Some error occured while loading the Quick View. Please close the Quick View and try reloading the page.
It’s Time to Take a Hike in Beautiful Arizona!
The best way to experience Phoenix is by hiking it! Get outdoors with Arizona writer and hiking expert Charles Liu as he helps you find and enjoy the top hikes within 60 miles of the city. These selected trails transport you to scenic overlooks, wildlife hot spots, ancient ruins, and petroglyphs that renew your spirit and recharge your body.
Explore some of the country’s finest city-owned wilderness preserves: Phoenix Sonoran Preserve, South Mountain Park/Preserve, and Scottsdale’s McDowell Sonoran Preserve. Hike at 7,000 feet at Brown’s Peak, Mount Ord, and Mount Peeley. See Arizona’s only Wild River Area at the Mazatzal Wilderness in Tonto National Forest. With Charles Liu as your guide, you’ll learn about the area and experience nature through 60 of Phoenix’s best hikes!
Each hike description features key at-a-glance information on distance, difficulty, scenery, traffic, hiking time, and more, so you can quickly and easily learn about each trail. Detailed directions, GPS-based trail maps, and elevation profiles help to ensure that you know where you are and where you’re going. Tips on nearby activities further enhance your enjoyment of every outing.
Whether you’re a local looking for new places to explore or a visitor to the area, 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Phoenix provides plenty of options for a couple hours or a full day of adventure, all within about an hour from Phoenix and the surrounding communities.
CHARLES LIU immigrated to the United States from China in 1980 and settled in a suburb of Phoenix with his extended family. During his formative years at Arizona State University, Charles grew increasingly fond of the Grand Canyon State’s diverse outdoor offerings. Hiking quickly became his passion; in particular, he adopted a keen preference for challenging day hikes and alpine mountaineering. An avid outdoorsman and active member of several hiking clubs and creator of his own hiking group, Charles has led countless hikes over the years, including annual treks to the depths of the Grand Canyon and to the 12,633-foot summit of Humphreys Peak, Arizona’s highest point.
An engineer by trade, Charles spends much of his spare time hiking, photographing, and writing about trails in and around Phoenix. He can often be found racing up Camelback Mountain after work, relieving stress from a high-tech career, or traipsing through the Superstition Wilderness on weekends.
Aptly nicknamed “Mad Hiker,” Charles finds fulfillment in tough hiking challenges. He has recently conquered Mount Whitney in California, Mount Rainier in Washington, and all of Colorado’s 58 “fourteeners.” He has also climbed challenging peaks worldwide, including Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua, and Elbrus. Charles’s extensive hiking experience, attention to detail, and passion for hiking make him an ideal trail guide for the 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles series.
To contact Charles with comments or suggestions, visit his website, madhiker.org/6060.
Overview Map
Map Legend
Acknowledgments
Foreword
Preface
60 Hikes by Category
Introduction
CITY OF PHOENIX
- Apache Vista and Ridgeback Overlook
- Camelback Mountain: Cholla Trail
- Camelback Mountain: Echo Canyon Trail
- Dixie Mountain Loop
- Hidden Valley Trail via Mormon Trail
- Holbert Trail and Dobbins Lookout
- Lookout Mountain
- North Mountain National Trail
- Papago Park
- Piestewa Peak: Freedom Trail
- Piestewa Peak: Summit Trail
- Quartz Ridge Trail
- Shaw Butte Trail
- South Mountain: National Trail
PHOENIX SUBURBS (Ahwatukee, Cave Creek, Glendale, Mesa, Scottsdale)
- Bell Pass and Windgate Pass Loop
- Black Mountain
- Brown’s Mountain Loop
- McDowell Mountain Regional Park: Scenic Trail
- Pass Mountain Trail
- Pinnacle Peak Trail
- Sunrise Trail
- Telegraph Pass Trail and Kiwanis Trail
- Thompson Peak via Dixie Mine Trail
- Thunderbird Park: Cholla Loop
- Tom’s Thumb
- Wind Cave Trail
EAST (Including Superstition Wilderness)
- Black Mesa Loop
- Boulder Canyon Trail to LaBarge Box and Battleship Mountain
- Boyce Thompson Arboretum: Main Trail
- Circlestone from Reavis Ranch
- Fish Creek
- Hieroglyphic Trail
- Lost Goldmine Trail
- Peralta Trail
- Picketpost Mountain
- Reavis Falls
- Reavis Ranch via Rogers Trough Trailhead
- Rogers Canyon Trail
- Siphon Draw Trail
- Superstition Ridgeline
- Wave Cave
NORTHEAST (Including Cave Creek and Mazatzal Mountains)
- Barnhardt Trail
- Butcher Jones Trail
- Cave Creek Trail and Skunk Tank Trail
- Elephant Mountain Trail
- Four Peaks: Brown’s Peak
- Go John Trail
- Mount Ord
- Mount Peeley
- Palo Verde Trail
- Pine Creek Loop and Ballantine Trail
- Tonto National Monument: Upper Cliff Dwelling
- Vineyard Trail
WEST AND SOUTH (Including White Tank and Sierra Estrella Mountains)
- Ford Canyon Trail and Mesquite Canyon Trail
- Goat Camp Trail and Willow Canyon Trail
- Picacho Peak: Hunter Trail
- Quartz Peak Trail
- Rainbow Valley Trail and Butterfield Trail
- Table Top Trail
- Vulture Peak Trail
APPENDIX A: Hiking Stores
APPENDIX B: Sources for Trail Maps
APPENDIX C: Hiking Clubs and Organizations
Glossary
Index
About the Author