This hiking trail is a bit of a challenge. Last 10% is very steep. Bring a lot of water!!! Parking sucks in the morning. Overall nice hike.

A great hike for the family and stunning views of the city.

Slightly challenging but the view is worth it! We were in from out of town and hiked up to see the sunset. This might have been a total rookie mistake since it is the hottest around 4-5pm. Hiking for a 7:30pm sunset,in July, was pretty hot and sweaty. I would have loved to go return for sunset or an early morning hike. There were children and elderly individuals doing the trail so I'd say anyone is capable, just go at your own pace! read more

Amazing trails with options for everyone. Make sure you check a trail map before going to decide which trail is best for you. There's some, such as summit trail, that don't allow dogs because of the steep incline. Will definitely be back soon! read more

A poor mans gym. Love it all the time. Great views from the top, 30-45 minutes of up make for great exercise. A diverse crowd all the time. Love Piestewa Peak hiking. read more

Nice longish and strenuous hike in town and close to the airport. Lots of people of all fitness levels can be found making their way up this one. We found a survey marker at the top of the rocky summit-cool! There were a few plastic bottles that people had dropped along the way. I carried a couple off to the bottom but wished I had brought a bag to carry more. I didn't see this on any other trails in Arizona. This was a popular and busy trail, which I'm sure accounts for the small amount of garbage left behind. If I do it again, I'll definitely be better prepared to pick up after my fellow humans. read more

Piestewa Peak - Parks Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

I love the nature trail. It is perfect way to get out of town without actually getting out of town. It is especially nice early in the morning. My dog is a little older, so it is perfect for her. read more

First and only hike in Arizona. Watched the sunset and it had stunning views. You can literally see all of the Greater Phoenix Area. Highly recommended, especially since its free. read more

I loved this hike! Was way more than I bargained for but worth every step! Don't be discouraged when you think you've made it to the top, but it turns out to be the next turn. The view from the real top was gorgeous! I will definitely do it again! read more

One of my favorite hikes in the valley! Very doable hike, places to take a break if needed! A lot easier to park than Camelback and a shorter hike. Always a good choice when the weather is nice! If you can time it to be at the top or just heading down around sunset, you'll have an incredible view! read more

Climbing the face of the mountain is quite a fun challenge!! read more

Piestewa Peak - Climbing up the face of the mountain is quite a fun challenge! - Parks Near Me - Phoenix, Arizona

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Not the kind of place you can go to get away from it all, but it's a solid hike up and has a beautiful view. Close enough in that the drive isn't too bad. Lots of little critters, so look out. read more

Very busy on weekends, no parking, hike to hike trail. Wish we could have tried the trails.

Visited Scottsdale area for a long weekend with a desire to do some mountain running. Views from this peak and the journey up are 5 star. You gain 1000+ft of elevation in just over 1 mile which leads to many many places to stop along the way for excellent views. The ease of getting to the mountain and amenities close by (Starbucks less than a mile away!) is nice; however, the flip side is the crowd.. on a Sunday morning the trail was like the morning commute to Boston on I-93.. totally packed. This made it less of an experience as the sheer number of people was overwhelming. Note: this is a very steep hike.. more like doing steps for about a 40 minute journey to the top (if you are in decent shape!). read more

awesome place to have so close. but can't take the pooch, so that's a bummer. great to be able to park there late and do night hikes to the top. weird cat like animal up there and sometimes quite a few scorpions. saw a rattlesnake once as well. great escape except on weekends when it's busier than bianco's pizzaria on half-price pizza day. read more

Ok, so to be fair this is a beautiful hike and challenging, but not out of this world hardcore, so let's get that out of the way. If I were rating the hike only I would give it a 5. My issue with this park is there is NO PARKING!! And worst of all if you park at the Navajo parking lot there is a long stretch on the side of the road that lacks NO PARKING signs. So me and 20 other hikers got parking tickets on February 13th 2016, compliments of Park Ranger Olson, who is very nice and just doing his job, told me at my parking ticket hearing this is a BIG MONEY GENERATOR for the city of Phoenix. Sadly the money doesn't even go to the park itself for more parking or restoration It goes into the deep black hole of the City of Phoenix . So, yesterday I went to the Phoenix municipal court to fight the ticket and my argument was that there is lack of parking signs on that stretch of Piestewa Peak Pkwy so a patron could mistakenly think it was ok to park on the side of the road, I was told that there is a sign at the front of the park stating "no parking unless in designated parking areas." Since there was no sign where I parked I figured it was safe to park there. The judge told me it wasn't realistic for the city of Phoenix to put no parking signs in that stretch of the parkway where I parked which leads me to believe the city LOOOOOOVES this money that is guaranteed to come in. I drove from Gilbert and ya know what?? I think I'll stay in the underpopulated Superstition and San Tan mountains. There's plenty of parking, sure there's a $7 fee to get in but at least I know I won't get slapped with a $87 ticket ($107 if its past 30 days) This was my second attempt to go hiking there, my first was in January of 2016 and that time there was no parking either. I actually turned around and went to another place in the city of Phoenix to hike that day. Huge disappointment. HUGE HUGE HUGE!!!!!!!!! Don't go, Park Ranger Olson will get his wish. read more

I took this hike in January of this year. I would rate this hard, but not so hard that it can't be done by someone of an average fitness level. It was harder than I thought for me but I blame the holidays for that. I gotta admit I was a bit out of shape. I would recommend doing the Summit Trail, this is the more challenging trail. I started my hike a little before 7:00 AM and there were a few people there already so get there early. A lot of parking space at this time in the morning, not sure if that's the case as the day gets going. The terrain is very rocky, so I would highly recommend wearing hiking boots. My boots saved my ankles a few times. Arizona weather is tough, and even in January by the time the sun came out it was pretty warm. Bring lots of water, you will sweat a lot, you will need it. Take your time and take breaks. You can always use the short breaks to take a few pics. Making it to the top is very satisfying and the view from the top is amazing. read more

This was an amazing experience. I highly recommend that anyone in the area check this out. It is challenging to summit, however, once you reach the top the view is stunning. Some of the rocks on the way down can be a bit slippery, so be careful. Enjoy! read more

Piestewa Peak has definitely become one of my favorite hikes here in Arizona. With my beloved Camelback put on the side burner while under construction, we have substituted Piestewa to fill in the gaps. This hike, in my opinion, is the hike most similar to Camelback when it comes to difficulty and time. I think Camelback may have an edge on this mountain with a little more steepness, but I feel like it's pretty darn close. There are some moments of omg, but I was surprised that I wasn't as tired at the top when compared to Camelback. I have a friend that lives really close to the mountain so we all hiked it together. The views are gorgeous, but for some reason there was a swarm of tiny bugs at the top one time that we went, I have no idea what they were but I felt like I was inhaling them lol. This hike took me about 50 minutes up and 25 minutes down and I'd say I'm a novice hiker. With the weather cooling down the mountain gets busy, I'm glad people are staying active! See you on the trails Yelpers! read more

its a good distance and a definite workout and a great top view, the only thing that sucks is how busy it can be on weekends, i had to stop repeatedly for people coming in the other direction, dont forget to touch the gold coin thing when you hit the summit, also the parking facilities were pretty good read more

I visited Phoenix and learned that Piestewa Peak was a popular place for local residents. So, I joined the hikers. The hike was tough, but I was encouraged by too many hikers on a way, and slowly but surely went up. It took me 5 hours to get to the top and returned. The challenge was paid off - The view was breathtaking and unforgettable. And the pride that I accomplished it at age of 60 was overwhelming. Younger and more prepared hikers take only 1-2 hours round trip. Also, I carried 3 bottles of water, and on my way back I learned that it was not enough. I got stuck on the trail about 15 minutes to the bottom of the mountain extremely overheated and exhausted without water. I have to thank a good American - Good Samaritan - who hiked by and surrendered his bottle of water that saved my life. I will keep him in my prayers for as long as I live. Later I learned that I took the most difficult Summit trail. Though, I have no regrets. Just want to warn you, be better prepared. read more

my favorite hike in the area! i love how simple it is, yet how unique the landscape is! you go past water, large rocks, narrow paths, and wide more manicured paths. it's not difficult, but a good work out, and definitely worth the drive a little outside of the city! read more

great time with my family of 5, kids ages 11,10, and 8. Their first real hike and they did the entire trip back and forth with stops and pictures in about 2 hours :) good way to kick off a day trip to Phoenix. read more

Great hike. Very rigorous. I recommend doing it very early to avoid the crowd (it was PACKED!) Bring a lot of water. I recommend 1.5-2 Liters. read more

I moved away from Phoenix seven years ago, and I really miss running squaw peak. I ran the mountain twice every day for ten years (my average time to the top was 18 minutes). If you want to get fit, this mountain will do it! read more

I climbed Piestewa Peak Summit Trail on the morning of 10/16/10. What a great hike! Very challenging, yet can be done by people in good, but not great shape like myself. I did the hike by myself, brought my camera, cell phone, a bottle of water, and wore a good pair of tennis shoes, that's really all you need. My 21-year old daughter and 13-year old twin sons have also done the hike at a separate time, just need to get my wife to do it. What spectacular views of the city and the outlying areas once I reached the top! Word to the wise, if you are not in good shape, or are afraid of heights, then you should not attempt to climb this. It's very steep in places and when you think you're just about done, you realize you still have a long way to go. Take your time on the way up, I climbed it in about an hour, which I felt was just the right pace. It was 85 degrees when I climbed it, and i felt if it were any hotter, I might not have made it. Plan to climb Camelback Echo Canyon Trail tomorrow, we'll see how that goes. read more

Spectacular 360° views of the valley and surrounding mountains. Also great for a challenging workout. What else? Better parking than camelback. If you haven't hiked it yet, do it. Its awesome. read more

Recently walked counter-clockwise on the 302 during my visit there last week during the Fiesta Bowl week. I had my two dogs with me and was glad to get a hike in just under 4 miles. I chose to hike the 302 because at the trail head it indicated that dogs were allowed on leashes. This trail has a lot of good climbing on it and I felt it wasn't really suited for walking dogs on leashes. Since there wasn't a lot of people around I took the dogs off their leashes and it made it easier to climb and descend for all of us. My dogs are well behaved but I had the leashes in my hands at all times in case I came upon any people or other timid dogs. On the northwest side of the trail (about 3 miles into the hike I came across a sign that read: 'NO DOGS ARE ALLOWED ON THE 302 PORTION OF THE SUMMIT TRAIL OR ANY OTHER PART OF THE SUMMIT TRAIL'. Thus I walked down the peak into a maze of neighborhoods. There was now way of proceeding with my dogs on this trail. Does anyone know if that was permissible or not? I was dropped off so I had my party come pick me up in the neighborhood. Just doesn't seem right to list it as dog accessible then take out the ability on that particular portion. read more