Northeast Valley
Upscale lifestyle
The Northeast Valley is one of metro Phoenix's most naturally beautiful areas with its mountains, high Sonoran Desert, golf courses, resorts and luxury homes. Nearby is the 2.8-million-acre Tonto National Forest, as well as Horseshoe, Bartlett and Saguaro lakes the Verde and Salt rivers, which offer water sports and adventurous water tours.
The communities of the Northeast Valley offer a variety of recreational, cultural, educational and business resources. Scottsdale is a contemporary city filled with some of the Valley's finest restaurants, shops, art galleries and resorts, while neighboring Paradise Valley is home to luxury homes, lush resorts and some of the finest golf courses in town.
The outlying areas of the Northeast Valley are home to the more laid-back stylings of Cave Creek and Carefree, where the Old West makes its presence known. Farther out, Fountain Hills, named for the famous fountain that shoots water 560 feet into the air, is both an upscale residential community and an elegant golf destination.
Anthem
Population: 10,740
Distance from downtown: 34 miles
Developed by Del Webb in 1999, Anthem features a community center, parks, schools, shopping, a business center, and a golf course and country club.
Anthem's parks offer everything from a kid-sized train to a rock-climbing wall to a four-acre fishing lake. There is also the Big Splash Water Park, featuring a leisure pool, tot pool and a 25-meter, eight-lane lap pool.
Anthem School and Gavilan Peak School serve the community's K-8 students. A new high school is scheduled to open in 2004.
Residents also enjoy the Sonoran Desert - nearly one-third of Anthem's acreage is devoted to natural open space and recreation areas.
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Carefree residents have wonderful views of Black Mountain to the north.
Carefree
Population: 2,927
Distance from downtown: 36 miles
www.carefree.com
Founded in 1958, Carefree is one of the earliest planned communities in Arizona. True to its name, city streets have such names as Easy Street, Tranquil Trail, and Ho and Hum roads.
Carefree is filled with a variety of shopping and recreational activities. Art lovers galleries, boutiques and specialty shops abound, while the Sonoran desert is a haven for hiking, biking, golf and tennis.
Known for its unique rock outcroppings and boulders, Carefree is 8.5 square miles south of the Mazatzal Mountains, which are in the Tonto National Forest.
Cave Creek
Population: 3,728
Distance from downtown: 36 miles
www.cavecreek.org
Once a booming mine town, Cave Creek has maintained much of that Old West feel. Rustic shops, restaurants and cowboy bars abound, along with lazy horse ranches and Old West museums.
Area attractions include the Cave Creek Mistress Mine and the Cave Creek Museum, filled with Indian artifacts and pottery, cowboy memorabilia and items from the gold rush days.
In addition, Spur Cross Ranch features 2,100 acres of lush vegetation and archaeological treasures, while local stables offer horseback rides into the adjacent Continental Mountains.
Fountain Hills
Population: 20,235
Distance from downtown: 29 miles
www.ci.fountain-hills.az.us
Fountain Hills started out as 4,500 acres of cattle land northeast of Scottsdale. In the 1960s, Charles Wood Jr., better known for his design of Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., helped plan and design the community that eventually incorporated in 1989.
Fountain Hills is nestled in the beautiful Sonoran Desert, surrounded by breathtaking mountain views. In the center of town is the world's tallest, continuously flowing fountain. Every year, thousands of visitors come to see it erupt 560 feet into the air every 15 minutes.
Fountain Hills covers more than 11,000 acres and enjoys natural geographic boundaries - the McDowell Mountains, the Fort McDowell Indian Reservation, the Salt River Indian Reservation and the McDowell Mountain Regional Park.
Paradise Valley
Population: 13,664
Distance from downtown: 13 miles
www.ci.paradise-valley.az.us
Surrounded by mountain views, Paradise Valley is nestled between Phoenix and Scottsdale. Camelback Mountain looms to the south, giving residents stunning views of such landmark formations as the Praying Monk.
Incorporated in 1961, Paradise Valley is home to those who enjoy the seclusion and natural desert vegetation. Although this community is small with limited building, it is home to 11 world-class resorts including the Camelback Inn, El Chorro Lodge and Hermosa Inn.
Scottsdale
Population: 202,705
Distance from downtown: 15 miles
www.scottsdaleaz.gov
Founded in 1888 by Army chaplain Winfield Scott, Scottsdale has emerged as one of Arizona's premier destinations.
Scottsdale is filled with some of the Valley's finest shops, restaurants, golf courses and art galleries. In fact, downtown Scottsdale is one of the country's largest art districts with more than 100 galleries.
Scottsdale is also home to such luxury resorts as the Scottsdale Princess Resort and the Four Seasons Resort and Spa, world-glass golf courses as the Tournament Players Club of Scottsdale and Troon North.
Rio Verde
Population: 1,419
Distance from downtown: 40 miles
Rio Verde, an adult golfing community, is nestled in the heart of the high Sonoran Desert. The 735-acre community features custom homes and charming villas overlooking manicured fairways and majestic mountains.
Rio Verde began development in 1973. Nearly 710 acres have been reserved for residential, commercial and recreational spaces, while 77 acres have been devoted to roadways.
While much of the charm of Rio Verde is the privacy offered by its secluded location, it is just a short drive from Scottsdale and Fountain Hills.
The Northeast Valley is one of metro Phoenix's most naturally beautiful areas with its mountains, high Sonoran Desert, golf courses, resorts and luxury homes.
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