Western Outdoor Times - Times Spent Outdoors: Priceless!

Venturing into the great outdoors can seem a bit daunting at first. Here are some beginner-friendly suggestions to get you started and have you feeling like an Arizona outdoors pro in no time.

Double Butte Loop Trail

https://www.phoenix.gov/parks/trails/locations/papago-park/trail-map

Papago Park

Phoenix/Tempe

Over the course of 2.2 miles, the Double Butte Loop Trail circumnavigates the large red sandstone Papago Buttes that are visible from vantage points throughout much of metro Phoenix. The rocky dirt trail is generally wide and flat, making it a pleasant hike for the whole family (and even a pooch on a leash).

Blue Mesa Trail

Petrified Forest National Park

Holbrook (3 hours northeast of Phoenix)

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Blue Mesa Trail transports hikers into another world with a 1-mile loop strewn with petrified wood and petroglyphs among white and blue-hued bentonite clay badlands. Alternately paved and gravel, the mostly flat loop is a bit steeper at the beginning and end.

Aspen Loop Trail

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/coconino/recarea/?recid=55064

Coconino National Forest

Flagstaff

Located at Arizona Snowbowl on the western side of the San Francisco Peaks, the 2.5-mile Aspen Loop Trail is an easy hike that's among the most photogenic in the state: lined with aspen, spruce, pines and wildflowers, and serving up views of volcanic fields, meadows, mountains and on clear days, even the Grand Canyon.