What it means
Trail etiquette in Scottsdale is mostly about sharing. The McDowell Sonoran Preserve has more than 230 miles of multi-use trail, which means that on any given morning you will meet hikers, trail runners, mountain bikers and people on horseback on the same strip of decomposed granite, often on a blind switchback. The system works because nearly everyone knows the order of precedence: bikes yield to everyone, everyone yields to horses. Add the hiker’s custom that downhill traffic steps aside for people climbing, and you have the whole traffic code.
The other half of the phrase is Leave No Trace, the national shorthand for outdoor manners: pack it in, pack it out, stay on the trail, leave the desert as you found it. In the Preserve those habits come with specific rules, from the six-foot leash to the ban on electric bikes.
Locals use the phrase when something has gone wrong: the dog off leash at Gateway, the rider who did not slow down, the cairn someone built on a ridge. The best local habits, trail by trail, are in Gateway Loop protocols and Scottsdale with dogs.
Where you’ll meet it
Yield-triangle signs at trailheads, Conservancy steward tables on cool-season mornings, the city’s Preserve rules page, and the occasional pointed “on your left” from a mountain biker who learned it late.
Where the word came from
The right-of-way order is a national convention, not a Scottsdale invention, and the city’s own trail page describes it as the universal rule of trail courtesy: all users yield to horses, and bicycle riders yield to every other kind of user. Horses get precedence because a startled horse is dangerous to everyone near it; the city’s advice when approaching one is to speak in a soft voice so horse and rider know you are there. Scottsdale posts “trail courtesy” signs based on national standards at its trailheads, and the familiar triangle with a horse at the top is the summary.
The uphill rule is a custom. Climbers have momentum and a narrower view of the trail ahead, so the person descending steps aside. It is not on Scottsdale’s sign, but it is the expectation on every steep McDowell trail, and on Camelback it is close to a safety rule.
Leave No Trace began as a public-land ethic and became a formal program; its seven principles, copyrighted by the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics in 1999, are plan ahead and prepare, travel on durable surfaces, dispose of waste properly, leave what you find, minimize campfire impacts, respect wildlife and be considerate of others. The McDowell Sonoran Conservancy, the city’s official Preserve partner, translates them for the desert.
What it is not
Etiquette is not optional where it overlaps with law. The leash length, the e-bike ban and motorized-vehicle prohibitions are enforceable rules; the city’s trail page notes fines of up to $250 for motorized vehicles on trails.
The fine print
The Preserve’s written rules are short and specific. Dogs must be on a handheld leash no longer than six feet at all times, and waste must be picked up immediately and carried to a trash can. The city’s heat guidance for dogs is blunt: if it will be over 90 degrees at any time during your hike, it is too hot for your dog. Electric bikes are prohibited, along with electric scooters, motorized bicycles and any other non-self-propelled device, with exceptions for motorized wheelchairs and people with mobility disabilities. Pedal-assist mountain bikes count as electric bikes.
The Conservancy adds the desert-specific manners. Walk single file in the middle of the trail, even when it is wet or muddy, because the ground beside it is covered in a fragile living crust that is slow to recover from a boot. Do not move rocks or plants or stack stones into cairns. Carry used toilet paper out in a sealed bag rather than tucking it under a rock. Keep your voice soft, watch wildlife from a distance, and never feed it. Bring double the water you think you need, for you and for the dog.
The stewards in blue shirts at trailhead tables, usually from about 8 a.m. to noon, are volunteers, not police. They will answer questions, recommend a trail and, if asked nicely, explain why the rattlesnake on the tread has the right of way too.