"Ever since I lived in Tucson back during my college days I was always wanting to do Picacho Peak. It always looked super fun to do but for one reason or another I just never made took the time out of the day to drive over and do the hike. I decided 2025 would be the year to do it and it definitely lived up to the expectations I had of it. For this climb I invited my old college roommate that shared similar interest in climbing it as well as Bao and my brother Abe. We camped out at the state park the night before to catch up since college since we hadn't seen each other in a while. Woke up early the next day to try to beat the crowds and head up. It was definitely strenuous and tiring but it was a rather straightforward climb. I thought at first that adding cables to the more technical spots would retract from the fun but that really wasn't the case here. The entire trail was just 10/10 fun and interesting. My only recommendation here is to wear gloves because those cables are rough on the skin! AT THE TIME I had no idea that access to Razorback Ridge was closed off since I didn't see any signage suggesting otherwise. Alltrails also showed a trail and I had seen activity..." — easotelo1 • Feb 8, 2025

"Made an early morning visit to beat the heat. Surprisingly, half the hike was in the shade since the peak blocked direct morning sunlight. Some technical climbing is involved, but in those instances, climbing cables assists the climb. Great views from the summit of this classic Arizona hike." — MikeTeeples • Jul 21, 2024

"Up the Hunter trail from the campground, then looped around the backside for a nice day on Picacho! Was surprisingly cold and overcast on top, so glad we packed warm layers to hang out up there." — beaucheminjess • Dec 24, 2023

"Worth the drive from Phoenix. It was a hectic trail with areas where you had to wait for one-way traffic. We combined two trails to get a little more distance. I was lucky enough to do this one with my daughter which, of course, made the day perfect. " — brandydanielson • Nov 4, 2023

"An insane but fun trail. Took the Hunter Trail to the top, then the Sunset Trail down the other side and around the mountain back to the trailhead to make it a loop hike. Overall rating 9/10, definitely a trail to experience if you live in Arizona." — MountainQuest • Mar 20, 2022

"Was in Tucson for business and finished early on Wednesday-stopped off on the way home-Got on the trail around 3:30, got to the last set of cables around 4:30 and decided it was time to turn back-both due to Class 3 and time constraints! I will be back-one of the best hikes and 1st real climb I have ever done!" — Curt • Jan 20, 2021

"I began from the Hunter trailhead at 0816, arriving to the saddle around 0840 for a short, steep decent around to the southern side of the peak and then a steep scramble to the summit. The scramble had plenty of steel cables to grab onto if people didn't feel comfortable finding holds in the rock and there was netting in some of the steep parts. I made it to the summit around 0905 with a nice breeze and view of the valley below, which included I-10. I then went over to the other northern summit and took a breather there, where no one ventured over. Certainly a doable hike for a beginner hiker or climber (if they don't try to set up their own route), but I saw a lot of those novices struggle. They took about twice as long to summit and descend. I finished by 1022 when the temperatures were getting pretty high. It was almost 100 degrees when I reached my car. I finished the 4.3 miles of hiking (including northern summit) in 2 hours and 6 mins, which included 15 mins of rest (8 at one summit 7 at other) and speaking to a couple climbing up for 10 mins. If quick and experienced, this hike can be done in under 2 hours easily. I only drank 1 liter of water on the trail, but I brought..." — mchikes • Sep 20, 2020

"I started around 5:20 and summited around 50 minutes later. I climbed up without using any of the railings, just to make it a little more challenging. It was definitely a fun climb and a great park." — ZachTeich • Jun 2, 2018

"wife and I did the complete climb in afternoon...pretty much alone on trail and only us on the peak.. as novice hikers...probably the toughest climb done by us both...great challenge and sense of accomplishment....of course view is worth the climb! (pics to follow) D + C" — dalelutze • Feb 6, 2017

"First via ferrata hike/climb! I've driven by Picacho many times but never thought about hiking it. This was a lot of fun! The ostrich farm visit was a great way to end the trip :)" — Roselle • Dec 28, 2015