Hiking North Mountain in Phoenix, Arizona

North Mountain is an easy, but fairly steep trail that sits almost smack dab in the middle of Phoenix, Arizona. Depending on where you start hiking the trail is either fully paved (if you take 7th street southbound there is an exit to this start of the trail), or very rocky and rough for the first quarter of the trail, then onto the paved areas (this is what you get if you take the exit off Peoria and much more fun than the other way!). When I used to visit North Mountain park as a kid, we always hiked up the side of the mountain before hitting the trail, I'll warn that there is a lot of loose rock and some very sharp jagged rocks on this part of the trail and it will wear you down fast.

The featured picture is is taken from the top of the rocky trail, right before you get onto the pavement. Once you have made it onto the pavement, this hike is still a little challenging because of the fact that it is continually very steep. The air was a bit hazy when Krystina and I went on the hike because we have had no real rain or wind for the past month so the pollution is a little rough, but we still managed to see some amazing views of the city. The park closes at sundown if I remember correctly, but in my opinion you haven't seen Arizona's true beauty until you've watched the sunset over the city from atop one of the many mountains in the valley. North Mountain a great workout and expect to see people of all ages walking or jogging up this trail (jogging on the flat street kills me, I can't imagine jogging this hill!), but the end of it has a great view. For those of you who are not quite up to the challenge of climbing this mountain, I'll have a post up soon about a drive that's equally as nice to get to the top of South Mountain.

Directions : From anywhere in Phoenix, head along the I-10 Freeway towards Phoenix International Airport until you reach SR-51. Take SR-51 Northbound to the Northern Ave exit and turn left (West). Take Northern to 7th street and take a right (North). Follow 7th Street all the way to Peoria Ave which will lead you right into the park.

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