Questions regarding moving to Tempe? (Phoenix, Tucson: college, military, safer)

[pribesj]

I am getting out of the military next year and I am thinking of moving to Tempe or Tucson and attending a college there and getting back in the Army. I don't have many needs but I am curious about some of the following.
-I love to run with scenery. Are there some good running trails in either of these cities? Bike trails?
-Are there some good places to hike?
-Any good large bodies of water to go sailing or fun in the water?
-I love looking at the stars at night. I know being in a large city prevents some of that but how far out do I have to go to see a beautiful show of stars?
-How is the weather really like? I love the heat. I would rather sweat than be cold any day. I have heard Arizona is too hot though. Can I go for a morning or afternoon jog without passing out from 100 degree heat?

Thanks!

[observer53]

I changed the title of your thread to reflect what you are actually asking. There are running trails (in Tempe, this would include the canal banks, Papago Park, and the south end of the Indian Bend wash project leading into the greenbelt in Scottsdale) in both cities, with Tucson perhaps having more scenic options, but you would have to go to the outskirts of town to get to them.

Hiking, Tucson probably wins there because of Sabino Canyon, Mt Lemmon, and other areas that the locals there will be more familiar with. Tempe itself is pretty flat, but you can get to South Mountain Park, with SEVERAL hiking trails, VERY quickly, just across a freeway from Tempe into Phoenix.

You can go sailing on Tempe Town Lake, right in town, or drive up a bit north to Saguaro Lake, Bartlett Lake, etc. Tempe wins on water access.

Stars at night? Tucson better choice there, as you can get out of the light halo a bit quicker.

Tucson is a few degrees cooler regularly in the summer, and cools off a bit better at night in the summer due to the smaller heat island and the fact that they get more rain in their monsoon storms than the Phoenix area seems to. You can go for a run in either place early in the AM, but it would not be recommended in the afternoons when it's 100-110. Again, wait until evening and see if you can tolerate it then, either place. If there's a storm that cools things off, that helps.

[Java Jolt]

Originally Posted by pribesj

I am getting out of the military next year and I am thinking of moving to Tempe or Tucson and attending a college there and getting back in the Army. I don't have many needs but I am curious about some of the following.
-I love to run with scenery. Are there some good running trails in either of these cities? Bike trails?
-Are there some good places to hike?
-Any good large bodies of water to go sailing or fun in the water?
-I love looking at the stars at night. I know being in a large city prevents some of that but how far out do I have to go to see a beautiful show of stars?
-How is the weather really like? I love the heat. I would rather sweat than be cold any day. I have heard Arizona is too hot though. Can I go for a morning or afternoon jog without passing out from 100 degree heat?

Thanks!

I'm not too familiar with Tucson but Tempe is pretty restricted on running trails. There are some paths in a small preserve area, I think it's just north of the 202 Loop freeway above the Mill downtown district.

Hiking is very popular here, mountain preserve land is scattered here and there but it's a quick drive out of the city if you really want to experience nature and do some stargazing.

Same with lakes and rivers, there are some nice ones but they're out of the city, I think they're all man-made though.

Fifty to a hundred miles in most any direction out of Phoenix should be good for the natural settings you wish for.

As they say, it's a dry heat but it can be humid in July and August with the summertime monsoon season.

In the hotter months it's always wise to limit outdoor activities to after sunset or before sunrise, it can be hot then too but better and safer than jogging in the afternoon.