According to the Charles Wells book, ‘this trail starts easy and gradually worsens. The last mile before Dripping Springs is challenging and requires some backroad driving experience.’ Trail #60 in his book for more details.
This trail follows the Chiva Falls trail and then goes west following the Tanque Verde Creek to within a mile or so of Tanque Verde Falls. We’ll have lunch by the creek before we begin our climb out of the canyon and back to the east to reconnect with the Chiva Falls trail. There are several challenging hill climbs and medium to large rock obstacles along the way.
A scenic route running from the Beeline Highway to the riverside area below Bartlett Lake giving breathtaking views of Bartlett Lake, the Verde River and the Mazatzal and Superstition mountains.
When driving this trail from the Beeline side the driver is offered up a challenging rock garden right about 1.5 miles into the trail. The garden doesn’t have any bypasses but does offer lines of varying difficulty. Adding to the mix is a series of seeps and springs that keep this section of the trail damp nearly year round. It’s easy to slip throughout the rock garden. The remainder of the trail is sandy wash and loose gravel.
This trail has extensive brush than encroaches on the trail from the sides as well as the top. We did not trim this trail. You will get desert pin striping on your car. A Discovery that pre-ran the trail had roof rack damage from low hanging branches.
A lifted Rover is required for this trip as are recovery points front and rear. You will also need at least one locker, and a second may limit the need for winching.
This trail near Wickenburg is for any Land Rover and rated easy to moderate. Part of the trail travels along the Hassayampa River, so there should be some water to play in.
A photographer’s dream. Beautiful Sonoran Desert with towering red buttes on all sides of the trail. A fun drive offering real adventure.
Washouts possible and rock stacking may be required. A lovely lunch break at the river provides fun for the kids.
Beautiful Sonoran Desert with towering red buttes on all sides of the trail. A fun drive offering real adventure. Hike into the nearby White Canyon Wilderness area north of the trail. Winding, rutted road with moderate climbs and descents. Narrow in a few places. Our group drove the trail following a period of torrential rains. Several places were badly washed out, which required some rock-stacking for several stock vehicles in our group. While the road is well defined most of the way, one section crosses a low sandy area along the Gila River. Rains had washed away previous tire tracks making route-finding difficult. Skid plates and high ground clearance recommended for stock vehicles. Brush may lightly touch your vehicle. Go with other vehicles in case you need help.
Otero Canyon provides beautiful vistas of Mt Ord, Four Peaks, Sugarloaf Mountain, Black Mountain and Weaver’s Needle. The trail is a mix of sandy wash and low-lying boulder wash beds. The main obstacle, Rocker Panel Pass, is 100 yards of a mixture of tight turns around large, panel grabbing boulders. Expect desert pin striping and a high probability of rear quarter panel “modification”.
Take Highway 87 north and turn left just past mile marker 207.
Woolsey Peak is a beautiful, uniquely-shaped lava-dome monolith located in the desert north of Gila Bend in southern Maricopa County, about 60 miles driving from Phoenix. It’s a peak that gets viewed thousands of times a day by travelers along Interstates 8 in Gila Bend of Interstate-10 to the north – the peak itself rises over 2,000 vertical feet above the desert plain and a good 1,000 feet above any of the other peaks in the region (collectively called the Gila Bend Mountains). Instead of the more usual pointed summit shape that most of the peaks have in this region, Woolsey’s summit is a broad rounded dome, surrounded by a palisade of cliffs on all sides.
Below the cliffs is an encircling apron of black basalt lava rock seemingly all set at its angle of repose. Then, of course, down below that is more typical desert terrain of dirt, rock and cactus. It’s very beautiful country, and the peak is the centerpiece of the Woolsey Peak Wilderness which spreads for 64,000 acres.
An easier route to see the Cochran Coke Ovens. It can be started from the South West in the Box Canyon/Martinez Cabin area or the North East on route 177. 12.2 miles from AZ 177 to Coke Ovens.
The 13,350-acre Signal Mountain Wilderness is in southwest Maricopa County,18 miles northwest of Gila Bend and 35 miles southwest of Phoenix. This wilderness is adjacent to the 64,000-acre Woolsey Peak Wilderness just to the southeast, separated by a four-wheel-drive road.
This wilderness offers a variety of scenery, including sharp volcanic peaks, steep-walled canyons, arroyos, craggy ridges and outwash plains. Signal Mountain, at the area’s center, rises 1,200 feet above the desert floor to an elevation of 2,182 feet. Paloverde-saguaro and creosote bush bursage plant communities are found throughout bajada and upland areas, while washes are lined with mesquite, ironwood, acacia and paloverde.
This wilderness provides several primitive recreation opportunities, such as rock climbing in the canyons and valleys around Signal Mountain, day and overnight hiking, rock collecting, and deer and quail hunting. Fortunate visitors may observe desert bighorn sheep, desert tortoise, mule deer and various raptors.
Access
Access to this wilderness is on old U.S. Highway 80 via the Aqua Caliente Road and jeep trails. High-clearance vehicles are required and four-wheel-drive vehicles are recommended.
Venue Phone: (480) 991-1795
Venue Website: http://www.fourpeaks.com
