Papago Park

As a kid, the bubble mountains always intrigued me. We saw them on field trips to the botanical gardens, or the zoo, and once we even had our sack lunches at one of the ramadas at the base. But I never got to go check out those weird bubbles.

But then for Valentine's Day, my boyfriend took me and our dog hiking up the bubble mountains. Finally!

Papago Park has several miles of biking, hiking and riding trails, mostly ranked easy to moderate. Those more adventurous/more fit than I can climb up the buttes. There are several unofficial trails that lead you right up to them.

(I know, that doesn't look like it leads to a butte, but the base of the butte was just to the left.)

Taking 64th Street/Galvin Parkway south from McDowell, there is a parking lot on the west side of 64th you can enter from the light named - you guessed it - Papago Park. There's a ramada right by the parking lot, maps of the trails, and a paved trail. At least to start; the further you get from the parking lot, the fewer people were on the trail. It's very dog friendly, though I would be careful if your dog likes to chase jackrabbits. We saw 3 of them in less than a minute, but thankfully Nala missed every one of them. Not for a lack of trying, though.

There are a few things that make Papago Park really great: 1) it's right in town, 2) you can make a day of it or you can just go for an hour or two, and 3) it's so close to the zoo and the botanical gardens that it would be great to spend a day at the park and at one of those attractions.

Be sure to take advantage of the great weather we're having, it won't be too long before it's too hot to visit Papago Park after 8am.

Find it! - Off Galvin Parkway south of McDowell. Open daily from 5am to 11pm. 602.261.8318.