Difficulty: 4
Description: 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.
Distance: 13 miles
Time: 6 hours
To the trailhead: Take Arizona 87 northeast from Phoenix. Continue past the turnoff for Sycamore Creek and Four Peaks. After descending the pass and crossing Sycamore Creek overpass, the turnoff will be immediately on the left. Mile marker 212. Reset your odometer after you pass through the parking area at the first right turn.
The trail:
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Odometer |
GPS |
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0 |
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Follow the wash bed. This is composed of loose rock and sand with many close bushes and trees. |
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1.0 |
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Pass through a barbed wire fence on the left. |
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1.3 |
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Steep step down. |
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1.4 |
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Another steep step down. The wash narrows and is speckled with large boulders. |
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1.5 |
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Boulder garden. The left route takes you up a harder but more direct route. The right route is easier but tighter. |
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1.7 |
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Watch out for low-hanging tree branches. Arrive at a small water fall, approximately 2-3 feet high. Rocks will be damp and slippery. At the top of this obstacle, look to the right and you will see a memorial to a wheeler past. There is a sandy, tippy bypass to this water fall on the left track. |
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1.9 |
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Large, dead tree stump in the middle of the road. Track left: beware of more low hanging tree branches. Continue along a sandy wash. The trail splits; left will take you down into a sandy wash, right will keep you higher on the trail. They merge in about .5 miles. Notice the vegetation gets sparse. This is a result of forest fires. |
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4.2 |
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Small, steep washed out area. Gets twisty. |
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5.0 |
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Twisty washed out area. |
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5.1 |
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Arrive at the Log Corral on the left. Beautiful views of Bartlett Lake. (Good place for lunch break) Descend a sandy wash with a few intermittent twisty spots. |
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8.4 |
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Cross under power lines. |
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9.1 |
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Arrive at a small beach; you will see Bartlett Lake Dam directly across from this area. Back track back up the wash until FR 393 |
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10 |
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Turn left onto FR 393 which immediately ascends a twisty washed out area. |
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10.2 |
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Power line tower on the right |
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10.5 |
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Twisty ascent, blind crest: trail continues straight down the other side of the crest. |
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12 |
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Veer left after the square boulder in the middle of the trail |
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12.5 |
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Arrive at a turn to the right where the trail is washed out. |
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13 |
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Large boulder in the middle of the trail |
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14 |
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Turn right |
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14.4 |
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Veer right down into the creek bed. Head upstream until you reach a wide area. The creek exit is slightly to the left, straight ahead. Continue along a rough creek bed. |
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14.6 |
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Turn right onto the road |
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14.8 |
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Turn right onto graded road. |
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15.7 |
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Veer left. |
References