10 Favorite Autumn Adventures in Arizona

1. Hiking into the Grand Canyon

After the peak summer tourist season begins to wane, crowds on Grand Canyon's South Rim start to thin out, but the weather only gets better for hiking as temperatures cool and monsoon thunderstorms subside. Trails like the following are often too hot in summer and become gradually more pleasant as the calendar flips toward winter.

• South Kaibab Trail
• Bright Angel Trail
• Grandview Trail
• Hermit Trail

2. Seeing the North Rim

Fall is the best time to visit Grand Canyon's remote and high-elevation North Rim, but the window of time from summer's end to the winter's beginning is short here. Fall colors erupt in early October but may be overtaken by snow soon after, and many park facilities close for the season by mid or end of October. While park services may be closed access to the north rim typically remains open until end of November or once the first big winter storms comes through. Up to date information on North Rim access can be found here.

• Bright Angel Point
• Cape Final Trail
• Widforss Trail
• North Rim Campground

3. Hiking in Sedona

In autumn, leaves in Sedona turn to match their red-rock backdrop as temperatures become much more tolerable. This is the time to explore Sedona's sunnier hikes that are simply too hot in summer but to beautiful to pass up in fall.

• Cathedral Rock
• Red Rock Loop
• Fay Canyon Trail
• Devils Bridge

4. Sunsets over Phoenix

Fall is when it's finally safe to emerge to emerge from the A/C in the Valley, though temperatures can still hit 100 into October. Once the afternoon finally cools off you'll have the perfect opportunity to hike to one of Arizona's famous sunsets over the city.

• Dobbin's Lookout
• Camelback Mountain
• Scenic Trail
• Treasure Loop Trail

5. Warmth on the water

The lower elevations can be slow to cool down in the fall, but with winter on the horizon, this is your last chance to enjoy warmth on the water. Enjoy paddling or swimming in one of Arizona's desert reservoirs or natural streams.

• Lake Pleasant
• Canyon Lake
• Lower Salt River
• Black Canyon Water Trail

6. Fall colors on Mount Lemmon

​Just outside Tucson, Mount Lemmon rises to more than 9,000 feet, harboring cooler temperatures and a bounty of fall foliage. Driving, hiking, and camping are ways to witness the changing of seasons on the mountain

• ​Mount Lemmon Scenic Byway
• Windy Point Vista
• Sunset Trail

​7. Falls colors on the San Francisco Peaks

Arizona's highest elevation is atop the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff, which rise into the alpine realm. Groves of aspen trees turn ablaze while snow settles above treeline. Hike into this wilderness area to experience it all, but prepare for cold temperatures at this altitude.

• Inner Basin Trail
• Humphreys Peak Trail

8. Camping in the national forests

Arizona's bounty of national forest land beckons year round, but especially when autumn arrives. Enjoy cool evenings and starry nights at one of many developed campgrounds or out among the trees down a dirt road all to yourself.

• Ten-X Campground
• Manzanita Campground
• Potato Patch Campground
• Rock Crossings Campground
• Coon Bluff Campground
• Rose Canyon Campground

9. Mountain biking

When temperatures drop and trails dry out definitively, all of Arizona's mountain biking opens up. Excellent trails abound all over the state, from the high mountains to the low desert, dealing a variety of conditions and scenery.

• McDowell Mountain Regional Park
• National Trail
• Rogers Lake County Natural Area
• Kelly Canyon
• Schultz Creek Trail

10. Rock climbing

Arizona is famous for rock climbing, and fall is really the time to take advantage of it. Though the sport is possible all year, climbers especially look forward to "the season," which is the window between summer's rain and winter's snow.

• The Overlook
• Queen Victoria Spire
• Man on the Moon

This article has been updated. It was originially published in September 2017 by Jesse Weber.