The desert may not seem like the place for white-water rafting, but up in the mountains to the northeast of Phoenix, the Upper Salt River still flows wild and free and offers some exciting rafting. Most years from about late February to late May, snowmelt from the White Mountains turns the Salt into a river filled with exciting Class III and IV rapids (sometimes, however, there just isn't enough water). Companies operating full-day, overnight, and multi-day rafting trips on the Upper Salt River (conditions permitting) include Far Flung Adventures (tel. 800/231-7238 or 928/425-7272; www.farflung.com), Canyon Rio Rafting (tel. 800/272-3353 or 928/774-3377; www.canyonrio.com), and Mild to Wild Rafting (tel. 800/567-6745; www.mild2wildrafting.com). Prices range from $90 to $99 for a day trip.

Tamer river trips can be had from Salt River Recreation (tel. 480/984-3305; www.saltrivertubing.com), which has its headquarters 20 miles northeast of Phoenix on Power Road at the intersection of Usery Pass Road in Tonto National Forest. For $12, the company will rent you a large inner tube and shuttle you by bus upriver for the float down. The inner-tubing season runs from May to September.