Crown King Scramble

Run Crown King Scramble, Arizona’s classic 50K foot race from Lake Pleasant to the old mining town of Crown King.

The course is a 50 kilometer point to point on dirt roads from Lake Pleasant Regional Park to Crown King. The race starts on the shores of Lake Pleasant, a Maricopa County Regional Park on the outskirts of Phoenix in the Sonoran Desert. The first 15 miles is on maintained dirt roads winding through the desert amidst saguaro cactus and rolling hills. Upon reaching the mile 15 aid station, the true climbing begins and the course enters a 4×4 jeep road that features steep climbs, a few descents and a 4,000 foot climb to the high point of the course above Crown King at mile 29. The race tops out in the Ponderosa pines of the Prescott National Forest and the race ends with a 2 mile screaming downhill into the finish at the Crown King Saloon.

This race can feature hot and cold temperatures! Crown King weather can vary each year.

If it is hot it can reach highs into the nineties for Phoenix. For those of you from out of state or not fully acclimated to the heat, expect to really feel the heat from mile 15 up until mile 28 (about 9am to 2pm). These miles are mostly exposed to the sun and in a canyon that will trap the heat. Please take care of yourself by planning to carry at minimum 2-3 water bottles (50-70 ounces) through this section (more if you drink a lot normally). Wear a hat and dunk your head in water at stream crossings to cool yourself down and be careful on your exertion level through here. Remember this is a very remote part of the Arizona desert and medical help is both limited and expensive if things really go wrong.