The Black Canyon Trail Off Highway 17 North of Phoenix is a beautiful and rewarding 77.5 mile hike (or bike ride) through the foothills of the Bradshaw Mountains, although I've only done just over 2 miles (one-way, the roundtrip we did to the river and back was about 4.25 miles) of the hike, which was down to the Agua Fria River.

Along the way are plenty of Saguaro cacti and mountain views and then hiking along the river is refreshing and beautiful with equally gorgeous views of boulders, steep canyon walls, the river itself, and all the wonderful desert vegetation.

I just love Saguaros and wonderfully refreshing water features. Especially in the desert.

Just a heads up though, there is a shooting range nearby where you will hear rifles, handguns, and fully automatic machine guns which… is so awesome and i’m so jealous. You won’t hear them the entire hike or that would be annoying but you do hear them mostly at the start. By the time you’re down a bit and especially by the river, you can hear nothing but nature.