Phoenix & Superstition Mountains

Arizona's capital and its neighbours, from Hohokam canals and Frank Lloyd Wright's desert camp to Salado cliff dwellings, the Superstition Mountains and the cooler pine country around Payson.

This region runs from the low Sonoran Desert around Phoenix, at about 1,100 feet, to Payson at 5,000 feet, about 90 miles north-east on State Route 87. It holds the state's largest city and some of its easiest cultural visits, but the land is the reason to stay longer than a weekend. Phoenix itself has the Heard Museum, the Musical Instrument Museum, the Desert Botanical Garden and S'edav Va'aki Museum, a Hohokam village site that was called Pueblo Grande Museum until 2023. South Mountain Park/Preserve, at more than 16,000 acres, has over 100 miles of trails. Next door, Scottsdale has Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright's winter home, and the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, more than 30,500 acres of protected desert. East of the metro area the Superstition Mountains rise behind Apache Junction. Lost Dutchman State Park sits at their base, and farther out Tonto National Monument protects two cliff dwellings from the 1300s and 1400s. Boyce Thompson Arboretum, near Superior, is the state's oldest and largest botanical garden. The Apache Trail (State Route 88) is unpaved and rough beyond Tortilla Flat and has been closed for long stretches after storm damage, so check ADOT before planning a drive along it. Payson, below the Mogollon Rim, is the summer escape. Tonto Natural Bridge State Park is 10 miles north of town, and Fossil Creek, one of two Wild and Scenic Rivers in Arizona, requires an advance parking permit from April 1 to October 1. Season matters more here than almost anywhere else in the state. Phoenix logged 121 days at 105°F or above in 2024, and some of its most popular trails close from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Extreme Heat Warning days. Arizona stays on standard time all year.