Hiking Holidays in Arizona

Arizona is a great area for hiking holidays with a wide variety of trails available for walkers. All trails are marked and mapped and graded for difficulty. State and national parks are almost always also provided with great sites to camp while exploring the many hiking holiday trails.

Descriptions of the state highlight places to camp, hike, mountain bike, fish, and sightsee, while visitors also have the chance to learn of the unique history of the local tribes, and many greatly enjoy the stories of the Wild West.

Visitors are always very welcome, but disturbance of wildlife during the season when the young are around in spring/early summer should be avoided. Also, we have found that lookouts may refuse visitors if they are overly busy.

The Grand Canyon is the state’s most famous hiking holiday location. Visitors to the Grand Canyon can hike short trails a couple miles into the canyon or more strenuous trails down to the river that can take a few days. If you plan to hike the Canyon, bring plenty of food and water and be sure to pack out everything you bring .

The Grand Canyon's South Rim is the natural wonder's most visited site, drawing in an amazing number of tourists estimated at nearly 5 million tourists annually. Campers can enjoy an evening out under the stars at the Grand Ravine, close by a lake or in the middle of the desert.

Betty’s kitchen national recreation trail is also wonderful for holiday hiking. No matter what time of year, Betty's Kitchen promises visitors a glimpse at some of Arizona's wildlife including numerous mammals, birds, fish, and reptiles. Betty's Kitchen is a lush oasis and a well shaded place along the Lower Colorado Stream , with a picnic area, a nature spotting trail, and fishing in the lake.

Hiking holiday-makers wishing to stop at locations outside the many camps should check with the local land management agencies for permitted camping areas and less well known trails. They have maps as well as information that can help hikers locate the type of off-road trail that interests them.

Fees at camp sites range from $20 a night to over $100, depending on the location and lodging

Wupatki Pueblo, is the largest pueblo in Arizona. It was flourishing 700 years ago as a meeting place of different cultures. Wupatki features five large ruined pueblos from the Sinagua and Anasazi cultures, spread over a desert plain northeast of Flagstaff. All are close to a paved road, and easily viewable on short trails. Wupatki represents a cultural crossroads, home to numerous peoples over thousands of years.

Tuzigoot National Monuments' rock-walled rooms, built by an agricultural Sinagua, are situated in the low hills of Mingus Mountain. And down by Tucson, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, where three unique desert habitats converge within 500 square miles, celebrates the life and landscape of the Sonoran Desert. Tuzigoot is an ancient village built by the Sinagua culture. They were farmers (mostly arable) with trade connections that spanned hundreds of miles.

Desert grasslands throughout the Arizona state may seem barren to hiking holiday-makers, but they often reveal flocks of birds and herds of antelope. Many assume the Arizona desert to be a hot, uncomfortably dry place, but its high elevation above sea level of up to 7,000 feet and mountainous features, shade and cool the land.

DesertUSA has collected or created many maps for the Arizona National Parks, cities, ghost towns, rock collecting area, location maps for cities, maps that follow articles, offloads trails maps and much more. Desert wildlife here is abundant - visitors can encounter sheep, rabbits, eagles, vultures, mountain lions, spiders, scorpions, snakes and more.

Visitors can also learn a history lesson on Arizona by visiting towns like Tombstone, Arizona, home of the great Wyatt Earp. Camping sites near the South Rim are nigh to impossible to find during the summer. In the off-season, however, they're much easier to come by. Campsites are accessible by canoe, motorboat and kayak and cannot be accessed by car .

Camping and picnicking are also viable activities that will help you experience the splendour of these crimson rocks. If you are not an outdoor person but want to see the red rocks up close, there are cabin rentals that can accommodate your stay in Sedona. Campsites are provided with picnic tables, fire rings and grills. Shower and bathroom facilities are modern. Campground may remain open past 15 Oct, weather permitting. Open from mid May to mid Oct. Campsites are about $ 15.00, but have no hook ups, although dump stations are available.

Saguaro, which is divided into two districts near Tucson, is known for its dense stand of towering cacti of the same name. Saguaros can grow as high as 5 ft. and weigh more than 8 tons, making them the largest cactus species in the United States. But they grow extremely slowly.