There is a reason people who grow up in McCormick Ranch tend to move back. Not because they had to — because once you have lived somewhere with ten lakes, 25 miles of trails, mature trees that actually provide shade, and a neighborhood that functions as a genuine community, it is genuinely difficult to settle for less.
The history of McCormick Ranch dates back to the 1940s when the land was purchased by Fowler and Anne McCormick as a breeding farm for Arabian horses. Anne McCormick's main interest was raising horses and she later helped establish Scottsdale's All Arabian Show. In 1970, the seven-square-mile ranch was sold to a developer and the community became one of the first master-planned neighborhoods in the Valley. The ponds that surrounded Anne McCormick's horse stables were made into man-made lakes. Ten of them, to be specific — and they remain the defining characteristic of a community that was designed to feel different from everything around it.
The Lakes
The centerpieces of McCormick Ranch are Lake Marguerite and Lake Virginia, which offer paddleboating, fishing, and scenic walking paths. On any given morning, you will find residents fishing from the banks, walking laps around the perimeter, cycling the connected paths, and doing what people who live near water do — slowing down in a way that the surrounding desert does not naturally encourage.
The Island at McCormick Ranch hugs the banks of three primary lakes — Lake Margherite, Lake Nino, and Lake Angela — a custom home subdivision featuring single-family homes in a wide variety of style and architecture. Lakefront properties command well in excess of $1 million, with interior lots selling for considerably less. A private boat dock and lake views within a desert city is one of those quality-of-life combinations that buyers genuinely cannot find anywhere else in the Phoenix metro.
The Trails & Greenery
McCormick Ranch is widely known for its unique blend of desert living with lakes and greenbelt parks — an uncommon amenity in the Sonoran Desert. The Indian Bend Wash Greenbelt stretches for more than 10 miles and connects parks, lakes, walking trails, and recreational areas across central Scottsdale. This design allowed McCormick Ranch to maintain a lush, park-like character that newer developments simply cannot replicate.
With lush mature trees and miles of interconnected parks and green spaces, even with palm trees and mountain backdrops, folks sometimes forget they're in the desert. That is the highest compliment you can pay a community in Arizona — creating a place where the environment itself becomes a daily source of genuine pleasure rather than something to be screened out with blackout curtains and air conditioning.
The Golf
Two 18-hole golf courses — the Palm and the Pine — provide public play in a well-maintained setting. The McCormick Ranch Golf Club offers four different membership options. The courses are woven into the community rather than positioned at its edge, which means golf course views are available from residential streets and back patios throughout the neighborhood.
The Homes
Homes across 67 subdivisions range from three-bedroom ranch-style homes in the $600Ks to lakefront properties exceeding $2 million. Most were built between the 1970s and 1990s with block construction, and many have been extensively renovated. Lot sizes, lake proximity, and renovation quality drive pricing.
The renovation opportunity in McCormick Ranch is one of the most compelling in all of Scottsdale. These are well-built homes on established lots with mature landscaping, in a neighborhood with more amenities than most new communities could hope to offer. A buyer who purchases a well-located, unrenovated McCormick Ranch home and invests in a proper update is positioned exceptionally well — both for quality of life and for long-term value. The community has seen 9% year-over-year price growth and continued demand, with high appeal especially for updated homes and condos popular with professionals and snowbirds.
The Location
Positioned between Old Town Scottsdale to the south, Kierland Commons and the Scottsdale Quarter to the north, and bordering Paradise Valley to the west and the 101 Loop to the east, residents enjoy quick access to some of the nation's most sought-after destinations. Old Town is minutes south. Gainey Ranch Golf Club is next door. Fashion Square is five minutes in the car. For buyers who want central access to the best of Scottsdale without being in the middle of it all — McCormick Ranch remains the most thoughtfully positioned community in the city.
Who Lives Here
A wide variety of residents ranging from local professionals to seasoned second-home owners call McCormick Ranch home. Families come for the schools and the trail systems. Retirees come for the lakes and the walkable greenbelts. Snowbirds come for the lock-and-leave condominiums with water views. Professionals come because the commute access is unmatched and the neighborhood keeps its value through cycles that affect less established communities far more severely.
McCormick Ranch is not flashy. It does not have a gatehouse or a signature resort. What it has is something more durable — a community that was designed brilliantly from the beginning and has only gotten better with age.
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