The Bursera Trail at South Mountain Park in Phoenix, AZ is a 7 mile loop trail also known as "Bees Knees". The trail is steep in parts and gradual in other parts. We hiked this trail on New Years Eve to see the final sunset of 2015. We ended up not doing the full loop which followed the ridge since it was getting dark.We ended up circling back to the trail we hiked up on. This trail offered great expansive views of the South Mountain and Ahwatukee Foothills area. It is also a popular mountain bike trail. This trail also connects to the Pyramid Trail. We went back to hike the Pyramid Trail in January of 2016.
Paul and I visited Antelope Canyon in December 2015 after hiking to The Wave. This beautiful awe-inspiring canyon attracts visitors from all over the world. Daily guided tours from the Navajo Indians are offered many times a day. Our guide was helpful in showing us all the best photo opportunities and took several photos of us and our group. We stayed in Page, AZ not far from Lake Powell. Horseshoe Bend which is part of the Grand Canyon is well worth the short drive followed by a short hike and is not far from Page. http://www.antelopecanyon.com/
Another beautiful trail high in the San Francisco Peaks. We hiked this 1.6 mile trail in September, 2015. The trail leads to a settlement from 1892 of Ludwig Veit used for cattle and sheep operations. I loved the aspen trees and cool temps!
The San Francisco Peaks are one of Paul and I's favorite places to hike especially in the summer time. The cool temps at 8,600' drew us to hike this easy and beautiful 2.5 mile loop trail in September, 2015. The trail winds through beautiful grasses, wildflowers, aspen, spruce and pine trees. With only 300' in elevation change, we took our time enjoying the views of Snow Bowl and the cool temps.
The Superstition Mountains have a diverse variety of trails for any degree of hiking. This trail combined a little of everything. We hiked approx. 8.5 miles with approx. 1000' of elevation gain. We hiked the extra half mile to the Weavers Needle viewing area. There are lots of interesting rock formations and a variety of desert cacti. We had expansive views of the Superstitions as we reached the highest point.
After hiking at The Wave and Antelope Canyon in December, 2015, Paul and I discovered this 6 mile trail to Birthday Arch, about 17.3 miles West of the Page Visitor Center. We parked along side the road and followed the trail to a gate. After passing through the gate we walked almost 2 miles up a sandy wash until we saw footprints leading to a trail to the right. We could see Birthday Arch in the distance. From the arch we had beautiful views. We took our time exploring before heading back the way we came. Here is a link to a great website with more detailed information on this trail. http://www.gjhikes.com/2015/06/birthday-arch.html
The Bursera Trail at South Mountain Park in Phoenix, AZ is a 7 mile loop trail also known as "Bees Knees". The trail is steep in parts and gradual in other parts. We hiked this trail on New Years Eve to see the final sunset of 2015. We ended up not doing the full loop which followed the ridge since it was getting dark.We ended up circling back to the trail we hiked up on. This trail offered great expansive views of the South Mountain and Ahwatukee Foothills area. It is also a popular mountain bike trail. This trail also connects to the Pyramid Trail. We went back to hike the Pyramid Trail in January of 2016.
