My husband and I accidentally ended up here after trying to find the Apache wash trailhead. I am so…read moreglad we found this place. This is one of my new favorite trails in the valley. It is super peaceful and we only saw one or two other people (during the week). There is a large parking area and restrooms. Dogs are allowed. Horses are also allowed. I would say the trail is pretty easy in general. This is not the place for a long and strenuous uphill hike, but more of a nice stroll through the desert with stunning views and a peaceful atmosphere.

We took the Ocotillo Trail from the Desert Hills Trailhead. The distance was just over 6 miles,…read morehowever with children we were not able to make the full loop. With children in mind, I thought the trail was appropriate for them as it was fairly easy. The biggest downside of this trailhead, in my opinion, is the traffic noise from Carefree Highway. However, after you get about 1-1.5 miles into the hike you come around the Preserve and the noise disappears. As with most areas of the region, the scenery is wonderful, however on this trail the view is disrupted a bit by the sporadic neighborhood.

This is a great trail, it's about 60 minutes from Phoenix, the elevation change at the top makes…read morethis place about 20 - 30 degrees cooler than the valley, there are about two first come first served camp spots at the top. Once you park, there's a short 20 minute hike up to some radio towers with a wonderful view of the surrounding mountains and valleys. I've never camped here myself, but I usually see someone who drove in and is tent camping or camping out of a conversion van of some type. My most recent visit corresponded to a thunder storm in the valley, which meant it was a bit rainy on the hike up the trail. It's a relatively easy hike with some consistent elevation increase on the way up, you can do this hike in a pair of sneakers and a bottle of water. As far as the drive in, nothing too treacherous here, the road is passable by anything with four wheels and a driver with a bit of gumption. Four wheel drive and a high clearance vehicle is NOT required for this drive, but it certainly does make it easier to navigate. I definitely take air out of the tires for any dirt road and this is no exception; although, if you don't carry an air compressor in your vehicle, I'd suggest you don't let air out as there really isn't anywhere close by to put air back in. You can spend 5 minutes looking at the view or a couple hours. You can bring a picnic basket, your water bottle and a granola bar, or nothing at all - whatever you feel like on this excursion. It's a fairly easy destination and if you've been outside and walked more than a mile in one go within the past 6 months, this hike will be a piece of cake for you!

Quick escape from Phoenix! Temps drop about 20 degrees and nice gravel road will take you to the…read moretop (around 7000'). Epic camping and fires are allowed. Make sure you clean up your trash!

I worked with Lori setting up a half-day 'Group Event' and could not have been more pleased with…read morehow it turned out. We had a group of six people and everyone had a fantastic time. I had been looking for something with more immersion than a simple trail ride, and wanted the members of our group to experience a taste of horsemanship, rather than just hopping on a horse and going nose-to-tail for an hour. Lori worked with me to put together a full agenda including everything from a facility tour, safety/horse psychology seminar, gathering horses, to grooming, tacking up, lunch, then bridling and getting some basic riding lessons in the arena before tackling a trail ride together. We had the great privilege of meeting the one and only Rocco and having him give us a phenomenal overview of horse psychology and sharing well informed views on safety around these powerful animals. While their horses are supremely well trained (especially Jimmy!), Rocco made sure everyone understood that part of being a good horseman is having respect for the dangers associated with what you're about to do, and an understanding of how to stay safe. Lori and her wranglers, along with Rocco, joined us on the trail ride. Most barns will have only a couple wranglers for a group of our size, but Lori arranged for us to have one wrangler per guest, which was fantastic and likely helped people's confidence, since only two of us had ever ridden before. The trail ride was outstanding and so much better than your typical "follow this well worn dirt path on level ground" that I've experienced in the past with other trail riding outfits. It was much more free form and spontaneous and that made it a lot more fun. It was a great privilege to personally meet and then ride the trail with both Lori and Rocco. Their enthusiasm and energy were infectious and kept everyone in our group engaged and excited for what we were doing. In fact, every single person we dealt with was super friendly, professional and courteous. It's unfortunately quite rare to find a trail riding barn where the management appreciates that they are in a people business, not a horse business. I was really happy to see that this place was the rare exception. At the end of the day, everyone was thrilled with the experience and had a fantastic, memorable time. This was so much more than a simple trail ride, and I am so grateful that Lori was able to help me put this together. I would highly recommend this barn, whether for a trail ride or something more involved like this half-day event. It was absolutely worth it and a tremendous value that was competitively priced. Please give them a try and see for yourself, you will NOT be disappointed.

It was a really great experience such an enjoyable trail ride I would definitely recommend. It was…read morea very beautiful ride through the desert. I can't wait to do it again.

Let me recommend TUCKTEC to you folks. It's a foldable,lightweight kayak that does well on Rim…read moreLakes. I'm a happy kayaker that can manage getting this great kayak in and out of the back seat of my Jeep! #tucktec

My family just moved close to Bartlett Lake and we were so excited to go paddle boarding and…read morekayaking. We've gone paddle boarding and kayaking before and it has always been such a fun experience for all of us. When I made a reservation there were no kayaks available which was fine so I booked 5 paddle boards. The cost was about $124. We were advised to arrive 30 minutes before 8:00 AM so that we could check in. We went to the Go Stand Up Paddle area in the marina and were met by the very abrasive owner, Chad. He was not wearing a mask and he was talking very closely (like 1 foot away from our faces). He told us to fill out the paperwork and we asked if he had any kayaks available and he said there was a cancellation so three of my family members were able to use them. While he was helping out another group we waited around for 20 minutes. No one spoke to us or tried to provide good customer service. Out of nowhere Chad starts yelling at his employee to help us and make sure that they charge us correctly for the kayaks. This was extremely uncomfortable to watch as a customer and I felt very bad for the employee. Chad took me to his office and he started cursing and using crass language so that was off putting. He told me that he was saving us money by foregoing all of the fees from their billing company and that my new total was $184. That was fine. He charged my card and my family and I waited for him to help the group before us. After about another 20 minutes (about 10-15 minutes after our reservation time) Chad came back and started talking to us about how to use the paddle boards. We told him that we knew how to use them so he didn't explain much, but just kept looking at us up and down. I could feel him judging us. Chad led my sister and I to the paddle boards and he gave me a very small lightweight one and my sister a sturdy and long one. He told me that the one he gave me was his professional one that he used in races and not to damage it. If you don't want customers to damage your personal belongings why would you allow them to rent it out? He kept telling me to stand in the middle of the board but from previous experience I know that it's best to stand a little bit towards the back of it. He also said some very rude things to my sister when I left them at the dock. He questioned her paddle boarding experience and condescendingly asked "Have you even done this before?". My experience during the two hours out on the water was pretty miserable. The board Chad gave me was so light to the point where it was so difficult to balance especially when the wake from the boats were so strong. He honestly should just rent out the longer paddle boards to his customers because most of us just want to paddle board for fun. Thankfully my family made this time worthwhile and took my mind off of how condescending and rude he was towards us. A few hours after we left the marina I checked my bank statements. Chad refunded us the $124 from the previous booking but charged us $184 and $190, which made no sense and is a large sum. I called him immediately and he said that he actually was trying to save us money and that he didn't know he charged us twice. He told me he would call his billing service right away. A few days later I did not see the entire refund back in bank account so I called him. Chad got mad at me and said I was annoying for calling him about it. Excuse me, but you charged me $190 extra, of course I'm going to call you. He kept cutting me off when I tried explaining what my bank account was showing and he told me he would contact me as soon as he called his billing service. I waited a few days and he never called back and I didn't see the refund. I called and texted him yesterday with no response, but I finally received the remainder of the refund this morning. I wish he would have notified me that he did in fact reach out to his payment system. All in all I will not come back and rent from this company. I would not recommend Go Stand Up Paddle to anyone I know unless they wanted to be belittled and judged.

Chad who runs the place is totally unprofessional and we had to wait for over an hour, on our dime,…read moreto get him to finally show up to work. We paid for 3 hours and got 1 1/2 hours because he was late. Would not take any responsibility for his being late. All the lakes have marinas with kayak rentals. Good luck using this one.

Jeeps are well equipped and maintained. Owner is friendly and knowledgeable. This would be a 5…read morestar review if the Jeep trails were accurate in the GPS preprogrammed as it was in the printed binder that is provided. They don't match and some info is not accurate. We are considering buying a jeep and this was a great way to try one on for size.

This is very much an easy 5 star review to give. We wanted to take an adventure rig into Sedona for…read morethe day. The Broken River trail was something we wanted to experience. The owner, Jim, worked with us to get the right vehicle and made sure we had what we needed to get up and back in a day-- which is what we wanted to do. We had trail maps, trail GPS, and the perfect vehicle to adventure in. The Rubicon was flawless and handled the trail easily. It was decked out with pod lighting, compressor, first aid kit, cables, cb, winch, and a cooler-- among other things. But really it comes back to Jim. He went above and beyond to ensure we had the adventure we wanted and was flexible in making sure we got it. It was a perfect day, and Red Rock Adventure Rentals made it possible. They have a good inventory of various vehicles and I highly recommend them.

The best way to get here is either by Jeep, 4 x 4, or a side by side. It did take us all day from 9…read morea.m. until 2 p.m. to get to the end and back.

A great and cooler day for an exuberant hike up Black Mountain. The route is uphill and will get…read moreyour heart pumping within minutes. Wear appropriate shoes, take plenty of water, use sunscreen and use your shades or cap. This is not a beginner's walk. Smooth terrain initially and then it will become dirt and rocks. Watch your footing, stay on the trail and be alert. Rattlesnakes are still out so watch your step. Parking below.

How do you rate a hike like this?! 5 stars with alot of asterisks!…read more My fiancé is the experienced hiker. Lover of trail runs, marathons, and completing the types of challenging hikes they make documentaries about, this hike albeit steep was a breeze. He ran a few miles to the trailhead, hiked the mountain, then ran back to the hotel three times during our stay. I, on the other hand am not a fan of early mornings or strenuous hikes but I do love a good challenge. In lieu of beating my time up Toms Thumb, I tackled Black Mountain solo, and let me tell you, if my 4'11", geriatric knee having, asthmatic, former athlete self can complete this hike, you can too! Yes, it's pretty dang steep. I wish someone would have warned me that instead of riding switchbacks, you are climbing straight up, gaining elevation very quickly, but it does make for a fun change of pace. Personally, it took me an hour up, and an hour down (so two hours total), and my partner made it up in 30 minutes, and down in around the same (so an hour total). Here are a few tips no matter your skill level: *bring water, a snack or two, sunscreen, sunshades, and considering how steep this bad boy is, wear hiking shoes with good grips. I hiked in October 2024, so I'm not sure if you'd need to modify for other times of the year. *know that although there are a good amount of shops if you make it to the Spanish Village, there aren't a ton of walkable roads in the surrounding town of carefree. In fact, there are a few residents that live on this mountain, and may encounter cars on your way up to the trailhead marker. *all trails is an amazing app to have handy for this and other solo hikes if you're going alone or would like to track your time/ensure you stay on the trail (it buzzed a few times to alert me that I was no longer on the trail...whoops) *the view is nice...even if you don't make it to the top, you're in for a visual treat!