Such a gorgeous and interesting place. Feels like an escape. Trail is not hard…read more -parking on the street -wear pants you are okay with sliding down a granite rock with -bring grippy shoes if you want to climb rocks -mostly just a long walk -be aware of mountain bikers

The hike up to Fatman's Pass via Mormon Loop Trail is not very difficult. Completed the hike and…read morejust over two hours with ample stops. I am a moderate hiker, not novice but not advanced by any means and thought this trail was fairly easy even after a long summer of not hiking outside in the brutal Phoenix heat. The trail is very rocky and requires a close eye on your footing to not trip. The trail is mostly clearly marked. However, there were a few instances where I had to pull out my AllTrails map just to verify that I didn't veer off the trail down a wash or an unofficial pathway that other hikers has created. Fatman's Pass should be actually be called Not-Fatman's as the opening between the two rocks is very narrow. I could barely fit with my Camelback on my back and my hat on my head. Others have reported there is no shade along the trail; however, I did find a few shady spots around noon on a November day. There's also ample shade at the pass itself. I chose to take the loop counterclockwise and glad I did! My original theory was that it looked to be a sharper incline going uphill and I prefer to do that versus a steep decline. But to my surprise after the pass, there were very slippery, smooth granite rocks that we were sliding across even with proper footwear. I decided to use five points of contact and slide down on my bottom, just to make sure that I didn't slip and fall. I saw a number of hikers with their dogs and think this trail would be okay in the cooler months with plenty of water. But I would feel very nervous about taking my own dog on those slippery granite rocks. Maybe I'd hold my dog in my lap and slide down and pretend I was on a playground with a friend at the bottom to catch us. lol! I saw several chipmunks, dragonflies, and even a small snake (not a rattlesnake) on the trail. Not very buggy and pretty clean minus a couple not-picked up dog poops. There is a small parking lot at the trailhead and plenty of street parking in the surrounding neighborhood. There is no bathroom or water station so make sure to use the bathroom and fill up your water before hitting the trailhead!

Massacre falls is awesome to visit when the waterfall is going strong. With all the recent rain…read moreit's pretty great right now. I've done this trail a few years ago. The water fall was much more impressive this time. I will say that this time it felt way harder than I remember. Overall I think we hiked about 7 miles out to the falls & back to the parking area. There is a gradual increase in elevation as you hike up to the waterfall. I don't remember all that, I thought the trail was more flat. The views are gorgeous, especially at sunset. This hiking area is next to the Lost Dutchman State Park which charges for admission. Same overall area but no fee to hike up to Massacre falls. Highly recommend it!

Amazing hike not to bad early in the morning took our husky she loved it and our new puppy his…read morefirst hike ever and wasn't hard for him at all!

Nice trail to walk especially with doggos! They love seeing all the bunnies and ducks on the trail…read moreas we walk and are always ready for naps by the end of it. Such nice scenery and very well lit at night as well on one segment of the trail which is about .50 long and enough to get their energy out at night while still feeling safe

I'm currently training for a half marathon and I had seen this trail in passing and thought it…read moremight be a good place to do my "long runs". It is perfect for a nice a easy run. I was able to go 12.5 miles and while it was not easy (because of the distance) the trail itself was flat and there was a lot to see. Cows, ducks, llamas, pretty parks, people riding horses...you've got it all! Definitely better than my typical Chandler green belt jaunts!

Excellent trail on this chilly morning and I'm very proud of how all the kiddos did. The telegraph…read morepass trail has some incline to it, we went to the old rock "house" structure at the top. Great views. The parking lot here is big and there's a restroom and water fountain. We got started at 8am and it wasn't super busy yet. As day went on more people seemed to be on the trail. It's dog friendly which is great since my boy Flynn loves to hike. Great hike with my peoples.

This review is for Telegraph Pass Trail. It is an easy to moderate 2.3-mile out-and-back trail in…read morethe Ahwatukee foothills area near the AZ-202. The facilities at the start of the trailhead are pretty nice and clean. I love doing this hike in the evening because you get gorgeous views of the Valley at night. Once you get to the top next to Summit Rd (the road is paved), there is bench that you can rest on. There you can get some great panoramic pictures of the Valley with Sky Harbor airport and Camelback Mountain in the background. Once at the top, you have the option of heading back or accessing one of a few trails that connect to it. There is a little stone house to the west and the transmitter towers that blink red at night on South Mountain to the east. We once brought up s'mores to the stone house at night and had some campfire fun over a mini propane stove. If you continue on with the Kiwanis trail from here, you can see some Hohokam rock art. Telegraph Pass is one of my favorite Valley trails and makes for a fun quick hike.

I came here on a Saturday morning to run, and I arrived at the parking lot at 10:15AM. Note that…read moresince this is inside Usery Mountain Regional Park, there's a $7 per motor vehicle. The parking lot was entirely full and street parking was pretty full too, but luckily I snagged a spot right at the trailhead as a car left. I went clockwise on the trail, and the map at the beginning says this trail is 7.5 miles (but actually if I add up the mileage on the map, it's 7.6 miles). The views before going down were good but once I went to the back of the mountain, the views weren't very good. Completely unshaded, most people are going counterclockwise so I ran into a lot of hikers, a few bikes, and even a horseback rider and his horse. Some parts of the path are a bit rockier than the others, but all manageable for running.

I spend much of my time on this trail running, especially if I want something that provides a lot…read moreof varied terrain and isn't too crowded. Wind Cave is an awesome workout, but it is typically a lot more crowded. A good portion of the trail is runnable, which is nice. For a moderate running pace, two hours should be fine. In talking to people on the trail, it seems that hikers typically plan 3.5-4 hours to do the whole thing. Maybe longer if you stop at the saddle to have a snack and enjoy the views for a bit. Speaking of that, there are several places to stop and enjoy the views, especially on the backside of the mountain, and it is really beautiful when the desert blooms. I was out here a few years ago when we got snow on January 1, and that was pretty cool to see. These days, I mostly see hikers, although there are some adventurous mountain bikers -- there is an interesting climb (or descent, depending on your chosen direction) just before/after the saddle. I've seen people carrying their bikes on that one. I think tackling this trail clockwise on a bike might be best, although I typically run it counterclockwise to get the rougher parts of the trail out of the way first. The trail is pretty rocky in spots between Blevins and the saddle. It is good to note that you can jump on this trail either from the Wind Cave or Blevins (Trailhead Staging Area) parking areas, but the marked trailhead is at the Blevins parking lot. There is nowhere to get water, except at the Wind Cave trailhead, which, depending on where you park, could be your start/end point. It is best to bring all that you'll need, especially in the summer. This is a loop trail, but there are really no shortcuts out of the trail, so you either plan to do the whole thing or pick a spot to turn around when you're halfway done with hiking. (The trail does connect to the Cat Peaks trail about a mile from the Blevins trailhead, and forks off to connect with the Arizona Trail, but once you're really into the trail, there are much fewer options.) As for shade, the only real shade is provided during certain parts of the year and times of day at the saddle. There are some trees and, if you can crouch in the shadow of some rock formations, you can find a little. Beyond that, it is pretty sparse. I suggest starting early in the morning. Keep an eye out for wildlife. I have scared several deer and jackrabbits in addition to the usual lizards, squirrels and occasional rattlesnake. There is a $6 fee to enter the park by car ($2 if you bike, walk, or run in) and the Maricopa County Parks pass is good here.

This is a nice hike to take if you want great views of the Valley. I highly recommend doing this…read morehike in the early evening so you can see the lights around the Valley come on. Just make sure you bring a flightlight or headlamp. The trailhead is located in the Superstition Mountains in Apache Junction. I consider it easy to moderate as there are lots of rocks to walk over at the beginning of the trail and an elevation climb as you get near the cave. The total distance is 4 miles RT. The Broadway trailhead is tucked into a neighborhood and has a very small parking lot. Keep this in mind if you are hiking with a group of people. At the beginning of the trailhead, you will embark on your adventure using Jacob's Crosscut Trail. At the half mile point, you'll see the first intersection where you'll want to stay left along Jacob Crosscut Trail. At the second intersection, head right towards Broadway Cave (don't take the Jacob's Crosscut path at this point). The trail will get very narrow at this point as you ascend to the cave. The view of the Valley is amazing in the evening. My group hung out for a few hours as we ate snacks and took photos inside the cave. I hear there are bats in the cave, but we didn't see any. Once again, remember to bring a headlamp if hiking at night and sunscreen during the day. Enjoy this hidden gem of a hike!

Trail has good views as you ascend. The path is very rocky…read moreso footing can be unstable at times. There were not any "flat" areas on the trail. I recommend hiking poles. The total trip is 4.2 miles out and back. It's a slow incline but gets steeper in the last half mile. The trail can be considered moderate difficulty due to terrain and path being narrow with lots pokey vegetation along the way. The last half of the trek is shaded in the early morning as the sun moves to the west you will be totally exposed. The bugs were out in full force in early May. I wish I had bug spray.

Easy little hikes - bit of a drive out of the way but so worth it. One of the rare natural bridges…read morebuilt in this way

I just finished a 3 day, 25+ mile hike through the Tonto Forest(I started walking from Scottsdale,…read moreto Fountain Hills then up 87 North through the forest stopping to hike various trails). I was carrying about 50 pounds of gear. I had a great time. The wild horses in the Verde River was amazing! Then I really enjoyed the landscapes and Saguaro Lake and Salt River Canyon were major highlights. I saw alot of gorgeous birds(hummingbirds, eagles, cactus wrens etc.). The only negative(a big one) is no water fountains/running water at ANY of the federal recreation sites and the Saguaro one even closed up all their toilets! There was also no electricity available to charge my phone. That would have knocked it down to 4 stars but the natural beauty of the Forest is so amazing, I still rank it a 5 overall.

Nice river walk. Start at the casino. Out and back trail. No maps! See photos-only map I found.read more

if you're staying at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa this trail is located right on the…read moreresort. if you're not there are plenty of ways to get on this trail as well. as it looked like there were a lot of open spaces where folks can just walk on at any time. you'll be walking through the resort golf course. it's a dirt path. there's no incline and is flat all the way which makes it a super easy trail. there are times when you'll have to cross the street so do take caution and look both ways before crossing the street. i loved that there were signs that informed you of which plants were which or even information providing history of certain things. so it was a very educational hike. there wasn't any shades on this hike so do wear a hat, put on sunscreen, and bring some water as it is arizona and it can get pretty hot.