Stunning natural red rock arches, pinnacles, and deep sandstone canyons characterize this easily-accessible designated wilderness right outside Sedona, Arizona.

Tucked away in the Oakland hills, the 290-acre Leona Canyon Open Space Regional Preserve offers a peaceful haven featuring a spring-fed creek and riparian area that is popular with locals and dog-walkers.

The only water-based park administered by Maricopa County is also its most popular – at Lake Pleasant Regional Park northwest of Phoenix, you can fish, water ski, even scuba dive in addition to hiking, camping, and stargazing in the park’s almost 25,000 acres!

Estrella Mountain Regional Park, in the southwest corner of the Phoenix metropolitan area, offers an amazing variety of activities. You can go on a guided horseback adventure, play a round of golf, fish the Gila River, escape into the backcountry, and more in the park’s almost 20,000 acres.

By far the largest park in the City of Murrieta, the rustic 165-acre Cole Canyon Natural Park offers wide open space, access to Murrieta Creek, and trails with fantastic views of the Temecula Valley.