Baby Jesus Ridge Trail

This is a great hike in the foothills of the Catalina Mountains northwest of Tucson, near Catalina. This trail can be done as a long loop trail which connects to a 4wd trail called the Sutherland Trail. This wonderful trail is close to town but without the crowds. As an added bonus, you’ll get to see some “wild” goldfish – something extremely unusual in Arizona.

The information from this blog has been moved to the Experience Arizona website at: http://www.experience-az.com/adventures/hike/babyjesus/babyjesushike.html

The Experience Arizona website has a lot more than the adventures contained in this blog:
- Interactive maps
- Weather
- To Do List
- Updated information
- Information on Arizona wildlife, plantlife and history
- Online magazine
- All for FREE!

Take a look, you'll be glad you did!

Arizona Trail, Oracle, Arizona

This is a nice hike in the foothills of the Catalina Mountains northwest of Tucson. It takes you up through some nice granite rock formations to a 4wd trail called Oracle Ridge. At almost 5000 ft in elevation, this is a great place to hike in the spring and fall to get away from the valley heat.

The information from this blog has been moved to the Experience Arizona website at: http://www.experience-az.com/adventures/hike/arizonatrailoracleridge/aztrailoracleridgehike.html

The Experience Arizona website has a lot more than the adventures contained in this blog:
- Interactive maps
- Weather
- To Do List
- Updated information
- Information on Arizona wildlife, plantlife and history
- Online magazine
- All for FREE!

Take a look, you'll be glad you did!

Templeton / Bell Rock Trails, Sedona, Arizona

Templeton Trail near Cathedral Rock


The switchbacks near Cathedral Rock



The trail down near Oak Creek


This is a great hiking trail in Sedona, Arizona. This is an easy hike with lots of Sedona redrock and it’s all within a few minutes of downtown Sedona.

The information from this blog has been moved to the Experience Arizona website at: http://www.experience-az.com/adventures/hike/templeton/templetonhike.html

The Experience Arizona website has a lot more than the adventures contained in this blog:
- Interactive maps
- Weather
- To Do List
- Updated information
- Information on Arizona wildlife, plantlife and history
- Online magazine
- All for FREE!

Take a look, you'll be glad you did!

Little Horse and Llama Trails, Sedona, Arizona

This is a nice hike between Twin Buttes (Broken Arrow trail) and Bell Rock. It’s not as beautiful as Broken Arrow but it's less crowded and a nice trail.











The information from this blog has been moved to the Experience Arizona website at: http://www.experience-az.com/adventures/hike/llama/llamahike.html

The Experience Arizona website has a lot more than the adventures contained in this blog:
- Interactive maps
- Weather
- To Do List
- Updated information
- Information on Arizona wildlife, plantlife and history
- Online magazine
- All for FREE!

Take a look, you'll be glad you did!

Butterfly Trail, Mt. Lemmon

Nice wide trail at the start ... don't let it fool you.


The trail gets narrower


And steeper, but really beautiful


Rock at Waypoint 002


My cat-dog at the overlook near Waypoint 002


It was almost like a wild jungle on some parts of the trail


Wild raspberries!


Yikes! An Arizona Black Rattlesnake.


Beautiful flowers

This is a beautiful hike up in the cool air of Mt. Lemmon near Tucson and a great change of scenery for us desert dwellers! But, this trail isn’t for beginners. It heads down, and keeps going. Some parts are steep enough that I was stopping to catch my breath on the way back up. You can also visit the site of an F-86 fighter jet crash in 1957. Finally, as the name implies, you have a good chance at seeing a bunch of beautiful butterflies. All-in-all an awesome hike.

The information from this blog has been moved to the Experience Arizona website at: http://www.experience-az.com/adventures/hike/butterflytrail/butterflyhike.html

The Experience Arizona website has a lot more than the adventures contained in this blog:
- Interactive maps
- Weather
- To Do List
- Updated information
- Information on Arizona wildlife, plantlife and history
- Online magazine
- All for FREE!

Take a look, you'll be glad you did!

Doe Mountain Trail #60, Sedona

Awesome views!


Arizona Adventurer at the top!


Looking west


A nice, relaxing place to hang out


Views climbing up the trail


The trail


This is a beautiful and short hike that climbs up Doe Mountain on the northwest side of Sedona. What makes this a cool hike is that you can easily explore the relatively flat top of the mesa and get awesome views of the surrounding area in all directions (though not at the same time).

The information from this blog has been moved to the Experience Arizona website at: http://www.experience-az.com/adventures/hike/doemountain/doemountain.html

The Experience Arizona website has a lot more than the adventures contained in this blog:
- Interactive maps
- Weather
- To Do List
- Updated information
- Information on Arizona wildlife, plantlife and history
- Online magazine
- All for FREE!

Take a look, you'll be glad you did!

Thunder Mountain, Sedona, Arizona

The Thunder Mountain Trail

This is a nice, close-in trail to hike in Sedona. That’s the good news, the bad news is that it’s close to town and you’ll see a lot of houses during your ride. But it didn’t matter too much to me, it was still a nice hike.

The information from this blog has been moved to the Experience Arizona website at: http://www.experience-az.com/adventures/hike/thundermountain/thundermountainhike.html

The Experience Arizona website has a lot more than the adventures contained in this blog:
- Interactive maps
- Weather
- To Do List
- Updated information
- Information on Arizona wildlife, plantlife and history
- Online magazine
- All for FREE!

Take a look, you'll be glad you did!

Broken Arrow

This is a beautiful and fairly short hike that parallels the most famous Jeep trail in Sedona. It’s a moderately challenging trail that shouldn’t be a problem for most people and their kids. It’s a FUN trail to hike with lots to see along the way.

The information from this blog has been moved to the Experience Arizona website at: http://www.experience-az.com/adventures/hike/brokenarrow/brokenarrowhike.html


The Experience Arizona website has a lot more than the adventures contained in this blog:
- Interactive maps
- Weather
- To Do List
- Updated information
- Information on Arizona wildlife, plantlife and history
- Online magazine
- All for FREE!

Take a look, you'll be glad you did!

Experience Arizona Quick Trip Reports

We’ve decided to add an exciting new feature to Experience Arizona, which we’re calling Quick Trip Reports or QTR’s. As all of you already know, Experience Arizona is dedicated to providing the best, most detailed information regarding hiking, biking and four-wheeling in Arizona. And I think we’re doing that.

But there’s more to enjoying Arizona than just hiking, biking and four-wheeling. A lot more. Maybe you want to dip your toes in a cool stream on a hot day? Or find a shady spot to observe some of Arizona’s colorful birds? Or a unique place to eat lunch? Maybe attend a little-known festival in a small town? Anything that might be fun and exciting to do on a weekend.

QTR’s to the rescue.

QTR’s will be placed on the Experience Arizona blog site and will be short and to the point. One or two paragraphs describing the site or adventure, maybe a picture or two, possibly a GPS waypoint and a general map (but no detailed directions). Bim, Bam, Boom and you’re done. Free to go explore it on your own!

In addition, some QTR’s may only include a picture and short description with no GPS coordinates. No, we’re not being lazy or mean. We believe puzzles are fun. We’re going to leave it up to you to figure out where it is and how to get there. Don’t worry, we’ll provide enough clues to solve the mystery (though some will be harder than others). Besides, we believe exploring new areas is half the fun anyway.

Look for QTR’s to start popping up on the Experience Arizona blog shortly. I hope you enjoy them. And, as always, I’d love to hear from you. Send me pictures, descriptions and GPS coordinates for that perfect spot, park, out-of-the-way diner, or whatever, I’d be happy to post them here.

Remember, the more people involved the more new areas ALL of us can explore and enjoy.

Camp Rucker

Barn

Camp Rucker is located in a remote area of the Chiricahua Mountains in the far southeast corner of Arizona. The Chiricahua Mountains are probably best known for the impressive rock formations found in the Chiricahua National Monument, but there are countless other hiking trails such as the short trail to Camp Rucker. There are numerous well preserved historical structures to observe along the very short hike through Camp Rucker. From Tucson it is a very long drive on remote (but well maintained) back roads to Camp Rucker, so I recommend finding a place to camp and exploring the surrounding area a bit. When visiting Camp Rucker, consider a short detour to Rucker Lake - or rather the grassy meadow formerly known as Rucker Lake. Rucker Lake was filled by a landslide in 1994, when heavy rains followed soon after a forest fire. With no vegetation to hold the soil in place, the rain washed vast amounts of soil into the lake – completely filling it in. Check out some pictures of the lake before the landslide and you will get a true appreciation for nature’s fury.

The information from this blog has been moved to the Experience Arizona website at: http://www.experience-az.com/adventures/hike/camprucker/camprucker.html

The Experience Arizona website has a lot more than the adventures contained in this blog:
- Interactive maps
- Weather
- To Do List
- Updated information
- Information on Arizona wildlife, plantlife and history
- Online magazine
- All for FREE!

Take a look, you'll be glad you did!