HikeArizona.COM

Hello,
My name is Aaron Gordon and I want to film some scenic footage between the end of february and the beginning of march. I picked out the superstition mountains as a great site, and I either want to confirm it as the right fit for my needs, or see if maybe you can suggest a better location.

I'm looking for a desert covered landscape, rock and sand mostly, with very little brush if possible. Although I have to be there quite early on in the year, I need a location where the sun, though not scorching necessarily, blazes down on the scenery. And I need a trail that can be hiked in less than a half of a day. Any suggestions?

I sound like a beginner hiker, but I have hiked the majority of the Appalachians Mountains and most of the Middle East. I will have 3 others with me who have much less experience but are just as fit.
I appreciate you;re time and consideration.

-Aaron Gordon

Hi Aaron.


Arizona's desert has some of the most vegetation of any desert on Earth. Areas with "very little brush" are found more commonly in the southern and western parts of the state.

One great resource of this site is the number of photographs that people upload when they hike. If you scan some of the photos in areas you are interested in you will get a feel for what the landscape will look like.

I'm including a link here to the TrailDex map, where I zoomed in to the area around the popular First Water Trailhead in the Superstitions. I then clicked on the "photos" option in the menu, and the map populated with all the photos that are geo-tagged in the area. (There are countless additional photos that are associated with hikes in the area but only geo-tagged photos appear on the map using this feature).

In any case, if you peruse these photos, you can get a good idea of what the landscape is like and if it will meet your filming needs.

http://hikearizona.com/location_g.php?QX=241

Is there any location say about an hour and a half or so around Tucson that might have less vegetation?

try organ pipe monument, or something like http://hikearizona.com/photo.php?ZIP=56614 in El Camino Del Diablo

scenicfilms wrote:Is there any location say about an hour and a half or so around Tucson that might have less vegetation?

The area around Sears Point 38 miles west of Gila Bend, north of the Interstate 8.

How about rocks and waterfalls? Check out some of the winter/early spring photo sets for the Peter's Cave hike: http://hikearizona.com/photoset.php?ID=5009
If your timing is good on the water flow, the mouth of Peter's Canyon at Tortilla Creek is unbearably scenic IMO.

Are you talking about the Organ Pipe Cactus Monument? As in the National Park? I will have a crew of filmmakers with me so would we have to get a permit to film there?

No, sorry - I am talking about the Superstitions. I think your first instinct to go there was spot on. To access the area I mentioned, you would hike in from Rt 88 near Tortilla Flat. You can find more info on that from the link I provided to the hike description on this website. As far as a permit, I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that. But, Peter's Canyon sees few visitors during the week, so that would be a big plus for filming, I think.