Papago Park
Papago, Phoenix · Phoenix · ~2.8 mi from downtown Phoenix
Outdoors
Free
Red sandstone buttes rising out of the desert in the middle of Phoenix: the short climb to Hole-in-the-Rock, fishing lagoons, and the Desert Botanical Garden and Phoenix Zoo at its edges. Free — go early or at sunset in summer.
Good for
A desert sunset climb
Crowd
Sunrise and sunset draw hikers; midday is quiet and hot
Getting there
Valley Metro buses stop along Galvin Pkwy
Parking
Free lots at the trailheads
Accessibility
Hole-in-the-Rock trail is short but rocky; lagoons area is paved