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Three Of The Best Places To Hike In Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona is a wonderful place to hike year-round. If you’re in the area and love to hike here are some of the best places to check out;
The North Mountain Park is located at 10600 N. 7th Street in Phoenix, AZ and is home to 5 different trails that range from easy to difficult ranges in hiking ability. The park includes public restrooms, drinking water and paved parking (though parking is limited for some trails.) The trails at North Mountain Park include:
- Penny Howe barrier-free Nature Trail (#40): This trail is rated easy for difficulty and is mainly used for birding and walking, but is considered a multi-use trail. The PH trail is 3 miles long with elevations spanning from 1,380-1,420 ft.
- Shaw Butte Trail (#306): This is a 4 mile long trail with a top elevation of 2,044 feet and a difficulty rating of moderate to difficult.
- Trail #60- The Maxine Lakin Nature Trail: This is a 1.2 mile long multi-use trail with elevations between 1,290 ft and 1,480 ft. The Maxine Lakin Trail is multi-use with an easy-moderate difficulty level.
- The North Mountain National Trail (#44): This trail is recommended for only hiking, and is rated moderate-difficult. The trail is 1.6 miles long and elevations range between 1,490-2,104 feet.
- The Charles M. Christiansen Memorial Trail (#100): This is the longest trail in North Mountain Park, as it is 10.7 miles long. The trail is multi-use and considered a major trail in this mountain range, and branches off into most of the other trails in the park. This is a multi-use trail with an easy-moderate difficulty rating and elevations spanning between 1,290 and 2,080 feet high.
Camelback Mountain in Phoenix gets its name from its unique shape (obviously shaped like a – camelback!) The mountain is located at Echo Canyon Park and boasts a 1.2 mile hiking trail and an area for rock climbing for more advanced climbers. Guided tours are available for this scenic hiking trail that includes water, tips and advice and information about the area as well as information about other nearby hiking trails. For more information, maps and directions go to www.climbcamelback.com.
South Mountain Park is literally the largest municipal park in the United States, and known as a Phoenix ‘Point of Pride.’ There are a variety of different trails at the parks that all have different uses (most are multi-use) and range from easy to difficult in difficulty ratings. South Mountain Park trails are great for hiking and also offers horseback riding tours on some of the trails. The park is not only beautiful, but has an awesome history and offers some sites that no other mountains in Phoenix can, including ‘The Mystery Castle’. Tours of the Mystery Castle, which was built for the areas founders’ daughter, are no longer available but visitors are still more than welcome to admire the beauty and historic value from the exterior. Trails at this park include: The Mormon Trail (moderate-difficult, 1.1 mi), The Beverley Canyon Trail (easy-moderate, 1.5 mi), The Javelina Canyon Trail (easy to moderate, 1.7 mi), The Pima Canyon National Trail (moderate to difficult, 14.3 mi), Desert Classic Trail, (9 mi, moderate to difficult), Telegraph Pass Trail (1.5 mi, easy to moderate), Kiwanis Trail (moderate, 1 mi) Ranger Trail (1.4 mi, one way, moderate with steep switchbacks) and The Holbert Trail (2.5 mi, both steep and long, moderate to difficult).
