Such a gorgeous and interesting place. Feels like an escape. Trail is not hard…read more -parking on the street -wear pants you are okay with sliding down a granite rock with -bring grippy shoes if you want to climb rocks -mostly just a long walk -be aware of mountain bikers

The hike up to Fatman's Pass via Mormon Loop Trail is not very difficult. Completed the hike and…read morejust over two hours with ample stops. I am a moderate hiker, not novice but not advanced by any means and thought this trail was fairly easy even after a long summer of not hiking outside in the brutal Phoenix heat. The trail is very rocky and requires a close eye on your footing to not trip. The trail is mostly clearly marked. However, there were a few instances where I had to pull out my AllTrails map just to verify that I didn't veer off the trail down a wash or an unofficial pathway that other hikers has created. Fatman's Pass should be actually be called Not-Fatman's as the opening between the two rocks is very narrow. I could barely fit with my Camelback on my back and my hat on my head. Others have reported there is no shade along the trail; however, I did find a few shady spots around noon on a November day. There's also ample shade at the pass itself. I chose to take the loop counterclockwise and glad I did! My original theory was that it looked to be a sharper incline going uphill and I prefer to do that versus a steep decline. But to my surprise after the pass, there were very slippery, smooth granite rocks that we were sliding across even with proper footwear. I decided to use five points of contact and slide down on my bottom, just to make sure that I didn't slip and fall. I saw a number of hikers with their dogs and think this trail would be okay in the cooler months with plenty of water. But I would feel very nervous about taking my own dog on those slippery granite rocks. Maybe I'd hold my dog in my lap and slide down and pretend I was on a playground with a friend at the bottom to catch us. lol! I saw several chipmunks, dragonflies, and even a small snake (not a rattlesnake) on the trail. Not very buggy and pretty clean minus a couple not-picked up dog poops. There is a small parking lot at the trailhead and plenty of street parking in the surrounding neighborhood. There is no bathroom or water station so make sure to use the bathroom and fill up your water before hitting the trailhead!

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.

Nice river walk. Start at the casino. Out and back trail. No maps! See photos-only map I found.read more

if you're staying at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa this trail is located right on the…read moreresort. if you're not there are plenty of ways to get on this trail as well. as it looked like there were a lot of open spaces where folks can just walk on at any time. you'll be walking through the resort golf course. it's a dirt path. there's no incline and is flat all the way which makes it a super easy trail. there are times when you'll have to cross the street so do take caution and look both ways before crossing the street. i loved that there were signs that informed you of which plants were which or even information providing history of certain things. so it was a very educational hike. there wasn't any shades on this hike so do wear a hat, put on sunscreen, and bring some water as it is arizona and it can get pretty hot.

Fork 'em, Devils. If…read moreyou attended ASU, you have probably climbed "A" Mountain. It's a rite of passage as a Sun Devil. Did you even attend ASU if you haven't stepped foot here? It's a tradition for me to hike this mountain on New Year's Day. You got to start the new year heading in the direction you want to go: upwards and forward. Hayden Butte Preserves is a very doable and easy hike in the heart of Tempe. Come for the sights.

Pretty easy hike. Trail could use some maintenance- missing/washed out steps. Not too crowded at…read more8am on a warm Sunday. No bugs or overgrown shrubs. Rails toward the top for safety and easy to grab/hold onto for stability. We finished in 33 mins and that includes a couple stops to take in the views and catch our breath after a set of steps.

Not sure if I should be reviewing this listing or the one for the South Mountain Activity Complex,…read morebut I'll do this one since I came here for the Holbert trail. I've been here a handful of times, but not too often since it's pretty far from home. I was planning to stop by a local coffee shop in this area, so I decided to do an early morning hike beforehand. It's pretty easy to get to this trailhead, and their hours year-round are 5am - 11pm (gates open and close). I wish they would open a bit earlier during the summer, but I got there a few minutes after 5 anyways. I'm always surprised at how few people/cars I see in the lot, I anticipate it being busier. They recently completely construction here and there's a beautiful pavilion now. Several restrooms and water fountains, which is great. Last time I came here, they had rerouted the beginning of the trail to the northernmost part of the parking lot, so that's where I thought it would be. Took me a few minutes to orient myself from the map because I didn't realize there were multiple bathrooms. Holbert trail is nice and there are a few switchbacks before connecting to Dobbins Lookout, which can be reached by car and has a parking lot. I decided to make the small detour to the lookout and spend a few minutes walking around; I like the little house they have. I really didn't like all the trash I saw lying around; I picked up a few napkins, straws and bottles. Not sure if it's flying out of the trash cans or people just being lazy, but it made me sad. I continued on the trail to the National trail, and made it a loop by connecting to the Kiwanis trail and finally Las Lomitas back to the trailhead. I ran into maybe a dozen people, tops. There are so many parking spots available here and the only time I've seen it full is when I did the Phoenix Summit Challenge in November last year. There are probably other times when it gets busy, like when there are events and such, but usually it's so empty. Maybe because it's the hottest part of the summer. This is one of the trailheads that will close from 8am - 5pm when there is an extreme heat warning from the National Weather Service, so be aware of that. I do want to explore the National trail more, so I plan to be back.

On a Saturday afternoon, I checked out Holbert Trailhead at South Mountain Park. Finding the trail…read moreisn't super easy as it's a bit hidden but here are instructions on how to get there: enter the park and follow the signs that point you to the visitor's center. After passing by the visitor's center, follow the road until you hit an area under construction. The road will make you turn left and then it will bring you into the parking lot. In the corner of the parking lot by the construction, you'll find the entrance to the trail. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's get to the good stuff. Holbert Trailhead is listed as a "moderate difficulty" trail on AllTrails. By the way, if you don't use AllTrails, I highly recommend that you download the app. It keeps track of where you're at on a trail (to make sure you stay on track) and also keeps track of some cool stats for you like the amount of time you've spent on the trails, the number of miles you've hiked, the elevation, etc. Rating Holbert as a moderate trail is fair. The first half of the hike is at an incline as you're scaling the mountain. You'll come across a lot of uneven rocks so it's not easy. Make sure to bring plenty of water. You'll eventually reach a fork where one path will continue on Holbert and the other will take you to Dobbins Lookout. Take the path on the right to get to Dobbins Lookout which is one of the most spectacular nature views in Phoenix. To get to Dobbins, depending on your pace, it will take you about an hour and a half. Once you arrive, you'll be rewarded with spectacular views of Phoenix and surrounding suburbs. And you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that you walked there instead of driving there like a bunch of other people you'll see at Dobbins. From there, you'll return along the same path to get to the beginning of the trail again. The return trip will be quicker as you're going on a decline. It will be harder on your knees and you'll have to be careful with your footing, but it will be less strenuous. All in all, it should take you anywhere between two and a half to three and a half hours depending on how long you chill at Dobbins. All in all, a top hike!

Jacobs Crosscut Trail. It was a great day, but turned out…read morevery difficult as we lost our way on the path. We did make it to our destination, and we got to experience the beautiful flowers. So the broken finger tip, could of been worse! I WOULD RECOMMEND

Yes, I agree with the other reviews. Incredible hike, especially if you continue up to Flatiron…read more The waterfall was dry, and I bet its fantastic when its flowing. If you make it to Flatiron and back, go ahead and pat yourself on the back for making the 5.8 mile trip. I'd suggest hiking in a group. You'll park in the Lost Dutchman State Park. There is a $5 day use fee per vehicle.

I came here on a Saturday morning to run, and I arrived at the parking lot at 10:15AM. Note that…read moresince this is inside Usery Mountain Regional Park, there's a $7 per motor vehicle. The parking lot was entirely full and street parking was pretty full too, but luckily I snagged a spot right at the trailhead as a car left. I went clockwise on the trail, and the map at the beginning says this trail is 7.5 miles (but actually if I add up the mileage on the map, it's 7.6 miles). The views before going down were good but once I went to the back of the mountain, the views weren't very good. Completely unshaded, most people are going counterclockwise so I ran into a lot of hikers, a few bikes, and even a horseback rider and his horse. Some parts of the path are a bit rockier than the others, but all manageable for running.

I spend much of my time on this trail running, especially if I want something that provides a lot…read moreof varied terrain and isn't too crowded. Wind Cave is an awesome workout, but it is typically a lot more crowded. A good portion of the trail is runnable, which is nice. For a moderate running pace, two hours should be fine. In talking to people on the trail, it seems that hikers typically plan 3.5-4 hours to do the whole thing. Maybe longer if you stop at the saddle to have a snack and enjoy the views for a bit. Speaking of that, there are several places to stop and enjoy the views, especially on the backside of the mountain, and it is really beautiful when the desert blooms. I was out here a few years ago when we got snow on January 1, and that was pretty cool to see. These days, I mostly see hikers, although there are some adventurous mountain bikers -- there is an interesting climb (or descent, depending on your chosen direction) just before/after the saddle. I've seen people carrying their bikes on that one. I think tackling this trail clockwise on a bike might be best, although I typically run it counterclockwise to get the rougher parts of the trail out of the way first. The trail is pretty rocky in spots between Blevins and the saddle. It is good to note that you can jump on this trail either from the Wind Cave or Blevins (Trailhead Staging Area) parking areas, but the marked trailhead is at the Blevins parking lot. There is nowhere to get water, except at the Wind Cave trailhead, which, depending on where you park, could be your start/end point. It is best to bring all that you'll need, especially in the summer. This is a loop trail, but there are really no shortcuts out of the trail, so you either plan to do the whole thing or pick a spot to turn around when you're halfway done with hiking. (The trail does connect to the Cat Peaks trail about a mile from the Blevins trailhead, and forks off to connect with the Arizona Trail, but once you're really into the trail, there are much fewer options.) As for shade, the only real shade is provided during certain parts of the year and times of day at the saddle. There are some trees and, if you can crouch in the shadow of some rock formations, you can find a little. Beyond that, it is pretty sparse. I suggest starting early in the morning. Keep an eye out for wildlife. I have scared several deer and jackrabbits in addition to the usual lizards, squirrels and occasional rattlesnake. There is a $6 fee to enter the park by car ($2 if you bike, walk, or run in) and the Maricopa County Parks pass is good here.

I love hiking here. I try to come as much as possible and push myself to stay longer and beat my…read moregoals. It's so beautiful here especially the view. I noticed a lot of people love to come and have picnics at the very top to watch the sunset.

Embarking on the Brown Mountain Hiking Trail is like embarking on a mini adventure! The rocky…read moreuphill at the beginning gives you a burst of energy, almost like a warm-up, before the trail levels out into a more relaxed stroll. It's the kind of hike that feels like catching up with an old friend - invigorating, yet comforting, with each step revealing a new facet of nature's beauty. It's not marked with any real hiking trail signs, but near street signage.