My Favorite Place For Horseback Riding In Phoenix

Riding a horse in Arizona is as close to "iconic" as you can get.  The term cowboy was coined in the late 1800's and the era was short lived; but it's a defining trait of the West . . .riding a trusty horse through rough terrain, sleeping on the earth and looking up at vast starry skies.  But what about today?  The horse was replaced by cars and ATV's, by PlayStations & Wii consoles.  Is there anything worth doing on a horse anymore?  And if so - where could one go to live the dream?

Well, the answers are short & sweet, but require a bit of disclosure.  I lived on a farm in the 80's and we did a lot of work off the back of a horse; we drove cattle, we hunted and basically considered our horses a main source of entertainment.  Then I became a mountain biker - almost the antithesis of horseback riding.  Seeing the Arizona landscape from the back of a horse immediately conjures images of being a cowboy.  It's almost natural to look out over the horizon and wonder if there is an Apache raiding party out there. . . but when you ride a mountain bike you're more concerned with breathing & not crashing.  At least that's one of my concerns.

With that said, my opinion comes from someone who has a lot of experience in both saddles and I know firsthand how nice it is to ride a horse without mountain bikers zooming by . . .

If you were to ask me where I'd ride a horse my answer would always be "outside town somewhere".  What this means to someone that doesn't live here is that while there are some great mountain parks within our city limits, I'd prefer to ride where the masses don't frequent.  Places like the Cave Creek area, or even further out.  The desert just north of the metropolis is a bit higher elevation than in or south of the city; this leads to more biodiversity.  My absolute favorite place to ride is in the Tonto National Forest just north of Anthem, near Black Canyon City.

When you finally get out into the middle of nowhere the true impression of riding a horse is magnified.  You won't have to compete for trails with other users as the further out you go the fewer people there are out there.

If you're visiting Arizona then there are a few things on the MUST SEE/DO list.  The Grand Canyon is certainly on the list, but horseback riding should be too.  Riding in the American West today is as dramatic & awe inspiring as it was when the cowboys ruled the ranges.



About the Author: Bruce Leadbetter is the consummate adventurer and owner of 360 Adventures.  When not horseback riding in Phoenix, he can be found scaling canyons or riding the beautiful Arizona trails on his mountain bike.

Photo credit: David

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.