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The Superstition Mountains lit red at sunset above the desert at Lost Dutchman State Park, where Siphon Draw starts

About

Touch Dirt AZ

Where to hike in and around the Valley, what’s open, and the best time to go.

Why

In Arizona, when you hike matters as much as where. The facts you need are spread across the Weather Service, city and county park pages, the Forest Service and old trip reports. This site pulls it all into one place.

Who

I’m Owen. I created Touch Dirt AZ shortly after moving to the Phoenix area from North Dakota in 2026. It started as the site I wanted when I got here: one place that says whether it’s a good time to go, and where.

Owen in a red rain jacket on the rocky summit of Cloud Peak, with lakes in the valley far below
Cloud Peak, Cloud Peak Wilderness
Owen standing on granite boulders at the edge of Amphitheater Lake, with peaks behind
Amphitheater Lake, Grand Teton

How hikes are researched

  • Rules, fees, closures and difficulty come from whoever manages the land: the City of Phoenix, Maricopa County Parks, Arizona State Parks, the Tonto National Forest and others. Every fact links to where it came from, under Sources on each hike.
  • When I’ve hiked one, my field notes are on its page, with the route and the month. Until then, it’s researched from the sources alone.
  • Conditions come live from the National Weather Service and NOAA, and refresh every 15 minutes. Hike times use a standard walking pace. How heat risk works.

Corrections

Trails change: lots close, rules update, fees go up. If something on a page is wrong or out of date, email hello@touchdirtaz.com with the hike and what you saw. Fixes go up as soon as they’re checked.

Photo credits

Photos not taken by me come from Wikimedia Commons under the licence named beside each one. The author links go to the original file.

Research note: hike details are gathered with AI-assisted research, checked against the cited sources, and reviewed by me. Field notes are my own.