Phoenix, Arizona

[Mack Shaft]

Heading on a road trip in Arizona over xmas. Any suggestions for some hikes around the Phoenix area?

Thanks

 

[Stephanie B]

East of Phoenix, outside the town of Apache Junction, is the iconic Flatiron. Go during the week, though, as it can be crowded. Further east, outside Gold Canyon, is the hike out Peralta Trail to the view of Weavers Needle. I prefer this to Flatiron. Again, go during the week. I, personally, would avoid hiking up Camelback (close-ish to downtown Phoenix). It serves as a training hike/run for scads of people and isn't all that pretty. Lastly, further east, outside the town of Superior, is Picketpost. It shouldn't be crowded and offers great views. All but Peralta involve scrambling.

Let me know if you have any special interests and I can try to help you out. We used to live in Apache Junction.

Flatiron

Peralta Trail to Fremont Saddle

Picketpost

Steph

 

[JBPHXAZ]

Heading on a road trip in Arizona over xmas. Any suggestions for some hikes around the Phoenix area?

Thanks

Stephanie B provided some good options. Peralta is especially nice.

If you are limited on how far you can drive, here are some options right in town:
Camelback (As mentioned by Stephanie, tons of people. And parking can be ridiculous, so I would recommend getting an Uber to the trailhead. One thing I would differ on a bit, is that if you like city views, it actually is very pretty at the top. One of the few hikes in Phoenix proper where you get a 360 degree view of all of Phoenix.)
Piestewa Peak (Similar to Camelback)
South Mountain (Mormon Trail to Hidden Valley Loop or any of the other trailheads)
White Tanks (Very west of town, depending on where you will be staying, but there are some beautiful trails there)
McDowell Mountains (North of town, alot of options - Tom's Thumb, Gateway)

If you are willing to drive a bit further:
Cave Creek - Elephant Mountain Loop
Seven Springs Area - Cave Creek and Skunk Creek Trails

We have had a decent amount of rain lately, so there is a lot of green vegetation out there on the trails making it extra nice! Have fun.

 

[LarryBoy]

Has anybody been up in the Supes post-Woodbury Fire? I'm on the hunt for first-hand conditions reports on the following trails:

First Water TH -> Dutchman Trail to Black Top Mesa
La Barge Canyon up trail 106 to Tortilla Pass and down into Angel Basin.

thx!

 

[Kmatjhwy]

There is the whole Mazatzal Mountains and Wilderness area to the north of Phoenix. The area goes from low desert near the Verde River to some high peaks which might have some snow on them at this time of year. This area has been on my bucket list for awhile now. And when I have a winter off, plan to get back up in here and enjoy life.

 

[Stephanie B]

Has anybody been up in the Supes post-Woodbury Fire? I'm on the hunt for first-hand conditions reports on the following trails:

First Water TH -> Dutchman Trail to Black Top Mesa
La Barge Canyon up trail 106 to Tortilla Pass and down into Angel Basin.

thx!

Check out these trip reports for Black Top Mesa :

Black Top Mesa

You can probably find reports for LaBarge as well. And I'm pretty sure many of the folks on this site will reply if you reach out to them.

Good luck,

Steph

 

[LarryBoy]

Check out these trip reports for Black Top Mesa :

Black Top Mesa

You can probably find reports for LaBarge as well. And I'm pretty sure many of the folks on this site will reply if you reach out to them.

Good luck,

Steph

oh neat! I had checked out those trip reports on hikearizona already but didn't realize they had a forum. Thanks!