Two City of Phoenix parks. Both summit trails on Camelback Mountain are rated Extremely Difficult by the city. Every trail in Papago Park is rated Easy, and the Desert Botanical Garden sits among the Papago Buttes.
Extreme heat: on days the National Weather Service issues an Extreme Heat Warning, the city restricts Echo Canyon and Cholla trails from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Check before you go. The city posts trail closures and projects on its Camelback Mountain and Papago Park pages.
Camelback Mountain and Papago Park are outlined in orange. The McDowell Sonoran Preserve is outlined in green, and county regional parks in blue. Tap any park for a link to its page.
Camelback Mountain and Papago Park McDowell Sonoran Preserve County regional parks
Camelback Mountain and Papago Park outlines: the City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation GIS Park Boundaries layer, retrieved 12 October 2026. The Papago Park outline is the City of Phoenix portion of the park; part of Papago Park lies in Tempe. McDowell Sonoran Preserve: City of Scottsdale GIS, retrieved 11 October 2026. County park boundaries: the Maricopa County Parks and Recreation GIS boundary layer, retrieved 7 October 2026. Street map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Camelback Mountain gets its name from the silhouette it casts on the Valley skyline. Private development pressed in on the mountain until the 1960s. The Preservation of Camelback Mountain Foundation, led by Barry Goldwater, helped secure its protection in 1968. Saguaro, barrel, hedgehog, cholla and prickly pear cacti grow on its slopes, with palo verde, mesquite and ironwood trees.
Papago Park is a range of sandstone buttes. It was Papago Saguaro National Monument from 1914 to 1930. The Civilian Conservation Corps built its ramadas, amphitheater, trails and paved roads between 1933 and 1935. The City of Phoenix bought 1,176.34 acres from the State in 1959 and reopened the park by 1960, and the Phoenix Zoo opened in 1962. The city's master plan puts the whole park at just over 2,000 acres, about three quarters of it in Phoenix and the rest in Tempe.
Papago Park also holds an archery range, an orienteering course, the Papago Ponds fishing lagoon, the Hall of Flame Museum, the Papago Sports Complex and the Papago Golf Course, home of the Arizona State Sun Devils' golf team. Governor Hunt's Tomb is marked on the city's park map.
Ranked from easiest to hardest. The city rates trails on a six-step scale: Easiest, Easy, Moderate, Moderate/Difficult, Difficult and Extremely Difficult. Here, Easiest and Easy are Beginner, Moderate is Intermediate, and the three harder ratings are Advanced. A trail moves up a level if any section of it is rated harder; none on these maps is. Within each level, trails are ordered by elevation change, then length. Trails without a city elevation figure follow, ordered by length.
| # | Trail | City rating | Length | Elevation change | Trailhead | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner | ||||||
| 1 | Bobby's Rock Trail | Easy | 0.2 mi | 200 ft | Echo Canyon | A short loop around a large, cube-shaped sandstone rock, off the lower Echo Canyon Trail. Views of Paradise Valley and the Phoenix Mountains Preserve. |
| Advanced | ||||||
| 2 | Echo Canyon Trail | Extremely Difficult | 1.14 mi | 1,400 ft | Echo Canyon | An out-and-back trail to the summit. Handrails and other aids near the top, and in places hiking gives way to climbing. Very little shade. The city's map rates the lower 0.37 mile Moderate and the 0.77 mile above Echo Saddle Extremely Difficult. |
| 3 | Cholla Trail | Extremely Difficult | 1.5 mi | 1,420 ft | Cholla | Climbs the mountain's eastern slope, the "hump". The upper third is extremely steep, strewn with boulders and hard to follow. The city says to turn around at the rest area in the saddle unless you are a capable, prepared and experienced hiker. |
| # | Trail | City rating | Length | Elevation change | Surface | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner | ||||||
| 1 | Nature Trail | Easy | 0.5 mi | 20 ft | Gravel | A bordered path in the heart of the park, next to picnic ramadas and a small playground. Many plants along it are identified. |
| 2 | Ranger Office Loop Trail | Easy | 0.6 mi | 20 ft | Paved | Follows the main park road loop, marked by a solid white line. Passes the Papago Park Visitor Center and public restrooms. |
| 3 | Crosscut Canal Path | Easy | 1.4 mi | 20 ft | Paved | A wide canal-bank trail past the Desert Botanical Garden and the Phoenix Zoo, with many entrance and exit points. Reached from the Hole-in-the-Rock Trail. |
| 4 | Galvin Bikeway Trail | Easy | 1.4 mi | 50 ft | Concrete | Runs along the east side of Galvin Parkway, linking the Desert Botanical Garden, Papago Park and the Phoenix Zoo, with a bus stop on Van Buren Street. |
| 5 | Hole-in-the-Rock Trail | Easy | 0.2 mi | 200 ft | Native dirt | Wraps around Hole-in-the-Rock Butte to a large wind-eroded hole that looks out over the metro area. Steps on the back side of the butte. |
| 6 | Little Butte Loop | Easy | 0.5 mi | Not published | Native dirt, steps | Rated on the city's park trail map and trail GIS. |
| 7 | Big Butte Loop | Easy | 0.8 mi | Not published | Native dirt | Rated on the city's park trail map and trail GIS. |
| 8 | Double Butte Loop | Easy | 2.3 mi | Not published | Native dirt | Rated on the city's park trail map and trail GIS. |
| 9 | Elliot Ramada Loop | Easy | 2.7 mi | Not published | Native dirt, paved | Rated on the city's park trail map. |
| 10 | 5K Fitness Trail | Easy | 3.1 mi | Not published | Native dirt, paved | Rated on the city's park trail map. |
Sources: the City of Phoenix trail pages for Echo Canyon Trailhead, Cholla Trailhead and Papago Park, the city's Camelback Mountain trail map (PDF) and Papago Park trail map (PDF), 2024 edition, and the city's Mountain Trails GIS layer, all read 12 October 2026. Ratings on the Papago map are symbols, read against the city's Trail Rating Guide: every trail on it carries the outlined green circle, Easy. Elevation change is the city's figure for each whole trail. Rock-climbing access routes on Camelback are not ranked.
| Start | Address | What is there | Parking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Echo Canyon Trailhead | 4925 E. McDonald Dr., Phoenix 85018 | Restrooms, benches, drinking water and a small shade canopy | In winter and spring the lot is typically full from late morning through early afternoon on weekdays and all day on weekends, and the gate closes when it is full. No idling on McDonald Drive or Tatum Boulevard. |
| Cholla Trailhead | 5150 N. Invergordon Rd., Scottsdale 85253 | Not listed | No designated lot. Parallel parking only in the marked sections on the west side of Invergordon Road, then a gravel path along Cholla Lane. Yellow-curb ride-share drop-off spots. |
| Papago Park | 625 N. Galvin Pkwy., Phoenix 85008 | Papago Park Visitor Center and public restrooms on the Ranger Office Loop. Ramadas by reservation | Several parking areas along the park road loop |
| Desert Botanical Garden | 1201 N. Galvin Pkwy., Phoenix 85008 | Five trails, dining on site | Free parking on site |
Source: the City of Phoenix trailhead and park pages and the Desert Botanical Garden's visit page, 12 October 2026. Vehicles parked against posted signs near Cholla Trailhead are towed at the owner's expense, per the city.
The Desert Botanical Garden opened in 1939. A small group of Phoenicians, including botanist Gustaf Starck and Gertrude Divine Webster, founded it to save the desert. It spans 140 acres, 55 of them under cultivation, with five trails through the plantings.
The Garden sells general admission tickets, and members visit free. On the second Tuesday of every month, Community Day, you pay what you can. Hours change by season, so check the Garden's visit page before you go. Only service dogs and miniature horses are allowed, apart from the Garden's Dogs in the Garden mornings and evenings, and picnicking items are not permitted.
On Extreme Heat Warning days, Echo Canyon and Cholla trails are restricted from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hike when it is cool, carry more water than you think you need, and turn back before you drink it all, per the city.
Dogs are prohibited on all Camelback Mountain trails year-round. The city lists no animal restrictions for Papago Park.
The city calls both summit trails Extremely Difficult and says only experienced hikers, in good weather, should try for the summit. More than 200 hikers are rescued from Phoenix desert and mountain parks every year.
Papago Park ramadas are open to the public but need a reservation, made in person at a Phoenix Parks and Recreation facility.
Papago Park trailheads are open 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. and its trails 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., per the city's trail listings.
Stay on designated trails, wear proper shoes, a hat and sunscreen, and tell someone your start and end times if you hike alone.
If a short drive to Camelback or Papago Park is part of what you want nearby, I can tell you which Phoenix neighborhoods put you closest to them.
Camelback hours, dogs, trailheads, parking, history and plants, and the summit elevation: City of Phoenix, Camelback Mountain, with its Echo Canyon and Cholla trailhead pages. Summit elevation, hours and trail segments, also: the city's Camelback Mountain trail map. Papago hours, trails, facilities and ramadas: City of Phoenix, Papago Park, and the city's Papago Park trail map, 2024. Papago history and size: the city's Papago Park Regional Master Plan. Heat restrictions: the city's Trail Heat Safety Program. Trail ratings, rescues and hiking guidance: the city's Take a Hike. Do it Right page. Trail ratings, lengths and elevation change, also, and both park outlines: City of Phoenix GIS, Mountain Trails and Park Boundaries layers. Desert Botanical Garden: the Garden's About and Visit pages. County park boundaries: Maricopa County Parks and Recreation GIS. McDowell Sonoran Preserve outline: City of Scottsdale GIS. All checked 12 October 2026. Hours, closures and rules change, so confirm with the city and the Garden before you go.