Four-Wheeling in Phoenix-Scottsdale

Taking a jeep or a wide-track Humvee through the backcountry has become a popular way to experience the desert terrain's saguaro-covered mountains and curious rock formations.

Arrowhead Desert Jeep Tours (841 E. Paradise La., North Phoenix. 602/942-3361 or 800/514-9063. www.azdeserttours.com) offers gold-panning on a private claim, cookouts, cattle drives, river crossings, and Native American-dance demonstrations.

Desert Dog Hummer Adventures (17212 E. Shea Blvd., Fountain Hills. 480/837-3966) heads out on half- and full-day Hummer tours to the Four Peaks Wilderness Area in Tonto National Forest and the Sonoran Desert. U-Drive desert cars and ATV tours are also available.

Desert Storm Hummer Tours (15525 N. 83rd Way, No. 8, Scottsdale. 480/922-0020 or 866/374-8637. www.dshummer.com) conducts four-hour nature tours for $100 per person (children 12 and under are $80), climbing 4,000 feet up the rugged trails of Tonto National Forest via Hummer.

Wayward Wind Tours (2418 E. Danbury St., Phoenix. 602/867-7825. www.waywardwindtours.com) ventures down to the Verde River on its own trail and offers wilderness cookouts for large groups.

Wild West Jeep Tours (7127 E. Becker La., Suite #74, Scottsdale. 480/922-0144. www.wildwestjeeptours.com) has special permits that allow it to conduct four-wheeler excursions in the Tonto National Forest and to visit thousand-year-old Indian ruins listed on the National Register of Historic Places.