Difficulty: 2
Description: This is such a popular area for four-wheeling that the Tonto National Forest instituted a permit system several years ago. Locked gates bar entry, and the combination you receive with your permit works for six months before the lock is changed.
This is hilly area with enormous boulders that tower as high as the buildings downtown. With the yellow-green lichen growing on them, they look like something from another world. Every time you crest a ridge you're treated to a new vista, and you get some of the best views of the Superstitions, Weaver's Needle and Four Peaks that you've ever seen.
Enormous coveys of quail make their homes here, as do javelina, deer, and hundreds of birds and smaller mammals. In spite of the lengthy drought, springs continue to provide water year-round. Ruins of old mining shacks dot the landscape here, and scattered along the hillsides are piles of stones put there by Spaniards to mark their mining claims.
Distance: 8 miles
Time: 2-3 hours
To the trailhead: From Highway 60 east of Phoenix, head north from Exit 188 on Power Road which turns into Bush Highway north of town. Follow the Bush Highway east and turn right 1.7 miles after Usery Pass Road.
The trail:
|
Odometer |
GPS |
|
|
0 |
|
Follow easy road south. |
|
2.2 |
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Continue straight across wash onto FSR 10. The road becomes more difficult from this point forward. |
|
2.7 |
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Bear right. |
|
2.8 |
|
Bear right. |
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3.5 |
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Bear right. |
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5.2 |
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Turn left. |
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5.4 |
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Turn left. |
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5.5 |
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Tough spot as road curves downhill into a ravine. Steep, loose rock; requires careful tire placement to climb out. |
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6.3 |
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Bear left. |
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6.4 |
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Continue straight. |
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7.3 |
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Arrive at a locked gate. Pass through the gate. |
|
7.5 |
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Turn left at a T intersection onto a good gravel road. |
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8.4 |
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Bear right at the Forest Service boundary. The road weaves through a residential area and then zigzags right at Tonto and left at Wolverine Pass road and right at McKellips Blvd and then left at Idaho Road. Road returns to Apache Junction and Highway 60. |
References
Wells, C. (2001). Guide to Arizona Backroads and 4-Wheel Drive Trails. FunTreks Inc; Monument CO.