I was in Mesa for a school interview. My bf and I wanted to unwind and see some Mesa scenery. A girl I met at the interview picked out this trail and we followed her lead.
It was pretty straight forward to find for us out of towners. We approached the visitor center and paid $3 for the entrance fee and proceeded further to the trail.
We were there at 2:20-3 pm, seems like there's enough parking. Scenery is beautiful! I've never seen more cacti in my life, and the size of those things? Impressive!!!
After we got to the "cave", more like an indentation with a huge honest net, my companions wanted to keep going to the top of the mountain, but after a while the trail became non-existent and almost a little dangerous with sliding rocks and untrimmed vegetation. She said the view was breath-taking tho! I didn't dare to go, not hard core enough.
OVERALL, fun experience, it is a little crowded. Bring LOTS of water!!!! Hiking shoes recommended if you want to hike past the cave.