Saturday, May 12, 2018

Papago Park - Phoenix, Arizona


Introduction


After my long run on Saturday I was itching to do some exploring.  The temperature was slowly increasing and the high for the day was going to be in the low 90's.

I wound up getting there around 10:30, which was already kind of late.  It was warm.  Also, there isn't a lot of shade at this park.  However, it was easy to find parking.  I wound up parking at the zoo but there are a few turnoffs with limited parking.  Basically you find a spot where you want to start your hike, park there and find a trail.

The park is bigger than it looks and there are a ton of trails.  Not many of them are marked and it is easy to navigate.  I hadn't studied the map at all and I wound up taking in most of the park's features in about 90 minutes.

There are some simple climbs but generally speaking it is casual hiking.  

This is a gem inside the city.  The smell of sagebrush is pretty strong and there are some cacti here as well.  The trails are visible from any vantage point and you can sort of make your way through the park at whatever route you'd like.

There isn't any shade here and if the temperature is intense, it could be outright dangerous.  There are some zones for picnics and water and bathrooms do exist.  

The park is used by hikers, trail runners and even some mountain bikers.  I really enjoyed my experience here and a good hiker can take it all in, in under 2 hours.


























No comments:

Post a Comment