Camelback Mountain at Sunrise

2,704 feet from the middle of Phoenix's most expensive neighborhoods. Echo Canyon Trail: 1.2 miles, 1,280 feet gain, iron handrails bolted into rock, slots where your shoulders brush both walls. At five AM the parking lot is half full because Phoenicians know hiking after nine in summer is a medical event.

The summit puts the entire Valley of the Sun below you. The grid stretches to every horizon, interrupted by desert mountains — Piestewa, South Mountain, Superstitions in the far east. December sunset from the summit — cool enough to linger, city lights blooming below — is the best free show in Arizona.

November through March. Bring a liter of water per person per hour. The rescue team is not joking. Summer trailhead closes during heat warnings.