Slate Trail is a really enjoyable hike with classic Sonoran Desert scenery--towering saguaros,…read morerocky hillsides, and wide open views that make it feel peaceful without being remote. Parking was easy, and I appreciated the clean, convenient restrooms at the trailhead. That said, I do think the trail is slightly misrated. While it's listed as easy, the rocky footing and a few stretches with noticeable incline push it more into easy-moderate territory. It's absolutely doable, but hikers should be prepared for uneven terrain and some effort, especially if they're expecting a flat stroll. I brought my walking stick, and I'm glad I did. Overall, this is a beautiful, well-kept trail and a great way to experience Cave Creek Regional Park. With a more accurate difficulty rating, it would be a near-perfect hike.

This is an excellent park to camp , ride bikes and hike. First class camping as we did. Main camp…read morearea paved asphalt with picnic tables water and 50 amp. electrical hook up. Most sites level and ample size. Beautiful sunsets.

03/05/2026. 72 deg. Arrived around 10AM. Walked to to office…read moreand paid. The lady there was very helpful asking what distance and how much elevation we would like to do that day. She then gave us a map and highlighted the trail. Beautiful! Beautiful! Beautiful! Cave Ck. was flowing and wildflowers were blooming. Saguaros were castle-like. We had a great time. Did about 3 miles.

The drive from Cave Creek Road to Spur Cross Conservation Area is about 3 1/2 miles. The road is…read morenicely paved en route. The closer you get, the road winds and is less paved. The road becomes gravel so you must slow down. The views coming into the park area are breathtaking; full of saguaros, Mesquite trees, Palo Verde, shrubs and lots of cacti. Trails are well marked. Trails vary from easy to difficult. Take water, trail mix bars, wear appropriate shoes, a small bit of cash to enter, and have a small first aid kit with you. There are portions of the area that do not have cell service. Free parking at the entrance.

Bryan is wonderful and wants to make sure you are happy with your experience out on the water. He…read morewill go the extra mile to make sure you are happy. Love that the store has things you seem to forget at home. ATH Restoration rented the Party Pontoon boat for our company party and we had a great time. The boat was clean and everything worked great on it. We enjoyed our outing. I also rented a ski boat for my kids and I. We had a great time out on the water. I highly recommend renting a boat or even jet ski for a fun time.

We spent the day at Lake Bartlett Marina with some friends who are considering signing up for a…read moremonthly membership. They've been on the waiting list and wanted to check out the fleet of boats included with the membership and get out on the water, and we were happy to tag along! We ended up on a pontoon with a full shade cover, which was a huge plus. Since it was a super hot August day and we were out during full sun, having complete shade made a big difference compared to a half-shade boat. We were also given a tube, which the kids were VERY excited about! We did have to wait a while before getting on the boat even with our 1pm reservation, but our friends were going through all of the membership information and learning how everything works. It just took a while to get that started. While we waited, the kids had fun feeding the fish the fish food, and of course we ended up grabbing a few snacks from the shop. One area that could use some improvement is the parking and signage. It was a little confusing figuring out where to go. We initially turned off in the wrong area, had to drive back up, and then continued on to find the guest parking and rental area. The walk down to the marina wasn't marked particularly well either, although we eventually figured it out. Once we were out on the water, though, it was beautiful! The lake and surrounding mountains are gorgeous, and it was such a fun way to spend a Sunday. One thing that took us a little while to get used to was that the lake traffic goes counterclockwise--it felt a little strange at first, but we got the hang of it! It did seem like they may have been a little understaffed while we were there. There were member boats coming back in, families waiting to head out, and other people picking up and returning rental boats, while we only saw one person working behind the counter and another who was busy getting boats ready. It may have just been the staffing for that particular Sunday, so I can't say if that's typical. Overall, we had a great day on the water! The kids had a blast, the boat was comfortable, and the scenery was beautiful. I think our friends may be signing up for the membership, so it definitely seems like they got a good feel for what Lake Bartlett Marina has to offer. We'd definitely go back for another day on the lake!

Horseshoe Lake or Reservoir if you will is one of the most remote lakes in the area. It is closed…read moreto watercraft. You may kayak I believe. Check water levels ahead of time as some times during the year it may be low. The water often looks like glass. It's not only beautiful, but an amazing spot for fishing and camping. If you're an angler looking for a quiet spot this is it. It's been said it's one of the best fishing areas in Arizona with the filling of the reservoir. Nearby is the dam where you may catch the spillway releasing water. SRP shows release dates to see the waterfall. Vault toilets are in the area, but few and did not look like the trash or paper had been emptied/filled in some time. The road is about 10 miles unpaved to this location, high clearance recommended.

Visited McDowell Mountain Regional Park while in Fort McDowell, AZ. The atmosphere was vast and…read morerugged, and the overall experience felt impressive but spread out. The park is massive -- it's honestly a bit crazy -- with nearly a 20-minute drive just to get from the entrance to the North Trail, which really puts the scale into perspective. Tried the North Trail -- scenic and well maintained, but the sheer size makes it feel more like a destination than a quick outing. Overall, worth checking out once, but not a spot I'd go out of my way to revisit. Saluti

This is a really nice park. Very big lots of trails. We went to the north trail which was nicely…read moremaintained. The huge plus here is the fact that sprinkled through this huge park are actual running water bathrooms!! SO NICE!! Clean bright. Superb.

Plenty of trails here to explore. Easy hike but goes for miles. A little over 6 if you walk the…read morewhole route. Lots of parking and a public Restroom. Great spot to get out of the city but not too far away. Happy Hiking!

On our last full day in Phoenix, the fella and I had to get one last desert hike in. After…read moresearching Yelp and Google and whatnot, we settled on a loop that was part Sidewinder Trail and part Ocotillo Trail, beginning at the trailhead on Carefree Highway at the Sonoran Preserve. It is fairly close to the city, but far enough out to feel out of the way. There is ample parking and what appears to be a pretty new shelter and restroom area. The trails are well-maintained and easy to follow. And they are marked clearly and often. I absolutely enjoyed my early December hike here...it was sunny and hot (85 degrees!) and the patches of shade along the trail are a nice respite. But be prepared in the legitimately hotter times...bring ALL the water and a hat for shade. And sunscreen yourself up! I am knocking off a star because, while the trail has markings at regular intervals, the map at the beginning is not as clear or correct as it could be. Using the map online and at the trailhead, we planned and prepared for a 4.5ish mile hike, beginning with the more difficult Sidewinder and ending with the easier Ocotillo. In reality, the hike and loop we planned ended up being at least 6 miles, and the Ocotillo, which is supposed to be easier than the Sidewinder, seemed to clearly be the more difficult of the two (at least the portions we were on). I only wish that I was more prepared for the longer distance. That said, its a great place for hiking and I wouldn't mind going again!

If you're looking for a "dip your toes in and call it adventure" kind of trip, this ain't it. This…read moreis the real deal and Arizona River Runners delivers it with a throttle. I went the motorized raft route, and I'll tell you straight, it's the perfect balance of thrill and sanity. You've got young guns, older folks, everybody laughing, holding on, and living the same moment. One minute you're punching through rapids, the next you're cruising those calm stretches at a steady clip, maybe 8 mph, just soaking it all in. And that's the beauty of it, you cover serious ground without sacrificing the experience. If you don't have 10 days to disappear into the canyon but still want to feel it in your bones, this is your move. Now listen, getting on the water in Grand Canyon isn't something you just wake up and decide to do. Permits, reservations, planning...this is high demand, bucket list territory. You do your homework, plan ahead, and you can make it happen. You wait till the last minute? Good luck. This isn't your local float trip. And then there's the part nobody really prepares you for. The canyon messes with you in a good way, mostly. I swear this is the second time I've felt like I saw Bigfoot out there. Not joking. Starts making you wonder, is it one Bigfoot, multiple, is he just pacing the canyon like he owns it? Add in a little déjà vu, the silence, the scale of it all, your mind starts wandering places you didn't expect. Daytime, it's raw. Sun beating down, heat cooking you alive, jumping into the river whether it looks crystal clear or straight up brown just to cool off. Nighttime, whole different world. Stars like you've never seen, Milky Way stretched across the sky, dead quiet except for the river and a crackling fire. Cold drink in hand, swapping stories, realizing you're sitting in one of the most unreal places on earth. But don't get it twisted, this place demands respect. The canyon is massive, and it'll remind you quick how small you are. People make it through just fine until they don't. Heat, terrain, isolation, it's not forgiving. There are spots out there where if something goes sideways, you're not just hiking your way out. That's part of what makes it real. End of the day, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. There's something about finishing a trip like this, grateful, a little humbled, maybe a little paranoid about Bigfoot, but knowing you just experienced something most people never will.

I cannot say enough good things about this company. We did a "hikers" trip and it was amazing. The…read moreguides were great. They were knowledgeable, safety conscious, friendly and so much fun. The food was amazing. We were all impressed with the guides organizational skills and their cooking . We heard all the stories about the formation of the Grand Canyon and the history of its exploration. We got to hike to some spectacular locations. We rafted 6 days from Lees Ferry to Pipeline Beach then hiked out on Bright Angel Trail. We are already making plans to return and raft from Pipeline to the end. Our trip was everything we had hoped for and more. Highly recommended!!! Arizona River Runners does a spectacular job!

This is the first time I've been here and it was quite eventful. To enter you'll need to pay $5…read morethrough the club house. There is the turf entrance but it was too hot for that. Once you go through the doors there's an escalator and stairs to go up. I got here at 12pm to get our table ready because apparently it's a packed house due to the prize amount being $200k assuming you win Turf Paradise races 3-8. I only won race 2 putting horse number 8, Dos Special Eye8Mark A. Jasso | Alex Garcia. With $2 to bet to win I won $15.80 haha! Betting on the horses using the trifecta way was very difficult and costly. You can go to the machines to bet where you'll get the change on a betting ticket to use as your money. Or you can use the cashiers to place your bets. We tried the bowl of beef chili (which was more like paste consistency rather than soup so we ate these with some of our nacho chips), nachos and chips with salsa and guacamole. Tables are very minimal and space is tight. Most are 4 chairs to a table. Our server was very friendly and attentive. There were mostly adults and few kids that attended today's event. This is wheelchair friendly too. Great for large groups as long as you reserve to have a bunch of tables near each other. I would come back again!

Turf Paradise was a really fun place to bring your friends and do a little bit of gambling. The…read morefacility however, needs some work. parking is challenging however, there is ample parking. The view while you were watching the race is beautiful with a mountain backdrop. Drinks were fairly expensive, around eight dollars for a hard seltzer. It is easy to place a bet and relatively inexpensive for that.