United States
City overview
Scottsdale and neighbouring Paradise Valley sit at the foot of Camelback Mountain on the edge of the Sonoran Desert, known for resort pools and spas, championship golf, desert hiking, the galleries and museums of Old Town, and Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West. The area also has an established Orthodox community centred along Scottsdale Road, with daily minyanim, a community eruv covering all of Paradise Valley and much of central Scottsdale, and kosher restaurants a short walk from several hotels.
Scottsdale, AZ
Rabbi
Rabbi Yossi & Dina Levertov
Phone
480-998-1410Chabad of Scottsdale holds daily minyanim, Shabbat services with a Kiddush luncheon, and runs a Hebrew school, a yeshiva, a keilim mikvah and the Mazal Tov Gifts Judaica store; its Kitchen 18 kosher restaurant is at 10211 North Scottsdale Road.
Getting Around
Public transit
The Scottsdale Trolley is free and runs three routes (68th/Camelback, Miller/Hayden and Mustang) about every 20 minutes, Monday–Friday 5:45 AM–7:45 PM, with no service on major federal holidays.
Valley Metro buses connect Scottsdale with the wider Phoenix area, but distances between resorts, shuls and restaurants are large and most visitors find public transit too limited to rely on.
Rideshare
Uber and Lyft both operate in Scottsdale and Paradise Valley.
Waymo driverless cars also serve the Phoenix area, including many of Scottsdale's resorts and Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport (Terminals 3 and 4, Level 1 outer curb at South Door 8, and the 24th Street and 44th Street Sky Train stations); check the Waymo app for the exact service boundary before relying on it.
Car rental
A rental car is the most practical way to get around, as the area is spread out and built for driving.
Cars can be rented at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport; many resorts charge a nightly parking fee, so check before booking.
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) is the main gateway, about 8.5–9 miles from the Camelback Mountain resorts in Paradise Valley and a little over 20 miles from the North Scottsdale resorts. Scottsdale Airport serves private and charter flights only.
Good to know
October through April is the most comfortable time to visit, with warm sunny days, while June through September regularly brings extreme desert heat.
Arizona does not observe daylight saving time, so the local clock stays on Mountain Standard Time all year — double-check Shabbos and Yom Tov times against a local calendar. Most resorts use electronic key cards and front desks will not necessarily open your door for you on Shabbos, so ask about a mechanical key or plan ahead. The kosher restaurants close for Shabbos; Kitchen 18 takes Shabbat takeout orders until Thursday 8:00 PM. The community eruv does not reach south of the Arizona Canal, east of the Loop 101 freeway, or north of the CAP Canal, so check where your hotel sits before Shabbos. In summer, schedule outdoor activities for early morning.
For visitors, the main hazards are the heat and the desert itself. In an emergency call or text 911. Non-emergency lines: Scottsdale Police 480-312-5000; Paradise Valley Police (Crime Stop) 480-948-7410. Carry plenty of water, hike early in the day, and stay on marked trails, where rattlesnakes are active in warm months. The two main trails on Camelback Mountain are rated extremely difficult by the City of Phoenix, with steep climbs and no shade.
Local time
4:07 AM
+4 hrs from NYC
Plug
Type A/B
120V
Currency
US Dollar
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