★★★☆☆ Easy / Phoenix Area: Ancient hieroglyphics and pools of blue water sit before endless vistas, at the end of this short, easy hike. Gently ascending to the cradle of a vast canyon, the Hieroglyphics Hiking Trail leads to one of the Superstition Mountain’s most uniquely beautiful spots. The ease of the hike, along with its special features, make it a perfect jaunt to take out-of-town…

★☆☆☆☆ Easy / Goodyear: Winding through a series of interconnected valleys, the Rainbow Valley and Toothaker Hiking Trail Loop is decidedly “nice & easy.”  The hike’s wide, mildly inclined pathways span long desert stretches, sandy arroyos and curvacious hillside rambles. While views of nearby Goodyear and distant purple mountains frame the horizon.

★★★★★ Moderate / Phoenix Area: A stone skyscraper, taller than the Chrysler Building, is the star of this back country trail. Slicing diagonally across the gorgeous Superstition Mountains, the Peralta Hiking Trail ascends to an inner valley saddle offering Instagram-worthy views of thousand-foot-high Weavers Needle. 

★★★☆☆ Moderate-Difficult / Phoenix Area: Get your hiking “Om” on – on this exquisitely beautiful natural trail. Just a stones throw away from Cave Creek’s rowdy saloon-style cafes, the Elephant Mountain Hiking Trail Loop winds through a vast, pristinely kept conservation area. Here echos of the old west resound in the tall buttes, sandy arroyos, ancient Saguaros and hushed tranquility. 

★★☆☆☆ Moderate / Phoenix: From sunrise to sunset, this short city hike rocks the views! Located just minutes from downtown Phoenix, the North Mountain National Hiking Trail provides easy access, unusually good parking and epic 360 views. You’ll find locals cramming in a quick workout – hiking, running and even pushing strollers up and down the paved pathway. Take the hike at sunset to catch the area’s gorgeously glowing skies from the trail’s…

★★★★☆ Moderate / Phoenix Area: A family-friendly slot canyon and long stone tunnel are hyper-fun to explore! Accessible via the Mormon Hiking Trail, Hidden Valley’s secluded wonders have hikers squishing through, climbing over or walking under them – revealing smile inducing fun. But the best surprise is the trail’s convenient location on Phoenix’s South Mountain. 

★★★☆☆ Moderate / Phoenix Area: A sky-high cave perches atop this desert trail and opens onto prime city views. Wind Cave Hiking Trail zig zags up Pass Mountain’s arid slopes to this shaded veranda. Here gentle breezes and epic panoramas reward those who nail the short, rocky climb. Views of bright green Saguaro, Ocotillo and Cholla peek up from below. While downtown Phoenix sparkles in the background.

★★★★☆ Moderate / Phoenix Area: Looking for a “posh” hiking trail? You got it! Rising from a sea of emerald-green golf courses, the Pinnacle Peak Hiking Trail resides in the midst of North Scottsdale’s toniest neighborhoods. Winding between oversized, and perfectly curvilinear boulders, this trail is as well designed and manicured as the surrounding communities. And the views from its sky-high summit? 360 degrees and lavish!

★★★★★ Difficult / Phoenix: If there is one defining Phoenix hike, this is it! Camelback Mountain’s Echo Canyon Hiking Trail is a local favorite for multiple reasons. The hike is short, but high up there on the challenge scale. It’s located just steps from downtown. Plus it offers spectacular city views framed by rugged canyon walls and Saguaro Cacti. With its extreme popularity you’ll encounter local trail-runners making multiple…

★★★☆☆ Easy / Prescott Area: Just a hop away from Phoenix or Flagstaff, this easy lakeside trail is miles from life’s hustle and bustle. Tucked into a cool and intimate mountain valley, Lynx Lake Hiking Trail is encased in scenic views of this tranquil little lake and its surrounding pine-filled mountains. And with its level trail half-paved, it is an easy stroll for hikers of every age…

★★☆☆☆ Moderate / Prescott Area: Pretty, paved, petite and with phenomenal views – the Thumb Butte Loop Hike, up Prescott’s defining natural landmark, is a prime day-hike. Clearly visible from downtown, the easily identifiable Thumb Butte is just a short jaunt from Prescott’s numerous in-town activities. Throw in a picnic in this lovely park, and you have the makings of an perfect day outdoors.

★★☆☆☆ Easy / Payson Area: Strolling along this gently winding rim trail is like being plopped inside a scenic viewfinder (with no quarters required)! With flashback-worthy views spanning endlessly from trail to horizon, the Rim Lakes Vista Hiking Trail is a smaller cousin of the Grand Canyon Rim Trail. Skirting a ridiculously scenic stretch of Arizona’s 200-mile-long Mogollon Rim.

★★★☆☆ Easy / Payson Area: Perks run wild and free on the easy Woods Canyon Lake Hiking Trail, like: traversing a bog on a log, skipping stones and walking under bald eagle nests! Circling the shores of the lushly beautiful Woods Canyon Lake (where the only muffled sounds to be heard are families, fishermen and kayakers having fun – no noisy motorboats allowed here) this family and pet…

★★★☆☆ Easy / Payson Area: Like Mother Nature’s “water cooler”, Horton Spring gushes cold, crystal-clear water and chilly air year-round. The easy Horton Creek Hiking Trail follows the banks of beautiful, spring-fed Horton Creek (to its fresh water source). It is a touch of bliss  – especially in the midst of Arizona’s hot Summers.

★★★★☆ Moderate / Prescott Area: Mild mountain temperatures and far-flung Prescott & Chino valleys views make this a quintessential weekend hike. Tucked into the easily-accessible Prescott National Forest, Granite Mountain Hiking Trail offers the best of Arizona’s middle plateau: minimal crowds, milder temperatures, pine-lined paths, a cool lake and incredible expansive views.

★★★★★ Difficult / Phoenix Area: Breathtaking views, from the bow of this immense “granite ship,” reward hikers who finish the butt-kicking scramble up Siphon Draw Hiking Trail. Nestled into one of the Superstition Mountain’s dramatic canyons, the first half of this hike is a deceptively easy preamble to the steep craggy climb that follows. Here a 2,000 foot elevation…

★★★★☆ Easy / Payson Area: Say what?!? Families can hike beneath a 14-story-high natural bridge, while being sprinkled by chilly water from an overhead waterfall, in the middle of Arizona? Say yes! That is exactly the incredible experience to be had on this brief, 0.9-mile, combined (Gowen and Pine Creek) loop trail, in Central Arizona’s Tonto Natural Bridge State Park.

★★★☆☆ Easy / Payson Area: Blink your eyes (on this crazy short hike) and you’ll have already arrived in paradise! The gushing waterfall and turquoise blue pools on Fossil Creek’s Waterfall Trail are truly feasts for the senses. And frolicking in these deliciously refreshing waters, after such little hiking (although there is a lot of driving), is almost junk-food-like in its nearly instant gratification – kinda’ like being given the…

★★★★☆ Easy / Phoenix Area: This super-easy trail, packed with engaging educational perks, sets a high bar for quality family time outdoors! Kids as young as two will have a blast criss crossing the wide, level pathway to check out the centuries old, Native American hieroglyphics alongside the Waterfall Hiking Trail. Squeals of delight are sure to ensue when…

★★☆☆☆ Moderate / Phoenix Area: If you are wanting to get your Summer on and spend the day at a local beach, picnicking, sunbathing and swimming – with a hike thrown in for fun – then heading out to Bartlett Lake’s Palo Verde Hiking Trail is an ideal choice. The lake itself offers a boatload of recreational options (bah bam bum):…

★★★☆☆ Moderate / Phoenix Area: The Quartz Hiking Trail is named the Quartz Hiking Trail because it is laden with . . . you guessed it . . . Quartz! Ethereal white quartz. Abundantly scattered over the trail like large glittering breadcrumbs. Tumbling over the surrounding hillsides. Stacked into trail cairns. And jutting out of the earth in one of the largest outcroppings…

★★★☆☆ Easy / Prescott Area: The two very distinct personalities of this pretty lake trail make it as entertaining to hike as the movie “Victor, Victoria” is to watch. On the western shore, the trail’s temperament is clearly mellow and rambling – with a wide flat trail, grassy expanses, and reflective lake views. The eastern shore, by contrast, is rambunctious and playful – with…

★★★★☆ Difficult / Phoenix Area: This urban “Stairway to Heaven” is one of the most popular and populous hikes in the Phoenix area. Located smack-dab in the middle of the city, Piestawa Peak Summit Hiking Trail’s convenient location, sweat inducing “stone steps”, and awesome 360-degree views make it a rewarding work out trek for active Phoenicians. The trail is…

★★★★★ Moderate to Difficult / Phoenix Area: Tom’s Thumb Hiking Trail (from the northeast entrance) is my “happy hike”. Of the many, many trails in the Phoenix metropolitan area, there is no other that is makes my heart sing every time I take it! From the crazy-fun drive getting to the trailhead, to the monolithic curved boulders that make…

★★★☆☆ Moderate / Phoenix Area: Although the Mesquite Canyon Hiking Trail is a bit long, its moderate slopes and gorgeous West Valley views make it a wonderful hike for both mini-me and other trail goers alike. Frolicking families (who make use of the park’s playgrounds and campsites) typically scamper and chatter over the first mile. Beyond that the trail becomes increasingly tranquil. Other than the clomping…