After driving 400 miles on a hot summer day at 102 degrees, the GPS led us to a street with houses…read more There was no monument, no visitor center, no sight of a huge cactus shown on the website! Didn't see any horses for riding as said in the website. Talking about great disappointment! We drove down a few blocks and saw a small building with a sign "visitor center". We went in and showed the website on the iPhone to a lady in the office. She said, "It is just the name for the entire area. There's no single monument in town!" Really??? Why someone wouldn't elaborate a bit more info in the website about the nonexistence of monument in town! Folks, don't waste gas and time to bring your family here for horseback riding! However you can still enjoy a Big Mac on your way home :) I took a picture of a cactus at a street corner! I would have given minus stars for this place!

Beautiful desert home of the saguaro and bufo alvarius. Great dispersed camping area.read more

A difficult hike with amazing views! I loved this hike. It's a long way back to the trailhead from…read morethe road and there are places where having 4x4 or higher clearance would be nice, but I saw a Prius at the trailhead. There are workarounds. It's a long and steady climb, definitely one of the more challenging hikes in the west valley. The last little bit there's some scrambling to get to the peak. The views are amazing and the giant slabs of quartz are beautiful.

For years, I had stared out at the Sierra Estrella mountains wondering if I'd ever get the chance…read moreto hike to the top of Quartz Peak. I'm a Civic owner, so as soon as I heard about the sand roads and necessity of a high clearance/4x4 vehicle, I thought the day would never come (there's no way I'm buying a gas guzzling Jeep with a 30-mi each way work commute lol). That is, until I met some other awesome hikers from the Valley and coordinated an epic carpool! We met up in downtown Phoenix and headed out in the Jeeps to Goodyear. After getting off the 10 and heading down Estrella/Rainbow Ranch roads for what seemed like a good while, along came the sand/dirt roads. And man did they live up to their reputation! Some super fun off-roading action ensued, and let's just say I was so glad I wasn't in my own little car. One of the hiking buddies advised that he once tried to get to the trailhead in his Dodge Caravan but got stuck in the sand and wrecked the transmission. Yikes! Once we got to the trailhead (obviously an adventure in and of itself), it was a steady 5-6 mile uphill climb to the summit. There are definitely some false Peaks to conquer along the way that are grueling physically and mentally; however, once you get to the last half mile or so, it's a fairly short scramble and totally doable. Once you get to the top, you are greeted by a fantastic view of West Valley, South Mountain, Four Peaks, the Supes, East Valley, and the vast desert to the southwest. The way down is easier on the cardio but harder on the knees due to loose rocks so watch your step and don't rush it. Your legs will probably be sore for the next day or two but it'll be accompanied by the feeling of accomplishment! I also recommend going with a group as I did. Strength and support in numbers people! Plus, you may meet someone new and make friends along the way! I'm not sure when I'll get the chance to hike Quartz Peak again, but now every time I look out to the west at it, the memories will never fade!

Passed through here on the way to Wickenburg Ghost Town. The roads into the saddle mountain area…read morewere pretty open with very few other drivers. The hiking areas were marked. It was a very peaceful area. The Arizona desert scape, but more mountain like. A good place for those who are into hiking.

Saddle Mountain is only 60 miles from Downtown Phoenix and is a great getaway. The landscape is…read morebeautiful and there is plenty of space to primitive camp. It's my new favorite mountain to camp! I highly suggest this area.

Excellent trail on this chilly morning and I'm very proud of how all the kiddos did. The telegraph…read morepass trail has some incline to it, we went to the old rock "house" structure at the top. Great views. The parking lot here is big and there's a restroom and water fountain. We got started at 8am and it wasn't super busy yet. As day went on more people seemed to be on the trail. It's dog friendly which is great since my boy Flynn loves to hike. Great hike with my peoples.

This review is for Telegraph Pass Trail. It is an easy to moderate 2.3-mile out-and-back trail in…read morethe Ahwatukee foothills area near the AZ-202. The facilities at the start of the trailhead are pretty nice and clean. I love doing this hike in the evening because you get gorgeous views of the Valley at night. Once you get to the top next to Summit Rd (the road is paved), there is bench that you can rest on. There you can get some great panoramic pictures of the Valley with Sky Harbor airport and Camelback Mountain in the background. Once at the top, you have the option of heading back or accessing one of a few trails that connect to it. There is a little stone house to the west and the transmitter towers that blink red at night on South Mountain to the east. We once brought up s'mores to the stone house at night and had some campfire fun over a mini propane stove. If you continue on with the Kiwanis trail from here, you can see some Hohokam rock art. Telegraph Pass is one of my favorite Valley trails and makes for a fun quick hike.

Great hiking trail and workout. If you're just gonna do the steps. You'll have to do them several…read moretimes to get a good workout in. If you want a real hiking experience. Go past the steps and keep going. Follow the trail to the very top. It's pretty easy to follow even if you take different routes you'll most likely figure it out or end up back on the right path. Coming down was easy as well. Didn't go back to the steps. Went pretty much straight down the back to where my truck was at the end of the culdesac. Ended up crawling under some bobwire which was easy. Little bit of climbing. Nothing strenuous. Walking stick would probably be more of a hassle up there, but definitely worth doing.

The drive up to this location was beautiful! There's a golf course and some really nice houses in…read morethis area. Once you get there, you'll see the steps to the left and a parking lot shortly right after. Spaces are limited and it can get pretty busy on the weekends. We started off with run around the area then made our way up the steps to check out the view. It took us 9 minutes round trip to complete.

While driving to Maricopa, I saw a sign by the road that said Sonoran Desert National Monument. So,…read moreI stopped by and checked it out. I was studying the trail map. I was surprised, it was a large area to hike. The Bureau of Land Management manages this area. Camping overnight, off-road vehicles, and dispersed camping are allowed. Additionally, you can camp with an RV, trailer, or car for fourteen days. Make sure to check - www.blm.gov for more information about recreation use.

Beautiful views!! Plenty of parking and there are even hiking trails and paths.. there are picnic…read moretables that are shaded so you can enjoy the beautiful views

Skyline Regional Park was an unexpected delight for our first visit. The terrain was varied and the…read moretrails that we walked were striking, between the variety of plant life and sweeping views. The facilities all seemed so new and the signage was great. This is my new favorite hiking area in the region.

Went on a hike with my partner and our dog the other day. We had high hopes but were pretty…read moredisappointed. We hiked all the way to the top of the mountain and we just felt it was a little depressing. It's not the most aesthetic trail by any means. It's right near some power plant which gave it an industrial vibe. The mountain was a straight incline on concrete. The very top was the best part, but I'm in no rush to hike here again.

We were able to hike but there really was no more. Like hiking on gravel, not the best AZ has to…read moreoffer

An amazing hike! Start early, bring gloves, lunch/snacks, and water!…read more My friends and I hiked to the peak via the Sunset trail, taking the loop back down the Hunter trail (7.1 mi). The first part of the hike is very easy, just out in the open. Though, once you start climbing you are climbing! The gardening gloves we brought helped us feel more secure, so that we didn't lose our grip. Honestly, the pictures made it look more scary than doing it, but if you are afraid of heights do take caution. The cables felt very secure and I felt safe the whole time. The top is very rewarding! There are a lot of bees though, so I wouldn't recommend hanging out there too long. We ended up having our lunch at on of the campsite benches in the shade at the end of the Hunter trail, which was very nice. The last part of the hike is walking on the road, but we didn't mind it after the steep and rocky decline. The bathrooms in the park are incredibly nice for a state park and there were also water bottle fillers. This was a great hike and the Park is also very well-maintained!

I checked out Picacho Peak State Park, not to be confused with Pikachu, on a Saturday afternoon…read more Located between Phoenix and Tuscon, Picacho was a hike unlike any I've done before. After arriving, you have to pay a $10 entrance fee per person to hike (a bit annoying for a state park but o well). You're given a pamphlet about the park and then it's time for what you came for. We did Hunter's Trail and there was a good amount of parking close to the start of the trail. It's a difficult trail on Alltrails and for good reason. There are parts of the hike where it's so narrow that only one person can go through at the time. There are other parts of the hike where there are steep inclines. And not only that. You'll have to climb using the cables that have been attached to the rock formations. Pro tip: bring gloves. That also means you have to be careful on the way down as you're going down on a decline. Which will be hard on your knees. It's all worth it though, because once you climb the mountain, you'll have breathtaking views of the park. And you'll be so high up that you can see both Tucson and Phoenix in the distance. All in all, if you go at a decent pace, the hike will take you 3-4 hours. There's at least one other trail. And you can also camp in the state park. Last but not least, there's a little museum in the visitor's center. And plenty of facilities. You'll get quite the workout!