Peralta Canyon Trail to Lone Tree
WHO
Sky and Allyson went on this day hike during a trip to visit family near Phoenix. Sky’s parents (in their 60’s) successfully did this hike the week after we went.
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 just over 4 hours from start to finish, including a snack break at the top.
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 1 hour straight west of Phoenix.
WHY
This was a great hike because, as Sky put it, there’s a lot of bang for your buck! It is a fairly easy out-and-back trail with incredible views along the way, and an impressive view of Weaver’s Needle from both Fremont Saddle and the Lone Tree. The only reason our girls did not come with us was because they chose to play with their cousins that day instead. They could certainly handle this hike, and we will go back and do it with them the next time we are in Arizona.
HOW
To get to the trailhead, take Peralta Road all the way to the end. I would recommend having a 4-wheel-drive vehicle, because the road is very rough. There were a few places where we had to drive through standing water, and other places where it was potholed or sandy.
There are two parking lots at the end of the road, which do fill up - we started the hike at 11am, and parked in one of the last available spots. Restrooms are available at the trailhead.
Enter your name in the trail register near the trailhead before you begin..
The trail is very easy to follow all the way up to the saddle. There are a few places where you will hop on some rocks to cross streams of water.
If you’re hiking in the winter like we did, keep your eyes open for ice on the trail. Even though we were hiking on a sunny day from 11am til 3pm, the shaded areas of the trail were often slick with ice.
The views just keep getting better the higher you go. This picture is from about half-way up.
This seemed to be a popular trail, with lots of families, other hikers and their dogs. Be courteous on the trail and move to the side to allow faster hikers to pass.
Once you get to Fremont Saddle, you can keep hiking out to the Lone Tree on the right (yes it’s worth it). There are a few different “off-trail” trails to get there, but just keep heading toward the only tree and you’ll be rewarded with the awesome view that you saw at the start of this post. Happy hiking!
What are your favorite hikes in Arizona, or anywhere in the world? Tell us about them in the comments below!