Mount Ord
Mount Ord is a prominent, forested mountain in central Arizona’s Mazatzal Mountains, rising to approximately 7,132 feet (2,174 meters) between Phoenix and Payson. Its broad summit stands above the Beeline Highway in Tonto National Forest, near the boundary between Gila and Maricopa counties.
With roughly 2,415 feet of topographic prominence, Mount Ord is one of the more significant summits in central Arizona. Its Nearest Higher Neighbor is Mount Catherine, about nine miles to the northwest in the higher Mazatzal country.
Mount Ord is also unusually accessible for such a prominent mountain. Forest Road 626 climbs high onto the slopes, and a locked gate near the top leaves only a short walk to the summit when the road is open and drivable. For hikers wanting a longer outing, the entire road can be walked from much lower on the mountain.
The summit is crowned by a 102-foot fire lookout tower and several communications installations. The mountain is also a noted birding destination because its changing vegetation—from chaparral and juniper to pine and oak forest—supports an unusually rich collection of high-elevation bird species.
Note: This article covers the 7,132-foot Mount Ord in the Mazatzal Mountains between Phoenix and Payson. Arizona also has a much higher Mount Ord associated with the Mount Baldy area in Apache County.
⚡ Fast Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Mountain | Mount Ord |
| Alternate Historic Names | Mesa del Oso, Mese la Oso |
| Country | United States |
| State | Arizona |
| Counties | Gila and Maricopa |
| Mountain Range | Mazatzal Mountains |
| Elevation | 7,132 ft / 2,174 m |
| Older Listed Elevation | About 7,128 ft |
| Prominence | 2,415 ft / 736 m |
| Isolation | 9.29 mi / 14.95 km |
| Nearest Higher Neighbor (NHN) | Mount Catherine |
| Key Col Elevation | About 4,717 ft / 1,438 m |
| Coordinates | 33.90496° N, 111.40901° W |
| USGS Topographic Map | Reno Pass |
| Land Management | Tonto National Forest |
| Primary Access | Forest Road 626 |
| Summit Feature | Mount Ord Fire Lookout |
| Current Lookout Tower | 102-foot CL-100 tower built in 1983 |
| Original Steel Lookout | 1936 Aermotor tower |
| Technical Difficulty | Easy road walking from upper gate |
| Best Seasons | Spring and fall |
📍 Where Is Mount Ord?
Mount Ord rises beside Arizona State Route 87, commonly known as the Beeline Highway, roughly midway between the Phoenix metropolitan area and Payson.
The mountain forms part of the central Mazatzal Mountains, a rugged north-south range stretching across central Arizona.
Mount Ord is especially conspicuous from Highway 87 because its broad summit rises more than 2,000 feet above nearby passes and valleys.
The county boundary between Gila County and Maricopa County crosses the summit area, meaning the mountain occupies both counties.
To the northwest, the range rises toward Mount Catherine and eventually Mazatzal Peak, the highest summit of the Mazatzal Mountains.
Southward, the range continues toward Four Peaks and Browns Peak.
⛰️ Nearest Higher Neighbor
Mount Ord’s Nearest Higher Neighbor is Mount Catherine.
Mount Catherine reaches approximately 7,361 feet in the Mazatzal Wilderness northwest of Mount Ord.
Mount Ord’s topographic isolation is approximately 9.29 miles, meaning naturally higher terrain is not encountered until nearly nine and a half miles away.
That substantial isolation helps explain why Mount Ord dominates the skyline when viewed from the Beeline Highway and surrounding valleys.
Its key col lies at approximately 4,717 feet.
Subtracting that saddle elevation from the 7,132-foot summit produces roughly 2,415 feet of topographic prominence.
That puts Mount Ord comfortably among Arizona’s peaks with more than 2,000 feet of prominence.
📏 Elevation and Modern LiDAR Measurements
Older maps generally list Mount Ord around 7,128 feet.
Modern high-resolution LiDAR measurements place the summit slightly higher at approximately 7,132.1 feet.
This small change is typical of mountains whose traditional elevations were established using older surveying methods.
The difference of four feet does not change the character of the mountain, but the newer figure provides a more precise measurement of the summit.
Historic geological reports sometimes list Mount Ord as high as 7,155 feet, another reminder that elevation values can vary considerably among older sources.
For current peak data, approximately 7,132 feet is the most useful figure.
🏔️ The Mazatzal Mountains
Mount Ord belongs to the Mazatzal Mountains, one of central Arizona’s great rugged ranges.
The Mazatzals extend roughly northwest to southeast for dozens of miles between the Verde River country and the Tonto Basin.
The range contains dramatically different environments.
At lower elevations, saguaros and desert shrubs cover rocky slopes.
Middle elevations support chaparral, juniper, scrub oak, and agave.
Higher summits contain ponderosa pine, Gambel oak, and other forest vegetation.
Mount Ord is one of the best places to experience this transition because the road climbs through several vegetation zones during a relatively short journey.
Higher mountains farther north include Mount Catherine and Mazatzal Peak.
Farther south, Four Peaks forms the range’s most recognizable skyline landmark.
🪨 Geology of Mount Ord
Mount Ord stands within a region dominated by extremely old Precambrian rocks.
Geological investigations of the central Mazatzal Mountains describe a complicated mixture of granite, rhyolite, slate, shale, quartzite, conglomerate, schist, and other metamorphic and igneous rocks.
The mountain itself has a particularly important granitic component.
Early U.S. Geological Survey work describes the summit of Mount Ord as granitic, while schist and related rocks occur across parts of the mountain’s northern slopes and surrounding mining district.
These rocks are vastly older than the familiar volcanic landscapes around Flagstaff and the San Francisco Peaks.
Much of the underlying geological story of the Mazatzals stretches back well over a billion years.
🪨 Ancient Rocks of the Mazatzals
The Mazatzal Mountains are important enough geologically that the Mazatzal orogeny takes its name from the range.
This major period of tectonic activity affected the southwestern portion of the growing North American continent during the Proterozoic Eon.
Ancient crustal blocks collided, rocks were folded and metamorphosed, magma intruded into the crust, and enormous mountain systems developed.
The mountains visible today are not the original billion-year-old peaks.
Those ancient ranges were eroded long ago.
Later uplift and erosion exposed their deeply buried rocks, creating the modern Mazatzal landscape.
Mount Ord therefore gives visitors access to rocks preserving an exceptionally long geological history.
⛏️ The Ord Quicksilver District
Mount Ord also lends its name to a historic mining area.
The central Mazatzals contain the Ord quicksilver mining district, where prospectors searched for mercury-bearing minerals.
Quicksilver is an older name for mercury.
The principal mercury mineral found in the district was cinnabar, a red mercury sulfide.
Mining activity became particularly important around Slate Creek on the northern side of Mount Ord.
The best-known operation was the Ord Mine, where underground workings and processing facilities were developed during the twentieth century.
Historical U.S. Geological Survey studies examined these deposits in considerable detail because mercury once had significant strategic and industrial value.
⛏️ The Ord Mine
The Ord Mine lies north of Mount Ord near Slate Creek.
Prospectors identified rich cinnabar deposits in the area during the 1920s, leading to commercial development.
Mining companies constructed workings, buildings, roads, and ore-processing facilities in the rugged canyon.
The geology that concentrated mercury here involved faults and shear zones cutting through ancient rocks.
Mineral-rich fluids moved through these weaknesses and deposited cinnabar and smaller quantities of other mercury minerals.
Mining activity eventually declined, but the remains of the district continue to form part of Mount Ord’s cultural landscape.
Old mines should never be entered.
Collapsed shafts, unstable rock, contaminated material, and unmarked openings can make historic mining areas dangerous.
🌲 From Desert to Pine Forest
Mount Ord offers one of central Arizona’s most dramatic short-distance changes in vegetation.
Lower elevations contain classic desert and chaparral plants.
Visitors may encounter:
- Agave
- Juniper
- Scrub oak
- Manzanita
- Desert shrubs
- Grasses
As Forest Road 626 climbs higher, the landscape gradually becomes cooler and greener.
Around approximately 6,000 feet, ponderosa pine begins appearing.
Higher slopes contain a mixture of pine and oak woodland, including mature Gambel oak.
The summit environment can feel surprisingly forested compared with the Sonoran Desert visible far below.
🐦 Mount Ord’s Remarkable Birdlife
Mount Ord is one of central Arizona’s best mountain birding destinations.
The Arizona Birding Trail highlights the mountain because its rapid change in elevation creates habitat for several species usually associated with cooler mountain forests.
Particularly notable are five birds sometimes collectively described by Arizona birders as the state’s mountain warblers:
- Virginia’s Warbler
- Black-throated Gray Warbler
- Grace’s Warbler
- Olive Warbler
- Painted Redstart
Mount Ord is notable as a central Arizona location where all five can occur within the same general mountain area.
Spring migration—particularly April and May—can be especially productive.
Birders commonly stop at several elevations along Forest Road 626 rather than heading directly to the summit.
🌳 A Vertical Wildlife Corridor
The changing vegetation that attracts birds also benefits other wildlife.
Mule deer use the mountain’s woodland and brush communities.
Black bears can occur in the higher forests of the Mazatzals, while mountain lions move throughout the range.
Javelina are more characteristic of lower and middle elevations.
Coyotes, bobcats, rabbits, squirrels, reptiles, and numerous raptors also inhabit the region.
The mountain’s ecological variety results largely from elevation.
Only a few miles separate hot desert foothills from pine-covered slopes, allowing wildlife communities normally separated by much larger distances to occur relatively close together.
🔥 Mount Ord Fire Lookout
Mount Ord’s summit has long been valuable for wildfire detection.
Its more than 2,400 feet of prominence and commanding views across central Arizona make it a natural location for a lookout.
An early steel tower was constructed in 1936.
That structure was an Aermotor lookout tower of the type installed at many western fire-detection sites during the 1930s.
It served Mount Ord for nearly half a century.
In 1983, the Forest Service replaced it with the much taller tower standing today.
🗼 The 102-Foot Lookout Tower
The current Mount Ord Lookout is one of the most impressive fire towers in Arizona.
It stands approximately 102 feet tall and supports a 14-by-14-foot metal observation cab with a catwalk.
The structure was erected in 1983.
Its extraordinary height lifts observers well above the surrounding forest and communications installations.
The lookout was added to the National Historic Lookout Register in 2002.
The tower remains a Forest Service facility rather than a recreational observation tower.
Visitors should not assume they can climb it.
Access depends on staffing and Forest Service policies, and any closed areas or instructions from lookout personnel should be respected.
Even from ground level, summit views are excellent.
🏛️ What Happened to the Old Lookout?
The 1936 Aermotor tower was not simply destroyed when the new lookout replaced it.
Instead, the historic structure was moved to Payson.
It is preserved at the Rim Country Museum, allowing visitors to see an example of the fire-lookout technology once used on Mount Ord.
The surviving 1983 tower therefore represents the second major generation of organized fire detection on the mountain.
Together, the old and new lookouts tell a broader story of how wildfire monitoring changed during the twentieth century.
📡 Communications Towers
Mount Ord’s summit is also home to several communications towers and related equipment.
That makes the upper mountain considerably more developed than many summits in the Mazatzal Mountains.
The towers take advantage of the same characteristic that makes the mountain ideal for fire detection: unobstructed visibility across a huge portion of central Arizona.
Radio signals transmitted from high, isolated summits can reach large areas.
For hikers, the communications installations also make finding the general summit area exceptionally easy.
Mount Ord can often be recognized from miles away by the structures on its skyline.
🥾 Hiking Mount Ord
Mount Ord can be anything from a short summit stroll to a substantial mountain hike depending on where you begin.
The easiest approach uses Forest Road 626.
Vehicles can normally travel several miles up the mountain before reaching a locked gate restricting unauthorized traffic from the final summit road.
From the upper gate, the remaining walk is roughly 0.8 mile each way, with only a few hundred feet of climbing.
That makes Mount Ord unusually accessible for a summit with more than 2,400 feet of topographic prominence.
The route follows a broad gravel road rather than a narrow mountain trail.
🚶 Short Summit Hike From the Upper Gate
When Forest Road 626 is open and conditions allow driving to the upper gate, the final hike is approximately:
| Hiking Statistic | Approximate Value |
|---|---|
| Round-Trip Distance | About 1.6–1.7 miles |
| Elevation Gain | Roughly 350–400 ft |
| Route Type | Gravel forest road |
| Technical Difficulty | Easy |
| Navigation | Straightforward |
| Destination | Mount Ord summit and lookout |
Beyond the gate, hikers follow the road uphill.
A signed junction near the summit points toward Mount Ord Lookout.
The high point lies in the lookout and communications complex.
Although the walking is easy, the 7,000-foot elevation may make the climb feel somewhat harder for visitors arriving directly from the Phoenix Valley.
🥾 A Longer Mount Ord Hike
Hikers who want a substantial workout can begin much lower on Forest Road 626.
One commonly used route begins about a mile from State Route 87.
From there, the road walk covers approximately 11.8 miles round trip and gains roughly 2,400–2,700 feet, depending on GPS measurements and exact turnaround.
Because the entire route follows a road, technical difficulty is low.
The challenge comes from mileage, sustained climbing, exposure to sun at lower elevations, and the elevation difference.
The changing vegetation adds interest throughout the climb.
Hikers begin among relatively dry brush before eventually reaching juniper, oak, and ponderosa pine.
🥾 The Slate Creek Approach
A much longer and more rugged route begins from Slate Creek north of Mount Ord.
This approach follows portions of old roads associated with the historic Ord Mine and climbs the mountain’s northern side.
A typical outing can exceed 15 miles round trip with roughly 4,000 feet of accumulated climbing.
The route passes through areas connected with the mountain’s mining history before eventually joining Forest Road 626 high on Mount Ord.
For most visitors, this approach is unnecessarily difficult.
For hikers interested in history, solitude, and a much bigger mountain day, however, it reveals a completely different side of Mount Ord.
🚗 Forest Road 626
Forest Road 626 provides the standard route onto Mount Ord.
The turnoff lies along State Route 87 near Milepost 223.
The road begins as pavement before becoming graded dirt.
It climbs approximately six miles toward the upper mountain.
Road conditions vary.
During good weather, much of FR 626 is relatively straightforward, although a vehicle with decent clearance is preferable.
After storms, snow, or prolonged rain, conditions can deteriorate considerably.
The upper road ends at a locked gate approximately half a mile to three-quarters of a mile below the primary summit facilities.
Only authorized vehicles may continue beyond the gate.
Hikers can continue on foot.
🚙 Can You Drive to the Summit?
The public cannot normally drive all the way to Mount Ord’s summit.
A locked gate protects the final section leading to the lookout and communications facilities.
When FR 626 is open, however, visitors can drive close enough that the remaining hike is short.
This makes Mount Ord a popular destination for people interested in scenery without committing to an all-day mountain climb.
A high-clearance vehicle is recommended, particularly if road conditions are uncertain.
Visitors should never drive around gates or leave established roads.
👀 Views From Mount Ord
Mount Ord’s summit offers enormous views across central Arizona.
To the south, Four Peaks forms one of the most recognizable landmarks.
Browns Peak, the highest of the Four Peaks, reaches more than 7,600 feet.
Roosevelt Lake is visible toward the southeast, shining below the mountains on clear days.
The rugged Sierra Ancha rises farther east.
Northward, higher portions of the Mazatzals lead toward Mount Catherine and Mazatzal Peak.
Westward, the landscape falls toward the Verde River country and desert basins closer to Phoenix.
The mountain’s isolation means there are few nearby peaks tall enough to interrupt the panorama.
🌊 Roosevelt Lake
Roosevelt Lake is one of the most recognizable features visible from Mount Ord.
The reservoir lies southeast of the mountain along the Salt River.
From the summit, its blue water contrasts sharply with the surrounding desert mountains.
The view also helps visitors understand Mount Ord’s geographic position.
The mountain stands between the Verde River drainage to the west and tributaries flowing toward the Salt River and Tonto Basin to the east.
This divide contributes to the mountain’s substantial prominence.
🏔️ Mount Ord and Four Peaks
Four Peaks lies south of Mount Ord within the same broad Mazatzal mountain system.
Its distinctive four-summit skyline is visible from many locations around Phoenix.
Browns Peak is the highest point at approximately 7,657 feet.
Although Browns Peak is over 500 feet higher than Mount Ord, Mount Ord has a surprisingly substantial independent rise.
Its roughly 2,415 feet of prominence makes it one of the major topographic landmarks of the range.
The two mountains also offer very different summit experiences.
Browns Peak requires a strenuous hike and steep scrambling through its famous summit chute.
Mount Ord can be reached almost entirely on a road.
🏔️ Mount Ord and Mazatzal Peak
Farther north stands Mazatzal Peak, the highest mountain in the Mazatzal Mountains.
Mazatzal Peak reaches approximately 7,905 feet and has nearly 4,000 feet of topographic prominence.
It is also much more difficult to climb.
No maintained trail reaches Mazatzal Peak’s summit, and successful ascents typically involve substantial off-trail travel through rugged wilderness and dense manzanita.
Mount Ord is almost the opposite.
Its summit contains roads, communications towers, and a fire lookout.
The contrast illustrates the tremendous diversity of recreation experiences within one mountain range.
🛣️ Reno Pass and Slate Creek Divide
Mount Ord sits between two important passages through the Mazatzal Mountains.
North of the mountain, the Beeline Highway crosses the range near Slate Creek Divide.
South of Mount Ord lies Reno Pass, an older travel corridor through the mountains.
These gaps mattered because the rugged Mazatzals historically formed a major barrier between central Arizona’s eastern and western valleys.
Road building through the range was difficult.
Modern State Route 87 makes the crossing look easy, but surrounding canyons and ridges reveal why travel through the Mazatzals once required considerable effort.
📜 Why Is It Called Mount Ord?
Mount Ord is named for Major General Edward Otho Cresap Ord, a nineteenth-century U.S. Army officer.
Ord served in numerous military roles during a long career that included the Mexican-American War, American Civil War, and assignments throughout the western United States.
He commanded the Department of California, which included Arizona, during the late 1860s.
Several western geographic features were eventually named for him.
Arizona has more than one feature carrying the Mount Ord name, which can occasionally create confusion in maps and mountain databases.
Historic geographic-name records also preserve Mesa del Oso and a variant spelling, Mese la Oso, as alternate names for the central Arizona Mount Ord.
📡 Military Signaling History
Mount Ord’s commanding position made it valuable long before modern communications towers appeared.
During the late nineteenth century, the U.S. Army used high points throughout Arizona for heliograph communication.
A heliograph used a mirror to reflect flashes of sunlight toward distant stations.
By controlling the flashes, operators could transmit coded messages across enormous distances.
Mount Ord reportedly served as one of these high-elevation signaling locations during the period of military operations in Arizona.
The same qualities that made it useful for heliographs later made the summit valuable for fire lookouts and radio communications.
In that sense, Mount Ord has served as a communications mountain for generations.
🌨️ Snow on Mount Ord
Mount Ord is high enough to receive winter snow.
A storm can transform the summit from dry Arizona woodland into a snow-covered mountain landscape.
Because FR 626 climbs steeply and contains shaded sections, snow and ice can make driving hazardous even when State Route 87 is clear.
Mud can present another problem as snow melts.
Winter visitors should be prepared to turn around well below the summit if road conditions deteriorate.
The mountain can still make an excellent winter hike when approached safely on foot.
🌩️ Summer Monsoon
Mount Ord’s elevation makes it cooler than Phoenix, but summer presents two significant hazards: heat and thunderstorms.
The lower mountain can still become extremely hot during June and early July.
Later in summer, monsoon storms frequently build over the Mazatzals.
Lightning is especially dangerous around the summit lookout, communications towers, exposed ridges, and open roads.
Heavy rain can also quickly degrade dirt-road conditions.
During July and August, early morning visits are usually preferable to afternoon summit trips.
🌸 Best Time to Visit Mount Ord
Spring and fall generally provide the best conditions.
April and May are especially attractive for birdwatching as migratory and breeding species become active across the mountain.
Spring wildflowers may also appear at lower elevations.
October and November bring cooler temperatures and generally pleasant hiking weather.
Gambel oak can provide patches of autumn color on higher slopes.
Winter is possible when roads are clear.
Summer visits require careful heat and thunderstorm planning, although the upper mountain can provide a welcome escape from the hottest temperatures in the Phoenix Valley.
🎒 What to Bring
Even if you plan to drive most of the way up Mount Ord, basic backcountry preparation is worthwhile.
Bring plenty of water, sun protection, sturdy footwear, layers for cooler summit temperatures, and an offline map.
During monsoon season, carry rain protection and monitor thunderstorms carefully.
Road conditions can change unexpectedly, so a vehicle emergency kit is also useful.
If hiking from lower on the mountain, plan for much greater water consumption than the short upper-gate hike requires.
🌄 Why Mount Ord Stands Out
Mount Ord combines an unusual collection of qualities.
It is a 2,000-foot-prominence mountain that can be approached by road.
It rises from desert and chaparral into pine and oak forest.
Its ancient rocks record the complicated geological history of the Mazatzal Mountains.
Historic mercury mines lie on its flanks.
Its summit has served military signaling, wildfire detection, and modern communications.
And birders know it as one of central Arizona’s outstanding places for finding high-elevation species.
The mountain also occupies a perfect geographic position between two very different sides of the Mazatzals.
To the north lie the wilder ridges around Mount Catherine and Mazatzal Peak.
To the south stands the famous skyline of Four Peaks.
Mount Ord may not be the tallest mountain in the range, but its prominence, accessibility, history, and enormous summit views make it one of central Arizona’s most interesting peaks.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
How high is Mount Ord?
Modern LiDAR data places Mount Ord at approximately 7,132 feet (2,174 meters).
Older sources commonly list the mountain at about 7,128 feet.
Where is Mount Ord?
Mount Ord is in central Arizona between Phoenix and Payson, within Tonto National Forest and the Mazatzal Mountains.
What counties is Mount Ord in?
The summit area lies along the boundary between Gila and Maricopa counties.
What is Mount Ord’s Nearest Higher Neighbor?
Mount Ord’s Nearest Higher Neighbor is Mount Catherine, northwest of Mount Ord in the Mazatzal Mountains.
How prominent is Mount Ord?
Mount Ord has approximately 2,415 feet (736 meters) of topographic prominence.
How isolated is Mount Ord?
Its topographic isolation is approximately 9.29 miles (14.95 kilometers).
Is Mount Ord the highest mountain in the Mazatzal Mountains?
No. Mazatzal Peak is the range high point at approximately 7,905 feet.
Can you drive to Mount Ord?
Forest Road 626 climbs close to the summit.
Public vehicle access ends at a locked gate below the lookout, after which visitors can continue on foot.
How long is the shortest Mount Ord hike?
From the upper public gate, the walk is approximately 1.6 to 1.7 miles round trip with several hundred feet of climbing.
Is there a longer hike?
Yes. Starting much lower on Forest Road 626 creates an approximately 11.8-mile round-trip hike with more than 2,400 feet of elevation gain.
A more rugged Slate Creek approach can exceed 15 miles.
Is there a fire lookout on Mount Ord?
Yes. A 102-foot fire lookout tower stands near the summit.
When was the Mount Ord lookout built?
The current tower was built in 1983.
It replaced an Aermotor tower erected in 1936.
What happened to the original lookout?
The 1936 lookout was relocated to Payson and preserved at the Rim Country Museum.
Can visitors climb the fire tower?
Public access should never be assumed. The tower is a Forest Service facility, and visitors should follow any posted restrictions or instructions from personnel.
Why is Mount Ord popular with birdwatchers?
Its large elevation range creates chaparral, juniper, oak, and pine habitats within a relatively compact area.
The mountain is particularly known for Virginia’s, Black-throated Gray, Grace’s, and Olive warblers along with Painted Redstart.
Was there mining on Mount Ord?
Yes. The surrounding Ord mining district produced mercury ore, principally cinnabar. The historic Ord Mine lies near Slate Creek on the northern side of the mountain.
Who was Mount Ord named after?
The mountain was named for Major General Edward Otho Cresap Ord, a nineteenth-century U.S. Army officer who served in the American West.
What is the best time to visit Mount Ord?
April, May, October, and November generally offer particularly pleasant conditions. Spring is especially good for birding.
🔗 Related Articles
- Mount Catherine — Mount Ord’s Nearest Higher Neighbor in the northern Mazatzal Mountains.
- Mazatzal Peak — the highest mountain in the Mazatzal Mountains.
- Four Peaks — the famous four-summit landmark south of Mount Ord.
- Browns Peak — the highest summit of Four Peaks.
📚 Sources
- Peakbagger — Mount Ord — elevation, prominence, isolation, coordinates, and Nearest Higher Neighbor.
- Arizona Highways — Mount Ord — Forest Road 626 access, driving conditions, and summit approach.
- Arizona Birding Trail — Mount Ord Area — birdlife, habitat, elevation, and seasonal birding information.
- Arizona Birding Trail — Mount Ord, FR 626 — road access and vegetation changes along the mountain.
- National Historic Lookout Register — Mount Ord Lookout — history and specifications of the 1983 and 1936 lookout towers.
- U.S. Geological Survey — Geology of the Ord Mine, Mazatzal Mountains Quicksilver District — mining history and regional geology.
- U.S. Geological Survey — Quicksilver Deposits of the Mazatzal Range — early geological description of Mount Ord and the surrounding Mazatzal Mountains.
- HikeArizona — Mount Ord from FR 626 — longer hiking route, elevation gain, road approach, and summit directions.
- HikeArizona — Mount Ord from Slate Creek — historic Ord Mine approach and longer summit route.
