When visiting Scottsdale or Phoenix, experience the Sonoran Desert on a night tour by Jeep, the tough four-wheel drive vehicle that lets you go further into the desert on rougher terrain than most other vehicles. Your expert guide leads this thrilling tour through the otherworldly scenery of the nighttime desert and shares informative commentary about the plant and animal life, history and legends of the region throughout your journey. Look for the creatures of the night as they stir from their rest, and enjoy the desert in the cool of the evening.

4-hour night tour of the Sonoran Desert by Jeep 4WD vehicle, from Phoenix
Take on rough terrain on a Jeep tour that goes deep into the Sonoran Desert
See desert creatures that only come out at night
Learn from your knowledgeable guide about the region's animals, plants and history

What's Included

Professional guide
Snacks
Helmets
UTV Sand Buggy

Gratuities
Hotel pickup and drop-off (unless option selected)

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting points

Select a meeting point

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End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

After pickup from select Phoenix-area hotels (if option selected) or meeting at the designated spot, your knowledgeable guide takes you out in the Hummer to begin your night tour in the Sonoran Desert. If you're lucky, conditions will allow you to see an amazing sunset over the desert landscape as you zoom along.

After sundown, the desert takes on a different atmosphere. The mighty saguaro cactus, known as the 'Sentinel of the Desert,' stands tall as nocturnal creatures stir from their shelter after the desert heat subsides. Rugged and majestic mountains transform into huge, sleeping giants at night.

Go beyond the capacity of a regular car as you roar through the desert in your Hummer, 4-wheeling over sand, dirt and hills with stops along the way to search for critters such as rattlesnakes, coyotes and tarantulas. The tough Hummer allows you to travel deeper into the desert than other tours, while your expert guide shares lots of fascinating stories about the wildlife, ecology and history of this part of the American Southwest.

At the end of approximately four hours, your guide returns you to your starting point where your tour ends.

Sonoran Desert National Monument

2 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Lake Saguaro (Pass By)

Four Peaks (Pass By)

Sonoran Desert (Pass By)

Salt River (Pass By)

Sonoran Desert National Monument (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking, unless booked within 3 days of travel. In this case confirmation will be received within 48 hours, subject to availability
Not wheelchair accessible
Not recommended for travelers with back problems
Not recommended for pregnant travelers

No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Most travelers can participate
Tour runs rain or shine
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

robert_p

Riding a Jeep Wrangler through the Sonoran Desert is a highly recommended experience, especially with Kevin as your guide. He was informative, funny, interesting and he kept us going strong the entire trek. Beautiful scenery and great weather combine to make this tour a can't/don't miss if your traveling to the Valley of the Sun!

Reviews

4.5

44 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 44 reviews

Sunset tour was gorgeous!

Brenda_S, Jun 2023

Kevin provided us a great learning experience and great scenic tour of the Tonto National Patk. His knowledge of both critters and history of the area was fascinating!

Response from Host, Jun 2023

Thank you for the wonderful review! Yes, Kevin has extensive knowledge of the desert and absolutely loves everything about it.

Awesome experience

Julie_S, Oct 2021

We be loved our tour! It was so beautiful and our guide was very knowledgeable. I didn’t know what to expect but it exceeded my expectations.

Response from Host, Oct 2021

Julie, Than you for the review and we are so glad we exceeded your expectations! Hope to see you again!

Fun informative beautiful

joyce_s, Apr 2021

Kevin our guide was so informative and shared so much information beautiful sunset. So much fun my granddaughters enjoyed it so much. Saw mustangs and mule deer. Highly enjoyable tour

Response from Host, Apr 2021

Joyce, Thank you of the wonderful 5 star review and for choosing Desert Dog Offroad. We hope you have the chance to visit with us again!

Gotta Do It

robert_p, Feb 2021

Response from Host, Feb 2021

Robert, Thank you for the wonderful review and for choosing Desert Dog Offroad for your adventure! Hope to see you again!

One of kind experience!

Chad_B, Nov 2020

We did not find any critters...but it was still a great experience! Our tour guide Kevin was a wealth of knowledge, easy to talk to and a great guide! Going into the dessert and seeing the everything in light of day and then seeing it again at night...such a fun day. But stopping and watching the sunset in the dessert, the breath taking veiws and the picture opportunities...made this a one of a kind excursion. Highly recommend!

Response from Host, Nov 2020

Chad, Thank you for the Awesome review. Kevin is a wonderful guide and knows everything about the desert. We are so glad you enjoyed your Critter Hunt and hope to see you again.

Night Desert Tour

Laura_V, Mar 2020

Kevin was our tour guide and he was fabulous and very knowledgeable. He found us the perfect spot to stop for a minute and get out and capture the sunset. We saw some wild mustangs, a fox, and a jack rabbit! So glad i booked this! It was just me and my boyfriend, this was not a group tour.

AMAZING!

Jason_C, Jun 2019

Had a fantastic time. The tour guide was extremely knowledgeable about the area and was very personable. Beautiful sights and fun ride. Got to see wildlife too and that made it so much better!

Response from Host, Sep 2019

Thanks you for the review! Kevin, your guide does an amazing job describing the desert and all of its wonderful creatures that live in it.

Desert up close

Joyce y, Jul 2018

This was a good excursion; we didn't see any creatures or wild horses but the drive was exhilarating and the commentary was exceptional.

Super

Barbara_N, Jul 2018

Had a great time..6 of us ranging from 9 to 70 in age. ALL of us really enjoyed the tour. Saw the most beautiful sunset. Tour guide was considerate of 1 from our party who had height fears..took the steep hills with consideration engaged him in desert animal talks. Will go again when visiting the area

The tour was nice and the driver was...

HarryW_P, Apr 2018

The tour was nice and the driver was very informative. I was not happy about not being picked up at the Hotel we selected. The Company Desert Dog did not want to travel to that location so we had to drive to Fountain Hills to there location. The Company would not make two round trips from Fountain Hills to Goodyear.

What an experience to be riding on a...

WaiKwanPaul_Y, Feb 2018

What an experience to be riding on a H2 over the desert terrain. Our guide/driver Tim was very informative. Best of all, we came across to this herd of wild horses toward the end of our tour by the lake. It was an unforgetable experience overall!

Our guide was great, took us to a...

rsms187, Oct 2017

Our guide was great, took us to a wonderful spot to view the magnificent sunset. He was very knowledgeable and friendly.

John was a great guide and we...

Charlotte T, Oct 2017

John was a great guide and we enjoyed the ride into the Sonoran Desert to Tonto National Park. The beauty of the cacti, mustangs and hawks will remain with us. John was fun to listen to and his love of AZ shone through.

The tour was wonderful. Our tour...

Kathleen V, Oct 2017

The tour was wonderful. Our tour guide, Kevin, was very knowledgeable, outgoing and accommodating. We were able to see an absolutely beautiful sunset. We had a great time.

Kevin was awesome! A native of...

Marsha C, Oct 2017

Kevin was awesome! A native of Phoenix who know everything about the Sonoran Desert. Well worth the time and fee!

Kevin was a fun and knowledgeable...

Suzanne Q, May 2017

Kevin was a fun and knowledgeable guide. We thoroughly enjoyed the tour thanks to Kevin and the beautiful environment. He brought very interesting facts to our tour and answered all of our questions. Would definitely recommend this excursion.

Beautiful ride through the desert...

Kathleen_M, Jan 2017

Beautiful ride through the desert. Caught an amazing sunset. Traveled in the back of the hummer with the side open so fun!

The scenery and the sunset were...

Stewart P, May 2016

The scenery and the sunset were absolutely breath taking. An incredibly different landscape from what we are used to here in Australia, and our drivers/guides were informative and very helpful. Thank you for a beautiful tour of the desert.

Our guide/driver was very...

Susan A, Mar 2016

Our guide/driver was very knowledgeable about the area. Great ride in beautiful surroundings with a picture perfect sunset.

Tour was not as we expected, guide...

Michael E, Aug 2015

Tour was not as we expected, guide was good, but for the amount paid it feel far short of expectations.