Going to Surprise, AZ: Will be traveling to Surprise, AZ in Mid May. Will be there for 5 days but will be free for one day to do some photography. Would like some suggestions on places...

JoAnneK01 Loc: Lahaina, Hawaii

Will be traveling to Surprise, AZ in Mid May. Will be there for 5 days but will be free for one day to do some photography. Would like some suggestions on places to go for photography on my free day. I'm not into much hiking any more.

alandg46 Loc: Boerne, Texas

Sedona is not far or the Apache Trail (AZ Hiway 88) are both doable.

deconblues

Because you'll be on the westside of the valley. I would suggest White Tanks Mountains. It's a state park. So there is a fee. You don't have to hike. You can get great pics of downtown Phoenix and of course the desert. Try getting there in the morning for more dramatical pics. State parks open at 6am. Have fun.

alandg46 Loc: Boerne, Texas

deconblues wrote:

Because you'll be on the westside of the valley. I would suggest White Tanks Mountains. It's a state park. So there is a fee. You don't have to hike. You can get great pics of downtown Phoenix and of course the desert. Try getting there in the morning for more dramatical pics. State parks open at 6am. Have fun.

Something to be said for that. Driving across Phoenix is not a whole lot of fun.

JoAnneK01 Loc: Lahaina, Hawaii

alandg46 wrote:

Sedona is not far or the Apache Trail (AZ Hiway 88) are both doable.

Mahalo for taking the time to answer. Both sound interesting.

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

JoAnneK01 wrote:

Will be traveling to Surprise, AZ in Mid May. Will be there for 5 days but will be free for one day to do some photography. Would like some suggestions on places to go for photography on my free day. I'm not into much hiking any more.

Here's what the experience on the Apache Trail is like (not my Youtube posting). As someone pointed out, it's a long way across Phoenix from Surprise to the start of the trail, but the trail is very scenic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-_4VNK6Tes&t=39s

alandg46 Loc: Boerne, Texas

DWU2 wrote:

Here's what the experience on the Apache Trail is like (not my Youtube posting). As someone pointed out, it's a long way across Phoenix from Surprise to the start of the trail, but the trail is very scenic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-_4VNK6Tes&t=39s

This guy has some serious saturation issues even more than I.

But he does get the point across. You can make the Apache Trail a loop by going on to AZ Highway 188 and then to U.S. Highway 60. We did not do that as it was getting close to dark. We had started about 2PM and we didn't see any point in not seeing scenery in the dark. Plus I thought we might have some sunset opportunities from places I had noticed on the way.

JoAnneK01 Loc: Lahaina, Hawaii

deconblues wrote:

Because you'll be on the westside of the valley. I would suggest White Tanks Mountains. It's a state park. So there is a fee. You don't have to hike. You can get great pics of downtown Phoenix and of course the desert. Try getting there in the morning for more dramatical pics. State parks open at 6am. Have fun.

Will definitely take White Tanks Mountains State Park into consideration. The name is interesting. Mahalo for stopping by and providing your input.

AzShooter1 Loc: Surprise, Az.

In Surprise, the White Tanks is a nice area to try. Don't forget the Wild Animal Park Zoo. You could call in advance and get a tour of Luke AFB in Glendale. Sedona makes a great day trip. Go on one of the Jeep tours or check out the tours to the vortexs. They will show you some interesting spots.

kd7eir Loc: Tucson, AZ

alandg46 wrote:

Sedona is not far or the Apache Trail (AZ Hiway 88) are both doable.

Sedona is 118 miles from Surprise, four hour round-trip if you don't stop along the way. Unless he wanted to make Sedona the focus of his day, I think that is a bit of a stretch to recommend to someone asking for ideas around Surprise.

Lake Pleasant, White Tanks, Crown King are all places that I would recommend.

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

Wickenburg is interesting and the Hassayampa is beautiful. You might try shooting the convergence of the Hassayampa and the Gila. Nice riparian area.

brucebc Loc: Tooele, Utah

Arcosanti, AZ is about an hour up I-15 at Cordus Junction.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

You can't go wrong with Sedona. If you only have time for one day trip, go to Sedona. The Apache Trail is nice, but not nearly so much as Sedona. If you do go to the Apache Trail, don't expect to go over about 30 mph because of all the curves, mountains, etc. Make a stop at Tortilla Flat along the way (great for lunch), and be advised that the last half of the trail, from above a few miles above Tortilla Flat to Lake Roosevelt, is a gravel road. It's a most of the day trip, and you can come home via a nice paved highway which is a little further but tons of time faster. As a side note, if you don't travel through Phoenix at rush hour, it's not really that bad--my experience from having been there a few times.

shutterbob Loc: Tucson

A trip to Sedona and back, and taking in some sights there will take most of the day but it is more than worth it. You don't need to do any hiking there to enjoy the beauty of the place unless you want to. There are several short "trails" in the area if you decide to walk a bit. It is a place that I put in the same class as Hawaii......everyone needs to see it at least once in their life.

jearlwebb

Aloha!
This weekend it will hit over 100 degrees, so if you are planning taking pics around the PHX area, start early, lots of sunscreen and water and remember the "Sunny Rule 16"!
IMHO the best AZ has to offer that is not too far is Sedona and the Grand Canyon.
If possible, I would book a night in Flagstaff ( cheaper than Sedona or GC ) drive to the GC and photograph the south rim and then head down scenic 89 ( great pics along the way ) to Sedona for more great shots, lunch at the historic Coffee Pot, ending up the day with maybe a sunset from the airport mesa or heading back on 179 shots of Bell Rock then back to PHX area. I am sure there are many past posts about Sedona and the GC for you to review.

Travel safe and welcome to AZ!