I had heard good things about this trail and it has a cool name, so I decided to check it out one…read moremorning. I didn't want to pay for parking so I started at a different trailhead and hiked a few kilometers to get to the beginning of this trail. I saw a good amount of people along the way, but not too many. They were all courteous and respectful of the trail and its rules. There are lots of switchbacks and some decent elevation, I'd classify it as a moderate hike. The top with the "cave" was nice, more like an indentation, and I saw 2 chipmunks. I guess I didn't make it all the way to the top according to my map, but close enough. I went back down the trail and continued on my loop back to the parking lot I came from. There isn't much cover from the sun so be sure to dress appropriately, wear sunscreen, a hat, drink water, etc. I'm glad I got to do this trail.

This was a good workout and moderately challenging trail. We got started a bit too late so it was…read more"hot" on the trail. I'm glad I was wearing a hat, sunscreen, and had plenty of water. The weather was nice today, it's just a lot of sun exposure on the trail. I saw people of all ages on the trail and dogs are allowed. Personally it was a bit busy on the trail for my liking and I don't love paying $7 to access a trail but we were hiking with a friend who is new to the area and thought this is a nice intro to AZ hiking. There are plenty of other trails in the Usery Mountain Regional Park to check out as well, but we were ready to head out after this trail. Wind cave trail is 3.2 miles out and back, it's about 1,000ft elevation gain and on average takes about 2 hrs to complete. One interesting thing we found at the "cave" area at the top was large honey comb coming out of the rock. There are quite a few bees there and man I would have loved to eat that honey comb haha. That added an element of interest. Overall, nice hike and a good mix of effort. I would have liked to do it earlier in the day, but I'm sure it was even busier then so it worked out.

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 road is incredible. It is full of twists and turns at every corner. We had such a great time…read moredriving down to Apache Lake. The views were remarkable on this road. But beware it is a very dangerous road.

They say that no visit to Phoenix is complete without driving the Apache Trail. Not quite willing…read moreto trust our budget car on the no doubt rocky terrain we took a jeep tour that started at Goldfield Ghost Town at the Apache Junction. The trail is fairly long and very scenic. You'll definitely see a lot of cacti, especially the Saguaro, on your drive. I was very glad someone else was driving because I swear at one stage one of our tires was actually hanging out over the edge! The Saguaro is known as the Hotel of the Sonoran Desert and is the most amazing plant. However it is extremely slow growing, taking between 60-80 years just to develop an arm, and slow to propagate! I'm not sure if its true but our tour guide said that literally millions of seeds would probably produce just one Saguaro. This is probably why they are therefore protected so if one gets in the way of you building a house you have to apply for permission for it to be moved and then I think it has to be returned to the same spot.

I like this trailhead. There is one closer to home that I frequent, but every once in a while I…read moremake my way over here. It's easy to get to and there are signs from Via Linda. Plenty of parking and there are bathrooms and a water fountain, plus a bottle filling dispenser. There's hardly ever a crowd here, which I prefer. I've done a few of the trails, including Lost Dog, Old Jeep, and most recently, Sunrise trail. This one connects to, you guessed it, the Sunrise trail. That one is not my favorite, and it takes longer to get to the trailhead, so I don't go there often. However, this trailhead allows me to get to the sunrise peak (which I enjoy) and continue to the back trail (Andrew Kinsey). From there, I take it until I reach the Adero Canyon trailhead, which is in Fountain Hills. This is a well-maintained trailhead with all the necessary amenities, clearly labeled signs, and lots of trails to choose from depending on preference of difficulty/length/group. Highly recommend!

Just finished a workout and thought I could use some time outside. Alternating Trail running and…read morewalking for me today. Plus an EPIC sunset as my reward!! Really great quick hike before sunset. I like this trail a lot. To the look out spot it's one mile out. Not busy at all on Thursday afternoon. Big fluffy clouds in the sky and perfect temperature out. Weather app says it's 65° right now. Lots of parking, there's a restroom at the trailhead. What's not to like. There are other longer trails to take here, but going to the look out spot is all I wanted for today! Came back to the trailhead l/ parking lot with a lit up sky.

I love this trail. Two peaks up and down. Nothing too difficult some beautiful vistas. It's a quick…read moretrail with three good parking spots.

Parking lot is small; we were lucky to find a spot around noon on a Thursday. No bathrooms at the…read moretrail head and several were "popping a squat" and leaving behind their toilet paper which was kind of gross. Also no enforcement of the required permit and no other vehicles had parking passes displayed on their dash as instructed by the permit guidelines. Trail is not marked at all and we did get off trail by accident a few times coming down. The entirety of the trail is rocky, which doesn't matter as much during the first mile that is relatively flat but did require strategic footing on the way up the last half mile and extreme caution coming down. I slid several times despite being extra cautious (and saw many others sliding too) and even fell twice (luckily didn't get hurt). There was a small bee hive at the wave and bees followed us the entire way back to the parking lot. Saw some birds and lizards. Made it up in an hour and took just about the same amount of time coming down with full sun the entire time. I recommend this hike because the wave cave is a cool feature but I don't think I'd do it again because of the trail conditions and bees.

Definitely worth the hike, it was a moderate level hike but definitely had me winded at points…read more Check it out if you're in the area!

Adj: Fancy and Fun at Fountain Park…read more So while on a trip to AZ, we came to this park kind of on a whim because we were staying in Fountain Hills. It was close to the hotel we stayed at and I read some great things about this park and my kids loved playgrounds, so off we go. It's been redone so it did not always look so fancy schmancy, but let me tell you this town and neighborhood is quite well to do so I think the funding is not lacking. The park is right next to the man-made lake which is made famous because of the fountain that goes off multiple times every day! But back to the park, the playground really is fun. There's things to climb, slide down, run onto, jump up and down on, and even a zip-line like thing that was kind of scary for me (yes, I'm a scaredy cat). My kids had a great time on that thing and my son in particular went crazy on it going back and forth multiple times. Overall, this is a great park, the playground alone is worth a visit, but then there's covered seating area not far from the playground, and right next to that there's a musical section where you can hit on different metallic objects to make music! My kids really had fun w/those things. There are benches for parents to chill after exertions on the play structure. The view of the lake is nice from anywhere at the park too. Lovely and enjoyable. We would love to visit again.

2.14.26 - Concours In The Hills Car Show…read more I attended this annual event for the first time this year. Car show started at 11am and ended at 3pm. I wanted to be there right at 10am because I know events like these can get pretty busy, and I was right. We didn't get there til about 11ish. My friends lagged plus there was a bit of traffic right at the exit. The plaza closest to the park was completely packed full. People were making their own parking spots in there. You just have to park at the first spot you can find and walk to the park. There are many cars of all makes and models to see. I like that they categorized them and put all the same types together. Cars filled the grass all around the entire park. There are plenty of drink/food stands and food trucks as well if you get thirsty or hungry out there. We walked the entire park but I think we may have missed a few things. I saw in another review that there is a spot with musical instruments somewhere at the park! I didn't see that but would have loved it. The day started off nice but it got warm pretty quick that day. Free water bottles were available at the Phoenix Children's booths. The event was cool to see and different. It seems pretty organized. I personally don't like walking on grass though, especially where dogs are allowed. Definitely come early though for parking and to enjoy the event before it gets hot later in the day.

A fun loop trail with nice vegetation, a few wash crossings and a lot of connector trails. It is a…read moresolid, runnable 5K loop that has slight grades and a mostly clear route -- no rock scrambling needed. This one is doable on a bike, even if you're not that experienced, though there's a bit of sand west of the horse staging parking area. There are (flush!) toilets and a water fountain at the trailhead.

Blevins Trail in Usery Mountain Regional Park is a gem! It's a perfect, moderate hike with stunning…read morevistas and peaceful surroundings. A favorite spot for every visit--always an amazing experience! Saluti