Whether you’re visiting Arizona or call it home, the outdoors can look a little different depending on the time of year. Cooler mornings could mean red rock jeep trails and mountain summits. Triple-digit afternoons could involve floating the river with your feet in the water and a beverage within arm’s reach. And every morning, no matter the season, Arizona brings another sunrise worth getting up for.
Let someone else do the driving (or flying) or lace up your boots and do it yourself, either way Arizona outdoor fun is never more than a short drive away!
You don’t have to choose between relaxing and adventuring here. You can drift down a desert river past wild horses in the morning and take to the skies in a hot air balloon that same evening. That’s just a normal Tuesday in Arizona.
Arizona Outdoor Tours
Guided tours are one of the easiest ways to see more of Arizona without having to plan every detail yourself. You show up, someone who actually knows the terrain takes the wheel (or the reins, or the throttle), and you get to just be present for it.
That’s the appeal of a good guided tour: local knowledge you can’t Google your way into, a level of access you might not have on your own, and a guide who’s usually got a story or two about the landscape you’re standing in. Families love it because nobody has to be “the responsible one.” Couples love it because it makes for an actual date instead of two people staring at a trail map. And first-time visitors love it because it’s the fastest way to feel like a local, even if it’s your first morning in the state.
From gliding above the Sonoran Desert in a balloon to bouncing over red rock backroads in an open-air Jeep, there are plenty of ways to experience Arizona outdoor fun, tours and adventures with a guide leading the way. For more ideas our Arizona hot air balloon rides page is a good jumping-off point, while our post on things to do in Phoenix has even more ideas for building a full day or weekend around the Valley.
Hot Air Balloon Rides
Okay, we’re a little biased here! We’ve been doing this for over 30 years, so hot air ballooning tends to be where our heart is. But we promise this isn’t just a sales pitch: floating over the Sonoran Desert at sunrise genuinely is one of those “I can’t believe this is real life” experiences, and it’s easy to see why people fly in from out of state just to check it off their bucket list.
Here’s what a morning with us usually looks like: an early check-in (yes, before sunrise, that’s when the air is calmest), a front-row seat to watching the balloon inflate, and then up to an hour drifting anywhere from a few feet above the saguaros to a couple thousand feet in the air, taking in views of the Valley of the Sun or the Sonoran Desert around Tucson. It’s common to spot javelina, jackrabbits, coyotes, and the occasional herd of wild burros from up there. Afterward, there’s a champagne toast and a catered spread waiting for you back on the ground, a tradition in ballooning that goes back generations.
One guest summed up a recent anniversary flight by saying every person on the ground crew was “awesome” and “very fun & personable,” and that their group, ranging in age from 24 to 60, all walked away impressed. Another flyer posted on Instagram after finally crossing ballooning off her bucket list, writing that the experience floating 4,000 feet over the Sonoran Desert was “incredible,” made even better by an unexpected sighting of a wild herd of burros.
Curious about what makes a hot air balloon ride worth the early wake up? We wrote about it in Why a Hot Air Balloon Ride Should Be On Your Bucket List.
ATV
If ballooning is Arizona’s calm, quiet adventure, ATV touring is its loud, dusty cousin, and plenty of visitors want both on the same trip! Guided ATV and off-road tours run through desert washes, old mining roads, and rugged backcountry across the state, from the outskirts of Phoenix to the Sonoran Desert near Tucson. Many guided tours supply the vehicle, the helmet, and a guide who knows exactly which ridge to stop at for photos, so you don’t need to bring your own gear or plan the route. Stellar Adventures, for example, offers guided ATV tours through the Sonoran Desert near Phoenix and Scottsdale.
It’s a great option for groups who want more adrenaline than a jeep tour but don’t necessarily want to commit to a multi-day backcountry trip. A couple of hours is usually enough to leave you sunburnt, dusty, and grinning.
Whitewater Rafting
Whitewater rafting in Arizona tends to surprise people. It’s not exactly the first thing that comes to mind for a desert state, but the Colorado River that runs through the Grand Canyon is one of the most iconic rafting trips in the country, with rapids that swing from lazy Class I riffles to genuinely gnarly Class IV+ water depending on where and when you go. Multi-day guided trips run from Lee’s Ferry through the canyon, mixing big rapids with quiet stretches, side-canyon hikes, and nights camped out on sandbars under more stars than you knew existed.
Closer to Phoenix, the Salt River offers a shorter rafting option through the Salt River Canyon. Guided half-day trips put you on the water for about two hours, with Class II and III rapids, desert scenery and plenty of time to cool down and get a little wet along the way. Mild to Wild’s Salt River rafting trips are one option for getting out on the river. Either way, a guide is doing the navigating, which means you can actually look up at the canyon walls instead of white-knuckling an oar the whole time.
Sedona Tours
No conversation about Arizona outdoor tours is complete without Sedona. The red rock formations here don’t really translate through photos. You have to stand under Cathedral Rock or ride past Bell Rock in person to understand why this town has been drawing artists, hikers, and daydreamers for decades. Two popular ways to explore the area are Pink Jeep Tours and horseback riding.
Photo Credit: The Inn Above Oak Creek
Pink Jeep Tours
Pink Jeep Tours have been running Sedona’s backcountry roads since long before “off-roading” was a bucket-list buzzword, and it shows. These guides know every switchback, viewpoint, and slot of Sedona’s rugged terrain by heart.
Reviewers rave about the guides as much as the scenery. One recent visitor booked an early morning tour specifically to catch the sunrise, and said watching the rock formations change color as the light shifted was a highlight of the trip, thanks to a driver who was skilled and friendly. Another guest called her Broken Arrow and Scenic Rim combo tour “hands down one of the highlights” of the whole Sedona visit, crediting a guide who packed the ride with local history, photo stops, and access to spots you simply can’t reach on your own. Fair warning if you’re prone to motion sickness: it’s a genuinely bumpy ride, in the best way. Pack light, dress warm if you’re going near sunset, and hold on tight through the rock-crawling sections.
Horseback Riding
For a slower, quieter way to take in the same red rock views, horseback riding is hard to beat. Guided rides wind through Sedona’s canyons and washes at a pace that actually lets you notice things, like the smell of juniper, the way the light hits Cathedral Rock in the late afternoon, a hawk circling overhead. Most outfitters offer options for total beginners as well as more experienced riders looking for a longer backcountry route, and some tours even pair a jeep excursion with a horseback leg so you get the best of both.
Arizona Outdoor Adventures
Now, if you’d rather skip the guide and set your own pace, Arizona has just as much to offer the DIY crowd. These are the adventures where you’re doing the navigating, the climbing, and (usually) the sweating yourself.
Hiking Areas
“Hiking areas near me” is a popular search for a reason! No matter where you’re starting from, a genuinely great trailhead is rarely more than an hour away. Here are three of the most iconic.
Havasupai Falls is the trail everyone’s seen on Instagram, especially those turquoise waterfalls tumbling into travertine pools deep in a side canyon of the Grand Canyon. Getting there is no small feat: it’s a 10-mile hike (20 round trip) from Hualapai Hilltop down to the campground, dropping about 2,500 feet along the way, and it requires a permit that’s notoriously hard to snag through the Havasupai Tribe’s reservation system. It’s not a casual afternoon hike. Expect heat, a heavy pack, and a multi-day commitment, but almost everyone who’s made the trip will tell you it’s worth every mile.
Camelback Mountain, on the other hand, is a Phoenix classic you can knock out before lunch if you’re up for it. Don’t let the short mileage fool you: the Echo Canyon and Cholla trails both pack around 1,300–1,500 feet of elevation gain into roughly 2.5 miles round trip, with steep rock scrambling near the top. It’s consistently ranked one of the toughest short hikes in the Valley, so go early, bring more water than you think you need, and don’t attempt it in the middle of a July afternoon.
Superstition Mountains, east of the Valley near Apache Junction, offer something for every skill level. You can go from the easy, family-friendly Native Plant Trail to the genuinely demanding Siphon Draw Trail, which climbs toward the dramatic cliff face known as the Flatiron. The scenery here comes with a legend attached (more on that below), which makes every ridge and canyon feel a little more mysterious than your average trailhead.
Salt River Tubing
Come summer, floating the Salt River is as close to a rite of passage as Arizona has. From roughly May through September, locals and visitors grab a tube, hop in the current, and drift for a few hours through desert canyon scenery with the Phoenix skyline a world away, even though it’s only about a 40-minute drive from downtown.
The real highlight, though, is the wild horses. The Lower Salt River is home to a genuinely wild herd that roams the riverbanks and cottonwood groves, and it’s not unusual to float right past them grazing or drinking at the water’s edge. One recent tuber said the scenic views and watching the wild horses drink from the river made the whole float “even more special,” while another guest called the horses “an added highlight” of the trip. Just remember to admire from a respectful distance. These are wild animals, not photo props, and if seeing them is your main goal, consider going early in the morning, when you’re more likely to find them near the water before the heat and crowds pick up.
Lost Dutchman State Park & the Lost Dutchman Mine
At the base of the Superstition Mountains sits Lost Dutchman State Park / Mine, named for one of the most enduring legends in the American West. According to the legend, the Peralta family found gold somewhere in these mountains in the 1840s, and decades later a German prospector named Jacob Waltz, “the Dutchman,” supposedly rediscovered the mine and kept its exact location a secret until his death in 1891. People have been searching for it ever since, and more than a few of those searches have ended badly, which only adds to the mystique.
Legend aside, the park itself is a fantastic, accessible slice of Sonoran Desert. The Treasure Loop Trail is an easy 2.4-mile loop with big payoff views of the Superstitions and the Phoenix skyline in the distance, while Siphon Draw pushes further into the wilderness toward the base of the Flatiron for hikers wanting more of a challenge. Spring brings wildflowers across the foothills, and the park’s campgrounds make it an easy overnight if you want to turn a hike into a full weekend under some genuinely dark desert skies.
Ready to See Arizona From a Whole New Angle?
However you like to explore, Arizona rewards anyone willing to get outside and look up. And if “looking up” is where you’d rather start, we’d love to have you aboard. Book your Phoenix or Tucson hot air balloon ride with Hot Air Expeditions and see the desert the way it was meant to be seen: from a few thousand feet, with a champagne toast waiting for you when you land.
