78 FUN & GAMES BEST FREE GUIDED HIKES MARICOPA COUNTY PARKS AND RECREATION 602-506-2930 MARICOPACOUNTYPARKS.NET Rugged, experienced, adventurous hikers have no problem grabbing their gear and setting out onto a familiar trail. For the rest of us, a hike presents a puzzle. Where should I go? Will the trail be too hard? What the hell was that snake? Pose your questions both casual and urgent to the cheerful, knowl- edgeable rangers of the Maricopa County Parks and Recreation Department. Each week the department hosts a dozen nature events around the Valley, most of which are free. Check out a full moon hike in San Tan Mountain Regional Park, a Saguaros at Sunset trek in White Tank Mountain Regional Park or a scenic hike in McDowell Mountain Regional Park. They get you prepared with a description of length, diffi- culty and what to bring. Just show up ready and enjoy a low-stress desert hike. i i i BEST GUEST ON CAMELBACK MOUNTAIN ALEX HONNOLD The freakiest athlete alive is a human dumb- waiter named Alex Honnold. The 41-year- old rock climber is best known for his 2017 free solo ascent of an absurdly technical route on Yosemite National Park’s absurdly tall El Capitan. In his middle age, Honnold continues to astonish. In January he free soloed the exterior of the 1,667-foot-tall Taipei 101 in a gut-clenching clamber streamed live on Netflix and witnessed by countless gawky office workers who watched from inside, mouths agape. June brought arguably his most daring spectacle yet, with an Instagram post of a hazy sunset over the West Valley. “I was just in Phoenix for a speaking event and had the time to sneak up Camelback Moun- tain afterward,” Honnold wrote, feigning calm to his 4 million followers. “It really exceeded expectations!! I love little bits of nature inside a city. And it had some pretty nice looking rock all over, though it was getting dark so it was slightly hard for me to tell where the actual climbing routes were.” An urban mountain climb so intense that the unflappable Alex Honnold could barely see. That’s what you have in your backyard, Phoenix. Now the world knows. i i i BEST PLACE TO TAKE A FAMILY PHOTO GRANITE REEF RECREATIONAL AREA The Valley is known for its plethora of pleasing desert views, with mountains littered around the urban landscape. But if you want all desert and no city, you don’t actually have to go far. Just off the Bush Highway, five minutes from housing devel- opments in north Mesa, you can pull off at the Granite Reef Recreational Area and take in a majestic mountain vista. The small park is right on the Salt River, just inside the Tonto National Forest. Across the water, reflected on the river’s surface, is Red Moun- tain. (It’s also known as S-wegi Do’ag to the O’odham and Mount McDowell to people who insist on naming things that are already named.) On a given day, you may see kayakers floating on the river or the beloved Salt River horses drinking from it. Snap your Christmas card photo here and become the envy of your friends. i i i BEST STARGAZING LOST DUTCHMAN STATE PARK 6109 N. APACHE TRAIL, APACHE JUNCTION 480-982-4485 AZSTATEPARKS.COM/LOST-DUTCHMAN By now, skywatchers know the drill. Finding a prime stargazing spot means heading for the far-flung edges of metro Phoenix, where the bright lights of the big city don’t spoil the view. (It’s a no-brainer: Less light equals darker skies.) Lost Dutchman State Park has an advantage over other locations: the nearby Superstition Mountains. The Flatiron forma- tion and nearby crags help block metro Phoe- nix’s glow and also look majestic once your eyes adjust. On clear, moonless nights, constellations and other celestial sights pop. Meteor showers are more visible out here, too. Come during one of the park’s astronomy events throughout the year for guided star- gazing and telescope viewing or rent a cabin for $99 a night for a vacay under the stars. i i i BEST STAR PARTIES EAST VALLEY ASTRONOMY CLUB GILBERT ROTARY CENTENNIAL OBSERVA- TORY, 2757 E. GUADALUPE ROAD, GILBERT EVACONLINE.ORG Space, to quote the late Douglas Adams, is big. Really, really big. During the East Valley Astronomy Club’s monthly star parties, though, the cosmos gets a little closer. On every second Friday at the Gilbert Rotary Centennial Observatory within the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch, the free events offer guided tours of the night sky led by local ama- teur astronomers using high-powered telescopes. The parties mix science and spectacle into a nerdy night out that beats gawking at a planetarium ceiling. Fun facts about the final frontier come at you faster than a shooting star. (Like, did you know Venus is a nightmarish setting of sulfuric acid clouds and an atmo- sphere 90 times heavier than Earth’s? Guess Arizona summers aren’t the most brutal thing in our solar system.) It’s equal parts outdoor experience and as- tronomy lesson, minus a quiz at the end. i i i BEST WELL-DESERVED HONOR LARRY FITZGERALD After a 17-year career (all with the Cardinals, God help the guy) in which he made 11 Pro Bowls and hauled in the second-most catches in NFL history, it’s no wonder that Larry Darnell Fitzgerald Jr. didn’t have to wait long for enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Cardinals’ immortal wide receiver made it to Canton in his first year of eligibility, adding the honor to his spot in the College Football Hall of Fame, which inducted him in 2024. Fitzger- ald’s steadfast presence on the Cardinals roster was a generational run, from the 2008-09 season that ended at the Super Bowl to the lows of … well, most of the rest of his career, to be honest. The Cardinals couldn’t win a ring for him, but Fitz’s induc- tion into the Pro Football Hall of Fame was an inevitability. Congrats are due to a true statesman of Arizona sports. i i i BEST MALE ATHLETE LANDON HAIRSTON The Valley has some standout pro athletes, headlined by Suns star Devin Booker and Diamondbacks wunderkind Corbin Carroll. (The less said about the Cardinals, the better.) But this year, the best male athlete was a collegian: Arizona State outfielder Landon Hairston. In his sophomore season, the Queen Creek product launched 28 bombs, breaking a Sun Devils single-season home run record that had stood since 2000. He was also 13th in the country in batting average (.400), 18th in on-base percentage (.509) and first in slugging percentage (.860). Those gaudy numbers earned the apple- cheeked junior a nod as a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award, the most prestigious honor in college baseball. There’s even more good news: Hairston will be back for another season with the Sun Devils. i i i BEST FEMALE ATHLETE ALYSSA THOMAS If you see the heart and toughness that Alyssa Thomas plays with and don’t end up entranced, you’re probably not a basketball fan. Or maybe you’re just one of the WNBA’s other teams, who watched in awe as the six- time All Star guided the Phoenix Mercury back to the WNBA Finals in her first season with the team. The 34-year-old living legend is likely to finish her career near the top five in both rebounds and assists, and she wins. Thomas delivered Phoenix back to the top of the league in 2025 as its do-it-all anchor at the center position, finishing third in MVP voting and fourth for Defensive Player of the Year. Equally exciting as Thomas’ triple- doubles was her three-year extension with the Mercury last offseason, keeping one of the WNBA’s most imposing forces in place with the Valley’s most successful sports fran- chise for likely the remainder of her prime. i i i BEST UFC FIGHTER HENRY CEJUDO INSTAGRAM.COM/HENRY_CEJUDO Five-foot-four and a buck-thirty, Henry Cejudo walks into the octagon as compact as a switchblade. He’s calm. The cage door locks. The ref yells, “Let’s fight!” And Cejudo’s demeanor flips. A kick comes upstairs toward his opponent’s dome, hands start flying and, before the other fighter catches his breath, Cejudo changes levels and shoots for a double-leg takedown. That’s where this 2008 Olympic freestyle wrestling gold medalist gets gnarly. Once on top, Cejudo unleashes a barrage of elbows and fists. That combination of striking and world-class wrestling carried the Maryvale-raised mixed martial artist through pro fights and eventually to UFC flyweight and bantamweight championships. Add his Olympic gold and you get “Triple C,” a nickname representing three championship crowns. Nearly 800,000 Instagram followers have watched that grind along the way. These days, Cejudo’s squabble IQ works outside the cage. He trains at Scottsdale’s Fight Ready and has helped coach other top-notch fighters. He also breaks down current matchups on camera with the authority of a dude who knows what happens when a fighter makes a wrong move.