Fat Man's Pass and Hidden Valley Trail
WHO
Sky, Allyson, Averhy (15) and Eden (12) went on this day hike during a trip to visit family near Phoenix. Sky’s mom joined us, as well as his cousin’s kids, who were 10 and 9 at the time. We all had a blast!
WHAT
This was a quick day hike, so we brought one small backpack (similar to the Camelbak Daystar) with snacks, water, and my Nikon D850 with the Nikkor 28-300mm lens attached. I did not yet have the BlackRapid cross-body strap when we did this hike, but I would definitely wear it if we did this hike again. The entire hike took us 3 hours from start to finish, including lots of breaks to climb on boulders and eat a snack half-way through.
WHEN
We did this hike at the end of December. We had a beautiful, sunny day with a cool breeze.
WHERE
When we travel to Arizona, we always stay with family or friends (except when we’re at the bottom of the Grand Canyon). Isn’t it nice to know people who live in lots of different places?
The hike described in this post is about 15 minutes straight south of downtown Phoenix. When you search for it on Google Maps, look up “Mormon Trailhead” so you will start on the north side of the range.
WHY
This was a fun family hike. It is a fairly easy loop trail with neat views of Phoenix along the way, and an beautiful valley in the middle of the hike. The kids liked climbing on all the boulders and squeezing through Fat Man’s Pass.
HOW
We started at the Mormon Trailhead. There is a parking lot but no restrooms.
There were signs at the parking lot with reminders about locking vehicles and not leaving valuables in the car. The parking lot is on the edge of a residential neighborhood, and we did not have any problems with theft.
The trail is very easy to follow all the way up to the top, and there are some great views of Phoenix. There were a lot of families and their dogs, as well as some mountain bikers riding the trail when we were there.
After you get to the top, the trail splits. Go to the left on National Trail, then go right toward Hidden Valley. You’ll find this natural tunnel shortly after you turn onto the Hidden Valley trail, and it marks the entrance to Hidden Valley. There are a lot of fun boulders here for kids to climb.
The valley area opens up and has lots of interesting rock formations. Enjoy the views!
Near the end of Hidden Valley, you will come to another natural tunnel, formed by this giant slab of rock resting on another boulder.
A little further on is Fat Man’s Pass. It is about 6’ tall and maybe 11” wide. Sky had to remove his backpack to get through, but the kids all squeezed through without any problems.
Yep, that’s the pass directly under Eden’s feet! If you don’t fit through it, there is a path to walk around these boulders.
After the pass, turn right onto National Trail and head back to Mormon Trail to finish the loop. You will take Mormon Trail from the peak back to the parking lot.
Overall, this is a fun and easy hike we would recommend doing with your family!
What are your favorite hikes in Arizona, or anywhere in the world? Tell us about them in the comments below!