Best Trails near Phoenix, Arizona

Very short walk up to pretty lookout. A lot of people there on a sunny Oct Sunday afternoon. Also popular spot for graduation photo ops. Plenty of parking spots at the base.

Good open trail. Easy but very relaxing

Nice easy trail through the desert with really nice scenery.

Definitely gives you a bit of a challenge, it the views from the top are worth it!

I jogged from my house to Phoenix Mountain preserve and over to dreamy draw park a nd Here led and jogged on trail 100 to 1A it was a wonderful day and a wonderful hike. October is a perfect month for this hike because it’s about 80° out and breezy and beautiful weather. Wear good sturdy shoes because it’s Rocky. It was 9 miles round-trip for me which was great

If you hike camelback first this is a breeze. I jogged going down. Going up is like being on level 8 speed on the stair master.

The loop is still closed, making this an out and back. I would consider this a hard trail. It is up the whole way to the top and parts you will have to use your hands to climb up. Great workout and beautiful views of the surrounding area.

Later morning hike with Melinda along with Floyd and Lola. Had to take several breaks for Lola

This was such a fun hike. Some parts were a little steep and rocky, but the view was worth it! Definitely pack some water, because it gets warm. But this was the perfect hike for a mild, 85 degree, October day.

Great morning hike. Definitely a climb and excellent views.

Loved this one. Great length, view, and trail. There’s a bench at the top to look out or if you follow the road to the right a little there’s a small lookout you can sit and look out on.

I don't mean to brag (well, kind of), but I finished Shaw Butte and the Charles M. Christiansen Loop in 1:34:00! A personal best since, and even before, my car accident a year ago. This butte is a great workout that has steep inclines and declines. Your quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves will be challenged in a good way and you will not be disappointed. Highly recommend!! :D

Easy trail for people of all ages and fitness levels. The trail did disappear on us at the very end.

We got on in Glendale and rode east about 10 miles and turned around, so we did not quite get to I-17. Most of the trail is paved, with a short section that is rock and gravel. Crossing so many busy streets was the challenge and the main reason we will not do this trail again until more improvements are made. Crossing a street without a crosswalk, where the speed limit is 45 mph, felt dangerous. The farther east we rode, the more trash we saw on the edge of the trail, which was not pleasant. Signage is lacking, which would be helpful to know when a busy street is coming up or. Gave it 3 stars because of the paved parts and the fact we saw no one else on a Saturday afternoon...and at least we weren’t riding on the roads with traffic!

It was a good short challenging hike with nice views at the top. I will do it again.

If you look at the satellite version on Apple maps you can see that there are several small parking lots. I arrived around noon on a Saturday and there were still a few spots open here and there. There were also cars parked on the side of the road before arriving to the parking lots. However, there are some really big rocks on the side so I wouldn’t recommend that option for lower clearance cars. Overall, the hike was amazing. Make sure you bring enough water. Even in late October heat exhaustion and heat stroke is still highly probable. Cheers!