Papago Park Loop

Most people have seen these red, holey buttes either driving or flying into Phoenix, or if you have ever visited the Phoenix Zoo or Desert Botanical Gardens. These cave-like holes are tafoni caused by salt weathering and water in the sandstone, and the red color caused from iron oxidation. When I first moved to Phoenix, I had various people try to convince me that these holes were carved out by the Hohokam who lived there. I was never satisfied with this answer as it seems like a lot of holes to carve. It is true that the Hohokam used these tafoni as shelter, and in the case of the one famous tafoni here at Papago Park, the "Hole-in-the-Rock," the Hohokam used the hole to record sunlight patterns and keep track of equinoxes and solstices. The "Hole-in-the-Rock" is on the opposite (east) side of Galvin Parkway from my hike. In my opinion, there just as many cool tafoni on the west side of Papago Park, and a lot less congestion and people.

I started my hike from the west parking lot off of Galvin Parkway, just north of Van Buren Street. From here, I walked due north along the Eliot Ramada Loop which is an asphalt path. At the Eliot Ramada, I turned right (east) to walk along the dirt path that is the Big Butte Loop. This trail hugs Big Butte where you can get some up-close views of the tafoni and even scramble around them. I caught several people sunbathing up on some high tafoni holes. Walking in a counter-clockwise direction will lead you to the amphitheater. On a clear day, you can see all of a Phoenix's prominent mountains from here; I could make out Camelback Mountain, the McDowell Mountains, and Red Mountain all from this spot. Before you make your way back to Eliot Ramada, turn right (now west) at the asphalt path again, and rejoin the Eliot Ramada Loop. The rest of this path takes you all the way around the circumference of Phoenix Municipal Golf Course. The asphalt will peter out at Moreland Street (the entrance to the golf course), but if you go straight across the street, the trail starts up again as a dirt path with the chain-link fence of the golf course on your left. There are many shrubs and trees along this portion of the trail, and lots of birds and rodents taking advantage of the nice green golf course. A really nice walk!

Length: 3.5 miles following these 2 loops to make 1 hike
Elevation gain: 50 feet
Time it took us: 1.5 hours
Dogs okay: Yes
Fees: none