Wonderful historical archeology park. Land of the Salado native people. So informative and…read moreinspiring to walk through the ruins and absorb the information on the museum. What a magnificent magical (not to mention humbling) experience.

A nice archeological site that's a nice stop if you're in the area or you're interested in ancient…read moreArizona cultures. It's affordable and consists of a small museum with pottery and other artifacts, outdoor ruins from an old Salado pueblo (self-guided), and a small gift shop. There is a film you can watch at the beginning of your visit to better understand the site. Decent-size parking lot, and it's unlikely you'll be sharing the site with too many other visitors. It was fairly empty when we went on a Saturday afternoon. I like how they incorporated cacti and other elements of Arizona landscapes into the ruins. A lot of the ruins aren't accessible and can only be viewed from behind metal fencing. I fully understand wanting visitors off the ruins but wish the site had adopted more aesthetically-pleasing solutions than metal wire fencing.

Great hiking, lots to see. I went off trail a couple of times and found some really neat things.read more

Neat easy trail with plenty of offshoot trails to explore. Most of the main trail is paved…read more Bathrooms available, close location, and beautiful views from the top. 2 years ago it was filled with wildflowers but none this year!!

Had a day off from work and decided to visit this hidden gem. It's a small, intimate botanical…read moregarden that is absolutely beautiful. My only negative is that I wish there were more areas to sit down and take in the scenery.. I was happy to discover a shaded area with a table and some chairs near a chicken coop where I was able to enjoy Mother Nature. There also are stations to get food to feed the animals like the chicken, duck and fish. Also, when you enter the botanical garden, they give you a wristband that allows you to leave and re-enter for the day which is great especially because there are a couple of fun places with activities and restaurants right in the same area as the garden!!

Beautiful, relaxing, and peaceful. After the garden, we went to eat at the BBQ restaurant and it…read morewas DELICIOUS! Loved it!

There are 2 extremes to this hike. You can choose to explore the lower canyon to a beautiful…read morewaterfall at the end surrounded by cliffs and call it a day for a total of 3 miles out and back OR you can hire a guide and canyoneer the upper canyon and spend around 5-7 hours while rappelling, climbing, and wading through endless pools and more waterfalls for a total of over 5 miles. On this adventure, my hiking group decided to take the easy route and enjoy the lower canyon. It kind of reminded me of West Fork hike in Sedona, because you cross the creek bed repeatedly, and you cannot help but stop and stare in awe of how beautiful the surroundings are. The hike is peaceful and you feel kid-like once more since you are forced to climb over small boulders, get knee deep or sometimes even waist deep in water, and brush past tree branches of various foliage. The life is teeming with so many different plant species present and with the Salt River connecting nearby, you just know the place is great for fishing as well. Permits are $15 per person for day hikes. Cibecue is on sacred land so remember to enjoy the hike in all its glory but be respectful and pack out everything you bring in.

One of my favorite hikes in AZ! How can you beat stunning canyon views, creek crossings, and a…read morebeautiful waterfall at the end!? Not to mention it's in the middle of nowhere away from all civilization--a great day trip getaway to relieve yourself after a stressful workweek! A few things to note before trekking out here: -You're going to want to be driving a 4x4 or high clearance vehicle as the road from the 60 turnoff is nothing but dirt and rocks. I've seen a Prius do it but it looked painful and damaging lol. -Permits are now $30 per person and you pay with cash into a box so come prepared. I'm not a huge fan of the price hike *no pun intended* but I can see why the reservation did it reduces the crowd. -Bring sturdy water shoes or prepare to get your hiking shoes wet/muddy. I have some pretty flimsy Walmart water shoes so I opted for the latter. There are multiple creek crossings and it's not like Seven Falls or Oak Creek--there are not enough stones to hop across and you will need to walk in the water.By the end of the day, my hiking shoes were completely soaked with muddy water. They will need some deep cleaning. -Piggy-backing off the point above, if you go following a monsoon storm, expect the creek and falls to be saturated with thick mud. Grand Falls style. -PLEASE pack in what you pack out. Do not litter or leave anything behind in this beautiful place.

Boyce Thompson was a quick drive from the Phoenix valley! It was such a beautiful park. Plenty of…read moreparking and they do charge an entry fee but well worth it for the trails. We will be back to visit for sure! Xo -BB

A lovely place to walk around and enjoy varied desert plants and nature…read more We stopped here on a Sunday during a food festival event and had a nice time. They have many paths to walk around, some with a little shade and others completely exposed to the sun. They had a few fun food trucks and vendors on that day. There are also volunteers in various areas open to chatting and answering questions, some very loquacious. They're open even earlier in the summer which is essential to avoid the inevitable heat. A common spot for engagement or wedding photos, on this day there was surprisingly a group that got a little tipsy and were gently and firmly encouraged to leave. If you and another come here twice a year at least, it's worth an annual membership at $79. You also then get guests in for $5 and a 10% discount at the store. And it's a cute little store. You also get reciprocal membership to some other places and special events throughout the year.

Awesome Father's Day at Tonto Bridge! Got there at 9am when the gate opens and even when we left…read morearound 11:30am on a Sunday there were plenty of parking spots still available in each parking lot. My husband had my 17 mo in a baby carrier and we did the whole loop. We spent a little over 2 hours here. Some parts were super slippery even without water present, esp more towards the bridge, but wear hiking boots and be sure of your footings and you're going to be just fine! Take your time. Stop every now and then and just look up. It's beautiful all the rocks and mountain cliffs. It's beautiful the whole loop trail. Under the bridge the breeze and spray from the water coming down is a treat after being sweating. We saw plenty of young children take on the rocky trails. If you can physically, do the entire big loop. It's worth it.

We are a little too unstable to try the various paths down to the creek, but we did walk on the…read morepath to the four viewing points of the bridge. We got there at 9:30 and the parking lot was almost empty. By the time we left, it was hopping. So from our perspective, the best time to go is early. Of the four viewing points, number one is best for the view of the bridge and number four is best for a view of the waterfall. The park and paths are well-maintained and the person in the gift shop that took our money was incredibly helpful and cheerful. We highly recommend this park.

1st time visitor Nice little walk around the lake…read moreUnfortunately the water was really low to the point where you could walk on the area Worth visiting I am sure with the water at full level, it is a beautiful view. Look forward to visiting again

Sad. Lake SUPER low. July 2026 Park is still…read morebeautiful....west side fishing free with valid state license.

Free parking, free admission. The ghost town was located half an hour from Mesa…read more Came on a weekday morning. There was a good amount of people roaming around. The town was located really close to the Lost Dutchman State Park. All of the shops had air conditioning which was nice. The cowboy hat shop was really cool. Saw some of the hats were $79. They have a saloon called the Mammoth worth checking out. They had a lot of cute attractions, such as gold panning, mine tour, zip lining, and railroad riding. Bought a pound of copper from the museum for $50. Apparently everything in the museum was tax free. Looked like they charge $1.50 for credit card, which was not mentioned nor were there obvious signs about the credit card usage fee. Admission to the cost $10 for 13 and up, $8 for 65 and up, $5 for 8 to 12, and free for those under 8. Really fun town to spend an hour or two. Lots of things to do for all ages. All the staff were friendly. Town was clean. Would return.

What a great stop! I was on my way to tortilla flats and turned around to stop and explore this…read morelittle gem off the side of the road. They have everything from ice cream to sandwiches to a steak restaurant saloon to tattoos, ghost, mine and horseback riding tours. I was most excited to see an old town photo studio. What a fun experience! Definitely worth stopping! I had lunch at miners grill (blt) before exploring! The train tour was so cool! Tour guide Bruce was great and very funny! The mystical building was unreal. Be warned if you very motion sickness I got queasy! Matt at the mine tour was also great! Loved this so much I came back to hear the ghost tour by Michael! So good! I got lucky as I was the only one on the tour so I basically got it private tour and Michael's storytelling is off the chain! Love the multimedia to accent his stories. I'm actually going back next week and can't wait to take my mom. The ghosts tour was definitely the highlight of an already wonderful day!

A great stop to make when out in the area. We did the lower dwelling as we didn't have a…read morereservation for the upper. I would say if you only plan to do the lower dwelling I wouldn't recommend going super out of the way for this as it's a pretty quick stop. The hike up wasn't bad, but my husband and I are active. It was really interesting being able to get so close to history, and the views from up there are amazing! This has been on my bucket list for awhile and I'm glad I finally get to check it off.

I was in the area so I stopped by the tonto national monument and it was well worth the stop! My…read morefriend had an annual parks pass which provided access for all three of us. We hiked up to the lower cliff dwellings which is a short, but steep hike. It's a great view of Roosevelt Lake and the mountains from the top! The cliff dwellings are super cool to see! You can even seen remnants of grindstones. Ranger Dave was extremely nice and knowledgeable. The upper cliff dwellings can only be accessed via a ranger-led tour so I'll have to come back another day to check those out.

Man I love coming here! And it's been too long since I did. Over the weekend on Saturday I decided…read morelast moment to drive up to Payson so I could put my feet in the creek and spend some time outdoors enjoying it versus hiding from the Phx heat. I had recently been back visiting the Reno Tahoe area and this gave me the same peaceful feeling of being at water with the blue skies and green trees. Plus all the big puffy white clouds! It was a beautiful drive up, I always like the drive to payson but this time due to all the rains, it's more green than I remember it. Since I went at the last moment with no real plan, I didn't look anything up, and one thing to know is that the Horton Creek Trailhead lot is closed due to construction work so if you go, park at the Derrick Trailhead just down the road, before it. I didn't hike, I just went to sit with my feet in the creek and listen to the soothing water sounds. If you want to hike, the Horton Trail is still open, just not the trailhead parking lot. I got there at 3:30pm and had no issue finding parking. Stayed until 6:30 and had a lovely ride home as it was sunset when I got back. I'll be going back up to cool off again, it was upper 80s when I was there.

Loved this 8 miles round trip trail…read more Easy access by a regular car to the parking. Be sure to arrive early as a parking is limited. We arrived around 7am and it was about a half full. When we were ready to go home around noon, this place was packed. Most part of the trail has tree shades, with nice water sound, I felt pretty cool in the hot summer. Trail is mostly flat. Less than 1,000 feet in elevation gain. Trail has access to the creek throughout, you don't have to hike all 4 miles to enjoy cool water. Bring lots of water. I carried almost a gallon of water with me and I think I consumed 2/3 of them. I saw a camper hiking down in the morning. They said they packed everything including water and spent a night in the woods. That sounded really intriguing, I think I should really thinking about camping here someday.