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| - What makes a great hiking trail?
Well, to name a few things:
1. Beautiful Scenery
2. Panoramic Views
3. Well Maintained, Easily Navigated Trail
4. Safety
5. Minimal Crowds
6. Clean
And those six things are my top reason for hiking Sunrise Trail.
As a native Arizonan, and avid hiker, I've literally hiked most of the main Arizona trails.
In college, our team used to run up Piestewa Peak on a daily basis. I've hiked Camelback Mountain countless times.
The problems with Piestewa and Camelback are the parking and crowds. It's almost impossible to get parking at Piestewa during peak hours, and Camelback parking, it's almost impossible not to get a ticket around that Paradise Valley neighborhood.
Sunrise Trail is currently not a super well known/well used trail, so there's always a place to park. But the parking lot is pretty tiny, so I might be screwing this up for myself by reviewing this trail.
From start to finish, the trail is very pretty.
There are numerous saguaros, and other cacti all over. It's a pretty lush trail, especially for the desert.
Obviously, in the spring, everything is in bloom, and it's much prettier.
The trail is well designated with signage.
The first half of the trail is on the south side, and at the halfway mark, it saddles the mountain, and you can see the Phoenix valley for the first time on the trail.
I like to take some time there and get some photos.
The rest of the trail is again on the south side, until you reach the base of summit. From there, you can see the Fountain Hills valley to the north-east, and the Phoenix valley to the south-west. I've included a photo of that gorgeous view below.
There's a sign there, designating the altitude and stats. From there, the trail gets a little steep and rocky. Still manageable though. It's about five minutes to the top.
The top is a BIG payoff with 360 views of the whole valley.
Absolutely amazing!
CONCLUSION
This a very manageable trail for first timers and avid hikers alike.
Worth the trip. I love it here.
5/5 RECOMMEND
OF NOTE
*Limited Parking.
*No public restrooms.
*Water fountain at the trailhead.
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