Hike Description:

From the parking lot to the base of mountain, it is an easy hike. Then it picks up vertical climbing. At the halfway mark you will think this is very steep mountain. Lucky for you the goal is not to climb all the way to the top of the mountain.

Speaking from experience, it is as hard as climbing to the top of the San Francisco Peaks without the elevation. So instead, at the halfway mark, we cut right and walk another 25 minutes to a beautiful overlook of everything you can imagine. This is where we practice yoga and still feel like you are on top of the world... without being sore the next day.

As the trail ascends in elevation, hikers have a panoramic view of the Valley of the Sun and surrounding mountains. Much of the landscape is open with low shrubs, grasses and forbs with occasional taller shrubs. In the spring, from late February into April, the annual wildflowers are abundant if the rains and sunshine have been just right. Under optimum conditions, poppies and brittlebush cover the entire hillside with color. Distance 6 miles round trip. Time 4.5 to 5 hours, depending how you move and how much you like to stop.