4 kid-friendly hikes in Arizona

If your kids are complaining that there’s nothing to do, it’s time to get them out of the house and onto the trails. Here are four kid-friendly hikes with plenty of attractions. But, just like games and bedtimes, not every trail is right for every kid, so pick one to match your child’s age and attention span. And don’t forget to pack plenty of snacks and water.

Granite Gardens, Prescott

Go outside and play! It’s always good advice and has become the mantra of this jumbled route that scrambles over the distinctive tawny boulders of the Granite Dells. You’ll even find the words painted on a shady bench on the trail. This is one of those hikes where you follow white dots painted on rocks, and kids love spotting the next dot.

The trail heads up immediately, a short steep pitch to the crest of a hill with some nice views. Next, you’ll discover why this segment is called the Stairway Loop. There’s an actual staircase in the middle of nowhere. It’s an impressive engineering feat by the Over the Hill Gang, the volunteers who built this trail.

From there it’s a beautiful scramble down the rock face, chasing sprinkles of white dots. Near the junction with the short Castle Rock Loop sits the “Go outside and play” bench. It was a birthday present to Jim Lohay, an Over the Hill Gang volunteer, from his kids. They surprised him with it while the trail was under construction. It’s a good story to tell your offspring — a tale about thoughtful children — in case you have a birthday coming up.

The trail crosses a narrow grassy cleft and then scrambles back into the granite. This portion is called the Rockstacker Trail, for obvious reasons. As the trail drops, it leads through a grotto and squeezes beneath a cluster of giant boulders that involves some fun wiggling. It then drops back down to the valley, which is your exit point. Unless the kids want to go around again. Now aren’t you glad you came outside to play?

Where: 2523 E Granite Gardens Drive. From Prescott Valley, take State Route 69 to Prescott Lakes Parkway. Turn right and continue to State Route 89. Turn right and follow SR 89 past Watson Lake to Granite Garden Drive, which is unsigned. It’s between mile markers 317 and 318, directly across from Granite Gate Senior Living Community. Turn right onto this rough dirt road and go 0.2 mile. The parking is on the right, just before the creek. The trail is on the left, a couple of hundred yards down the road. There’s often water in the road so it’s best to park here and cross the footbridge.

Admission: Free.

Difficulty: Moderate.

Length: 1.2-mile loop.

Details: 928-777-1122, www.prescotttrails.com.

Giant Logs Trail, Petrified Forest

Walk out the back door of the Rainbow Forest Museum and onto this short loop that leads past some of the largest and most colorful logs in the park. Just let the kids know beforehand that the “forest” at Petrified Forest consists of fossilized downed logs. Plenty of visitors of all ages show up expecting to see groves of stone trees standing with limbs and leaves intact.

Grab a trail guide in the museum to learn about features of the trail and find out how these trees turned to colorful stone. There are a few steps along the way, but the short trail is easy to manage. The elevated hillside offers nice panoramas, and at the top of the trail you’ll find “Old Faithful.” Thought to be the largest tree in the park, it’s almost 10 feet wide at the base, 35 feet long and is estimated to weigh about 44 tons.

After the hike, explore the museum. Youngsters will like the displays of the park’s early inhabitants — crocodilelike creatures, giant amphibians and small dinosaurs that ruled during the Triassic Period more than 225 million years ago. Especially when you explain to them that this was the prequel to “Jurassic World.”

Where: The park straddles Interstate 40 about 20 miles east of Holbrook. Rainbow Forest Museum is at the southern entrance, 19 miles east of Holbrook off U.S. 180.

Admission: $20 per vehicle, good for seven days.

Difficulty: Easy.

Length: 0.4-mile loop.

Details: 928-524-6228, www.nps.gov/pefo.

Bell Trail, Camp Verde

The trail starts as a wide gravel path and stays on a bench above Wet Beaver Creek. It’s all rocky desert slopes on your left and a riparian corridor of mighty cottonwoods and sycamores on your right. There’s a prime swimming hole at Bell Crossing, where deep water carves a 70-foot-long channel between narrow sandstone walls known as “The Crack.” But reaching that requires a serious hike, more suitable for older kids. It’s 3.3 miles from the trailhead to Bell Crossing. The last mile steepens, climbing onto angled slickrock before dropping down to the creek.

Yet you don’t have to trudge far in the heat to enjoy shade and water. Several well-used social paths lead to some nice pools and small beaches, and those start within a half-mile of the trailhead. Sample a few and you’ll likely find a bit more solitude than at popular Bell Crossing.

For those who don’t want to walk at all, there’s a nice swimming hole for small fry — a pool 50 feet by 30 feet, with a rope swing — next to the Beaver Creek Campground, a quarter-mile past the turnoff.

Where: From Phoenix, take Interstate 17 north to Sedona (Exit 298) and turn right on Forest Road 618. Drive 1.5 miles to a signed turnoff. Turn left and continue a quarter-mile to the trailhead parking lot.

Admission: Free.

Difficulty: Easy to moderate, depending how far you go.

Length: 6.6 miles round trip to Bell Crossing.

Details: 928-203-2900, www.fs.usda.gov/coconino.

Lava River Cave, Flagstaff

The footing can be tricky and it’s pitch dark inside, so Lava River Cave isn’t a good choice for wee ones, but older kids will love it. The mile-long lava tube was formed 700,000 years ago by a river of molten rock blasted from a volcanic vent in nearby Hart Prairie. The outer edges cooled first as lava continued to flow, leaving behind a hollow, rocky husk.

Be prepared. Temperatures in the cave hover around 42 degrees. Carry at least two flashlights plus spare batteries and make sure each person has his or her own light source. The entrance is the trickiest part as you squeeze through a narrow opening, trying not to crack your skull on deviously protruding stones. Then it’s a scramble over big boulders, one more low bridge and finally the chamber widens.

You can walk upright the rest of the way, but watch your footing. The floor is uneven. About halfway into the cave, the tunnel branches. Bear to the left. The right fork pinches down so that crawling is required. You’ll encounter one more low ceiling and finally the chamber ends. Return the way you came. After telling a couple of good scary giant-spider stories, of course.

Where: Drive 9 miles north of Flagstaff on U.S. 180 and turn left on Forest Road 245 (at mile marker 230). Continue 3 miles and turn left on FR 171. Drive 1 mile and turn left on FR 171B to the parking lot.

Admission: Free.

Difficulty: Moderate.

Length: 2 miles round trip.

Details: 928-527-3600, www.fs.usda.gov/coconino.

Find the reporter at www.rogernaylor.com.