Arizona Biking, Kayaking, and the Superstition Mountains with REI Adventures
Arizona has a special place in my heart. The more I visit, the more I want to visit again! So, when Visit Arizona and the Adventure Travel Trade Association invited me on an REI adventure trip, I was stoked! REI offers adventures that range from 1 day to 10 days and they have something for everyone. They offer women’s-only trips, beginning adventures, under 30, and more. If you’ve been wanting to get out and explore but are nervous to go alone or overwhelmed by the planning of an adventure excursion, I highly recommend these trips!
We got a sample of what their trips look like by exploring the Tempe and Phoenix region. Our day started out with our guides Tim and Owen taking us on a bike tour around Tempe. While I’d visited the city before to film our Tempe Travel Guide, the bike tour was a new and unique way to explore the area. The contrast of the desert climate combined with the green parks and Tempe Town Lake, make this an active person’s paradise!
Our adventure was on a Saturday, and on top of the Ironman that was taking place on the lake, people of all shapes and sizes were out and about running, biking, and playing golf. Also having our amazing guides, I got to learn all sorts of cool facts about Arizona. Like, did you know that 87% of the entire state is public land?!? That means only 13% of the state is private residences and the rest are things like national and state parks and protected lands. Pretty cool right?
Once we looped back to our hotel, we made a quick change and headed back out in our tour van into the mountains. About an hour east of Tempe, is Canyon Lake. Canyon Lake is the smallest of the Salt River Project Lakes meant to create a reservoir of water storage for the greater Phoenix area. But this lake is not small by any means. It’s large enough to enjoy a day of water skiing or tubing from a boat. There is also a small marina that houses pontoon boats and more and the nearby Tortilla Flat Campground is open year-round. The lake is surrounded by stunning mountains and it’s located in the Four Peak Wilderness just outside of Tonto National Forest.
One of the great things about taking an adventure with REI is that they not only provide all of the meals but also all of the equipment (minus a couple of easy packable items that they let you know ahead of time.) While we enjoyed the sunshine and some lunch, Tim and Owen unloaded the kayaks and we were ready to go!
My favorite part about kayaking at Canyon Lake was that once we got past the marina and entered the no-wake zone, the canyon walls towered around us. The afternoon glow on the red rocks was magnicfgient and made me feel like I was in another world. Our guides continued to give us amazing information about the region and guided us through a relaxing afternoon on the water.
After kayaking, we headed down the road to Lost Dutchman State Park to set up for dinner. If you have been following my show and blog, you know how much I absolutely LOVE this campground! I’ve made a point to stop here on multiple occasions. Not only is it one of the most well maintained campgrounds I’ve ever stayed at, but it offers EPIC views of the Superstition Mountains.
Tim and Owen laid out some appetizers while our media group took photos and explored the campground and then they got to work on dinner. I’m not sure if being an incredible chef is part of the job application for REI guides but these guys nailed it! Steak and chicken, green beans, quinoa, everything was divine!
After eating dinner, we all gathered around the campfire for some tales of the Superstitions. These mountains are famous for the legend of the Lost Dutchman missing gold. Over the centuries, hundreds of people have gone out searching for the treasure and many of them have ended up dead or missing. These mountains live up to their superstitious name! Ranger Jackie told us all about history of the region and the Native American lands surrounding the mountains. We listened to these incredible stories while the mountains towered in the background and we indulged in s’mores and reflected on our incredible day.
Arizona is one of those incredible states you could spend a lifetime exploring and never see it all. Every time I come back I have more love for this land, it’s rich history, and it’s incredible nature. This was an amazing experience going out with REI adventures and learning even more about this region. If you ever get the chance to take one of their adventure tours, I cannot recommend it highly enough! Learn more about their adventures here and watch the full episode below.
Special thank you to Visit Arizona and Adventure Travel Trade Association for sponsoring this adventure!