Camelback Mountain was our first stop on our trip to Phoenix. The hike had a few perilous parts to it and is definitely a workout. In the end though, the views are worth it and you will feel really accomplished when you are almost done with the hike and see the apprehensive looks on the faces of the hikers beginning their trek up the mountain.
Here are the few key points that I think would be helpful to someone like me (a beginner-level hiker) looking to hike Camelback Mountain:
-Go (very) early in the morning. The reasons for this are two-fold: to avoid the heat and to make sure you can get parking. The trail opens at sunrise.
-There was no parking lot, so we parked on the street (N Invergordon Rd) about half a mile away from the Cholla trailhead and walked. It was the closest parking we could find, and that was at 7:45 in the morning on a Saturday.
-You cannot bring dogs on the trail. I mention this because we saw a group of people with a dog have to turn around and leave.
-You will do some rock climbing/scrambling. The last 20-25 minutes up the mountain was basically all scrambling. I'm really glad that I brought gloves to help me grip the rock. I'm sure I could have managed without them, but it was still nice to have and several other hikers mentioned that they wished they had brought gloves. It would also be helpful to wear a Camelbak (and very apropos) or carry your water in a backpack because of the scrambling. I would also add that you should take your time with the rocks. There are many experienced hikers who move quickly but don't feel like you need to rush yourself. Take it slow and be safe.
-There were lots of other hikers. Given that the hike is relatively short (distance-wise) and incredibly popular, we did not have a single moment to ourselves. Sometimes this was a plus like when we would see where the hikers ahead of us stepped to get the best footing on the rocks. Other times it was an annoyance as we had to wait often for groups to pass in the opposite direction.
-Take lots of pictures as there are many amazing views.
I almost chickened out of doing this hike after reading other Yelp reviews and there were definitely a few moments where I was a bit scared. That being said, I'm really glad that I went on this hike and would say that it was my favorite thing we did on our trip to Phoenix.