A skydiver in freefall in a blue suit high over flat brown desert farmland (symbolic image, not Eloy)

33° 27′ N · 112° 04′ W · From a jump door over Eloy to the Salt River · Ground 38

Phoenix & the Sonoran Desert

A desert that goes up.
Then a river that goes through it.

Phoenix lies in a bowl of desert mountains, and these grounds climb out of it: the jump door at Eloy at 13,000 feet, the balloons that lift off north of the city at dawn and float up to 5,000 feet over the saguaros, the hand-over-hand scramble up Camelback in the middle of town – and at the bottom the Salt River, where you float through the Tonto on a tube or paddle past wild horses.

How high may your pulse go?Level 5 · everything

1 · the view3 · sweaty palms5 · heart in your throat

Jump

Stop 1 · Tandem skydive · Skydive Arizona, Eloy

13,000^{FT · ABOVE GROUND LEVEL}

Fifty seconds over the biggest drop zone in the desert

Eloy sits halfway to Tucson, flat and dry and with jump planes in the air all day; at 13,000 feet the door opens and for fifty seconds the desert is a beige map with the Picacho Peak stuck into it.

Pulse 5/5 our editors' rating

Exit altitude: up to 13,000 ft above ground (about 4,000 m)
Freefall: roughly 50 seconds
Age & weight: 18+; men up to 220 lb, women up to 200 lb
Price: $259 direct, $239 students and military

Direct only. Skydive Arizona is one of the largest drop zones in the world and sells its own slots; neither GetYourGuide nor Viator lists a tandem here. About an hour south of Phoenix on the I-10. Photo: a tandem jump elsewhere, not Eloy.

↓ Above your pulse limit – keep falling

A striped hot-air balloon with passengers floats over hazy desert mountains (symbolic image, not north Phoenix)

You lift off from a dirt lot north of the city while the sky is still grey, and for an hour the saguaros shrink to pins: the White Tank Mountains, Lake Pleasant, and on clear mornings Camelback in the haze.

Pulse 2/5 our editors' rating

Altitude: 2,000 to 5,000 ft over the desert, per the operator
Flight: 45 to 60 minutes, about 4 h door to door
Ages: 5+ and 48 in tall
When: sunrise year-round; sunset flights November to March

The best-reviewed balloon on this site. Hot Air Expeditions has 2,166 reviews on Viator at $239 with breakfast; Arizona Balloon Safaris flies “the largest balloon in the USA” for $199. Book the sunrise slot – afternoons only fly in winter. Photo: a balloon elsewhere, not the Sonoran Desert.

↓ Above your pulse limit – keep falling

Stop 2 · Hot-air balloon · Hot Air Expeditions & Rainbow Ryders, north Phoenix

5,000^{FT · OVER THE DESERT, CEILING}

Saguaros from two to five thousand feet

A hiker in a red jacket scrambles hand over hand up a red rock face (symbolic image, not Camelback)

Stop 3 · Summit hike · Echo Canyon Trail, Phoenix

1,400^{FT · OF CLIMB IN 1.14 MILES}

Fourteen hundred feet of scramble in the middle of the city

The trail leaves a parking lot in a neighbourhood and goes straight up: handrails, then rock, then a boulder scramble where you use your hands, and from the summit at 2,704 feet the whole valley to the mountains.

Pulse 3/5 our editors' rating

Climb: 1,400 ft in 1.14 miles on Echo Canyon; Cholla 1,420 ft in 1.5 miles
Rating: “Extremely Difficult”, City of Phoenix
Summit: 2,704 ft above sea level
Heat: the city closes the trail on extreme-heat days

Free to hike, and the guide is worth it in summer. The city rates both trails Extremely Difficult and rescues hikers every year; Mad Desert Trekking's guided sunrise hike has 273 reviews at $145. Start before dawn from May to September.

↓ Above your pulse limit – keep falling

Tubers float a riffle on the Lower Salt River while a Forest Service officer wades beside them

The Salt River leaves the Tonto's canyons and slows into a green ribbon through the desert: you float it in a tube for two to four hours, or paddle a kayak past the wild horses that come down to drink.

Pulse 2/5 our editors' rating

Tubing: $28 with shuttle, season April 25 to late September
Height: at least 4 ft; ages 12 and under in life jackets
Kayak: 2 h Foxtail trip, 2,857 reviews on Viator
Where: Bush Highway, Mesa, about 40 minutes from downtown

Tubing is direct, the kayak is on Viator. Salt River Tubing runs the shuttle and rents tubes at the gate; Saguaro Lake Ranch's guided kayak trip is the most-reviewed thing in these grounds. In summer the tubing weekends are crowded – go on a weekday morning.

↓ Above your pulse limit – keep falling

Stop 4 · Tubing & kayak · Tonto National Forest, Mesa

0^{FT · ON THE RIVER}

Wild horses at the water's edge

Touchdown. Now build your day on these grounds.

Also on these grounds

Jeep tours into the Tonto

Pulse 2/5

Scottsdale Adventure Tours drives open Jeeps into the Tonto National Forest at sunset: saguaro forest, washes, the Four Peaks turning red. With 2,770 reviews the most-booked desert tour here.

ATVs in the Sonoran Desert

Pulse 2/5

Guided two-hour rides on the trails north of Scottsdale, or a self-drive rental for the ones who want the desert to themselves. Dust, heat and a helmet; from May to September go at eight in the morning.

Guided desert hikes for the ones who want a guide

Pulse 2/5

Short private hikes in the Sonoran Preserve and along Cave Creek, with a naturalist who names the cacti and the snakes. The gentle way in before Camelback.

1-2 Hour Sonoran Desert Private Guided Hiking Tour$70★ 5.0 · 83 reviews · 1.5 h · Viator

The grounds in numbers

Activity	Pulse	The number	Duration	From	Reviews	Bookable online
Tandem skydive · Eloy	5/5	up to 13,000 ft	about 50 s freefall	Skydive Arizona	—	no – book direct
Sunrise balloon · north Phoenix						Book now →
Camelback via Echo Canyon						Book now →
Salt River kayak · Mesa						Book now →
Salt River tubing · Mesa	2/5	0 ft	2–4 h	Salt River Tubing	—	no – $28 at the gate
Sunset Jeep · Tonto						Book now →
Guided ATV · Scottsdale						Book now →
Guided desert hike						Book now →

Before you jump

How high do the Phoenix balloons fly?

Hot Air Expeditions says its balloons float 2,000 to 5,000 feet over the desert, for 45 to 60 minutes. Sunrise flights go year-round; sunset flights only from November to March, when the afternoon air is calm enough. Children must be five and 48 inches tall.

Can you book Skydive Arizona online?

Only direct. Skydive Arizona at Eloy, about an hour south of Phoenix, jumps tandems from up to 13,000 feet for $259 – $239 for students and military – and no network lists it. Freefall is roughly 50 seconds; the weight limit is 220 pounds for men and 200 for women.

Is Camelback Mountain dangerous?

The City of Phoenix rates both summit trails Extremely Difficult: Echo Canyon climbs 1,400 feet in 1.14 miles, with a boulder scramble near the top. Heat is the real risk – the trail closes on extreme-heat days, and from May to September you start before dawn with more water than you think.

When can you tube the Salt River?

From late April to late September. Salt River Tubing at Mesa rents a tube with the shuttle for $28; you need to be at least four feet tall, and children twelve and under wear life jackets. Floats last two to four hours depending on the flow. The kayak trips on Viator run in the other months too.

What does an adventure day cost here?

On Sept 25, 2026: the Salt River kayak $57, a guided Camelback hike $145, the sunset Jeep $155, the balloon $199–239 with breakfast, a guided ATV tour $235 and the Eloy skydive $259 direct. Tubing is $28 at the gate.