A cave discovered on the north side of Camelback Mountain indicates that it was used as a sacred site by the prehistoric Hohokam culture before they abandoned the area in the 14th century.

[4] In January 1879, United States President Rutherford B. Hayes included Camelback Mountain as part of a one million acre (4,000 km2) reservation for the Salt River Pima and Maricopa American Indian tribes.

[5] Six months later, at the behest of Charles Poston, the Arizona Territorial Legislature reversed the decision in order to ensure the primacy of the 5000 non-Indian area residents as well as their continued access to Salt River water.

The head of the camel is predominantly red sedimentary sandstone from the Chattian stage of the Oligocene epoch (ca.

[12] It rises approximately 100 feet (30 m) and the eastern face has several permanent anchor bolts for attaching a belay rope.