to be the first [property] of its kind to broadly offer such a tool,” said Craig Mitchell, one of the Desperados, members of the Desert Mountain community who raised the money to build the technology. Desert Mountain members and their guests take more than 12,000 hikes a year on the community’s trails.
The Interactive Trail Guide also has the capability to check current weather, view an informative species guide, scan interesting facts, and recommend specific hikes. Photos submitted by members from recent trailhead events will also be on display, as well as information about the Desperados.
This new Interactive Trail Guide democratizes the trail system with the touch of a finger on the digital flat screen, said Desperados member Troy Gillenwater. “Today’s hiker, without ever having stepped a foot on our trails, is able to sort and choose the ideal hike based on either distance, time, or elevation gain by using our digital guide,” Gillenwater said.
“As a premier golf and outdoor recreation community, this type of technology and amenity is one the golf industry is just now starting to explore, and we have fully embraced,” said Damon DiOrio, Chief Executive Officer of Desert Mountain Club. “Early next year, Desert Mountain will serve as host to 50 golf club managers from around the country to showcase this and other outdoor amenities that are geared toward providing a variety of health and wellness opportunities for the golf enthusiast and their families.”
Golf remains at the heart of Desert Mountain Club, which serves more than 1,900 golf members, and programming and amenities are evolving to serve their growing interests. Members are seeking a multitude of experiences and have access to nine restaurants and grills, a nine-court tennis complex with three different playing surfaces, horseback riding, luxury camping, pickleball, pilates, moonlit hikes, mountain bikes and much more.