Hiking activities in Southwest
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White Tank Mountain Regional Park
An urban playground, on the Valley’s western edge, is the 46-sq-mile White Tank Mountain Regional Park. Better known as the White Tanks, it drapes across dramatic canyon landscape and is zigzagged by 26 miles of trails, including a grueling one to the top of the 4018ft summit. The park entrance is about 20 miles west of I-17 via Dunlap/Olive Ave.
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Phoenix South Mountain Park
Phoenix South Mountain Park offers more than 40 miles of trails to hike or bike, where civilization feels thousands of miles away, as well as dozens of Native American petroglyph sites. Drive to the top along small crazy-curving roads and you're rewarded with a view of the valley below. Horseback riding is also available.
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Latir Lakes
Take NM 522 north past the El Rito turnoff, which accesses the elk-infested Latir Peak Wilderness, with mesas at 12,000ft and higher, administrated by the Questa Ranger District. Privately owned Latir Lakes, eight alpine gems set into 12,700ft Latir Peak, are worth the hike that begins here.
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Piestewa Peak/Dreamy Draw Recreation Area
Dotted with saguaros, ocotillos and other local cacti, this convenient park was previously known as Squaw Peak. It was renamed for local Native American soldier Lori Piestewa who was killed in Iraq in 2003. Be forewarned: the trek to the 2608ft summit is hugely popular and the park can get jammed on winter weekends. Parking lots northeast of Lincoln Dr between 22nd and 24th Sts fill early. Dogs are allowed on some trails.
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Hyde Memorial State Park
Hyde Memorial State Park, northeast of Santa Fe near the ski base, offers a number of hikes. Try the 5-mile Borrego-Bear Wallow Loop to Tesuque Creek, which starts at the north end of Hyde Memorial State Park.
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Norwegian Outdoor Exploration Center
Take a hike with Norwegian Outdoor Exploration Center, a nonprofit educational guide service supporting at-risk youths. It leads terrific wildflower and backcountry tours for about $20 per person.
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Arizona Outback Adventures
Offers day trips for hiking ($95, minimum two people), mountain biking ($125, minimum two people), and other active outings.
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Backcountry Hikes
Only 1% of all visitors venture onto the backcountry hikes. You won't walk among many hoodoo formations here, but you will pass through forest and meadows with distant views of rock formations. And oh, the quiet. The 23-mile Under-the-Rim Trail, south of Bryce Amphitheater, can be broken into several athletic day hikes. The 11-mile stretch between Bryce Point and Swamp Canyon is one of the hardest and best. Get backcountry permits and trail info from rangers at the visitor center.
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Backcountry
Zion has hundreds of miles of backcountry hiking trails, wilderness camping and enough quiet to hear the whoosh of soaring ravens overhead. The most famous route is the unforgettable Narrows, a 16-mile journey into skinny canyons along the Virgin River's north fork (June through October). Plan on getting wet: at least 50% of the hike is in the river. The trip takes 12 hours; split it into two days, spending the night at one of the designated campsites you reserved or finish the hike in time to catch the last park shuttle. The trail ends among the throngs of day hikers on Riverside Walk at the north end of Zion Canyon. A trailhead shuttle is necessary for this and other…
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Zion Canyon
Spring to fall, the mandatory shuttle stops at all major trailheads along Zion Canyon Scenic Dr, allowing one-way hikes. In low season you can park at these stops, but you'll have to hike back to your car.
Of the easy-to-moderate trails, the paved, mile-long Riverside Walk (1 mile) at the end of the road is a good place to start. When the trail ends, you can continue along in the Virgin River for 5 miles to Big Springs; this is the bottom portion of the Narrows – a difficult backpacking trip. Yes, you'll be hiking in the water (June through October), so be prepared.
A steep, but paved, half-mile trail leads to the lower of the Emerald Pools. Here water tumbles from above…
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Windows Trail
Tight on time? Do part or all of the easy 1-mile round-trip, which brings you up to North Window, where you can look out to the canyon beyond. Continue on to South Window and castle-like Turret Arch. Don't forget to see Double Arch, just across the parking lot.
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Rim Trail
The easiest hike, this 0.5- to 5.5-mile-long (one-way) trail outlines Bryce Amphitheater from Fairyland Point to Bryce Point. Several sections are paved and wheelchair accessible, the most level being the half mile between Sunrise and Sunset Points. In the summer, you could easily take the shuttle to any one point and return from another instead of backtracking to a car.
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Ranger-Led Activities
During summer and early fall, rangers lead canyon-rim walks, hoodoo hikes, geology lectures, campfire programs and kids' ecology walks. If you're here when skies are clear and the moon's full, don't miss the two-hour Moonlight Hike among the hoodoos. Register same-day at the visitor center, but do so early.
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Peekaboo Trail
The fairly level 7-mile-long Peekaboo Trail, which leaves from Bryce Point, allows dogs and horses. Not recommended in high summer – it doesn't always smell the best.
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Negro Bill Canyon Trail
- Moab, USA
- Activities › Hiking
The moderately easy trail includes a 2.5-mile walk along a stream. (The totally politically incorrect canyon name refers to a prospector who grazed his cows here in the 1800s.) Scoot down a shaded side canyon to find petroglyphs, then continue to the 243ft-wide Morning Glory Natural Bridge, at a box canyon. Plan on three to four hours.
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Navajo Loop
Many moderate trails descend below the rim, but this is one of the most popular. The 1.4-mile trail descends 521ft from Sunset Point and passes through the famous narrow canyon Wall Street. Combine part of the Navajo with the Queen's Garden Trail for an easier ascent. Once you hike the 320ft to Sunrise Point, follow the Rim Trail back to your car (2.9-mile round-trip).
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Mountain Vista Touring
Guided trips include hot springs and moonlight hikes.
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Mossy Cave Trail
Outside main park boundaries (east of the entrance), off Hwy 12 at Mile 17, take the easy half-mile one-way walk to the year-round waterfall off Mossy Cave Trail, a summertime treat and frozen winter spectacle.
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La Sal Mountains
- Moab, USA
- Activities › Hiking
To escape summer's heat, head up Hwy 128 to the Manti–La Sal National Forest lands in the mountains east of Moab and hike through white-barked aspens and ponderosa pines.
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Kolob Terrace Road
Fourteen miles west of Springdale, Kolob Terrace Rd takes off north from Hwy 9, weaving in and out of BLM and national park highlands. (The road is closed due to snow from at least November to March.) Wildcat Canyon Trailhead lies about 28 miles north, after a hairpin turn. From here, follow the Wildcat Canyon Trail till you get to the turnoff for Northgate Peaks Trail. You'll traipse through meadows, filled with wildflowers in spring, and pine forests before you descend to the viewpoint overlooking the peaks. It's a whole different – and much less visited – side of Zion. Wildcat Canyon to Northgate Peaks overlook is 2.2 miles one-way. About 5 miles north of Wildcat…
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Kolob Canyons Road
In the northwestern section of the park, the easiest trail is at the end of the road: Timber Creek Trail (0.5 miles) follows a 100ft ascent to a small peak with great views. The main hike is the 2.7-mile-long Taylor Creek Trail, which passes pioneer ruins and crisscrosses the creek. The 7-mile one-way hike to Kolob Arch has a big payoff: this arch competes with Landscape Arch in Arches National Park in terms of being one of the biggest in the world. Fit hikers can manage it in a day, or continue on to make it a multiday backcountry trans-park connector.
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Hickman Bridge Trail
This popular walk (1 mile, moderate) includes a canyon stretch, a stunning natural bridge and wildflowers in spring. Mornings are coolest; it starts about 2 miles east of the visitor center off Hwy 24.
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Grand Wash Trail
Also along Scenic Dr, a good dirt road leads to Grand Wash Trail (2.25 miles, easy), a flat hike between canyon walls that, at one point, tower 80 stories high but are only 15ft apart. You can follow an offshoot to Cassidy Arch (2 miles).
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Fairyland Loop
With a trailhead at Fairyland Point north of the visitor center, the 8-mile round-trip makes for a good half-day hike (four to five hours). The tall hoodoos and bridges unfold best if you go in a clockwise direction. On the trail there's a 700ft elevation change, plus many additional ups and downs.
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Devils Garden Trail
At the end of the paved road, 19 miles from the visitor center, Devils Garden trailhead marks the beginning of a 2- to 7.7-mile round-trip hike that passes at least eight arches. Most people only go the relatively easy 1.3 miles to Landscape Arch, a gravity- defying 290ft-long behemoth. Further along the trail gets less crowded, and grows rougher and steeper toward Double O Arch and Dark Angel Spire. The optional, difficult Devils Garden Primitive Loop has narrow-ledge walking and serious slickrock hiking. Ask rangers about conditions before attempting.
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