Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Some friends and I are going down to Pheonix this weekend to see spring training, and the idea came up to go do some field herping in the mornings before games and the evenings afterwards. We're staying just outside of Scotsdale, and so anywhere we go needs to be within an hour drive of there, for practicality's sake.

Does anyone know any good field herping areas near Pheonix? The big thing we'd like to see are kingsnakes, but we're interested in seeing reptiles in general. Worst comes to worst, some nice walks out in the desert would be pretty fun, too.

It's been hot and dry, so don't get your hopes too high. I live here, and I've been out and seen very little. There are some pretty areas near Scottsdale--you might try going up State Route 87, the "Beeline Highway" towards Payson--there are some nice desert foothills along that route, and some hiking trails. I'd be surprised if you saw anything besides some common feeder type lizards, though, the Tree Lizard and the Side-Blotched--those are always around.

Another area you could try is along the river via Bush Highway, which can be reached from Mesa by going north on Country Club, or east from Scottsdale on Mckellips--I think. There is a fee for use of any of the riverside rec sites, but it's pretty. Again, not likely you'll see many herps.

Unfortunately, to see herps, you pretty much have to road ride and you need to know where to go, and have a few days to devote to the effort. If you can get away to southern AZ, you could have some fun in the southern mountains, like the Santa Ritas south of Tucson, but it's a full day's event, and a bit of a marathon at that.

Gloomy as it is to be responsible, if the cost of gasoline (@$2/gal) is a factor, this is just not a great year for spring herping. It would be a shame to spend lots of time and money and be disappointed.

Boy--what a wet blanket I am! Just go for a nice hike on one of the trails off the Beeline, and enjoy--that's the way most folks find herps here anyway--with luck, you can come back and post that I don't know what I'm talking about--you saw lots of stuff!

Drink water before you start your hike. Bring water and drink it, even if you're not thirsty. There have been FATALITIES among non-locals, even twentysomethings, who didn't drink enough water to stay hydrated on a spring hike. There have been FATALITES on hikes IN CITY PARKS like Camelback Mountain and South Mountain. These people have died within sight of tiled rooftops in the city below the mountainside they underestimated. Don't make the mistake of thinking you're tougher than the desert, or it's "just a short hike". Those are famous LAST words. Dehydration kills fast. Medical help might not bring you back from dehydration--it's one of the last things doctors are helpless with. One fatality died at the hospital, during recovery therapy.

Use sunblock, even in the early hours. Sunburn exacerbates the effect of dehydration, and mild dehydration exacerbates sunburn.

The desert doesn't care if you return safely home. If you don't care, either, then NO ONE is looking out for you at all.

Actually, the time now is good! I went out yesterday and the day before with a friend and we found:

Western Red-tailed skink
Sonoran Gopher snakes
Western Diamondbacks
Coachwhips
Desert Striped Whipsnakes
Sonoran Whipsnakes
Wandering Garter snakes
Collared lizards

and TMTC lizards

In fact most of the stuff was out later in the day when it was the hottest.

We had a wet spring and all of the snakes were big and fat!

Good luck,

Kerby...