If I Were Going...: Apache Trail

As we started to head for south Arizona, we decided to take a little detour along the Apache Trail. An old stagecoach trail that ran through the Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix, the Apache Trail is partially paved and partially gravel/dirt. It is winding and often narrow and it has spectacular scenery.

The Apaches used this route through the Superstition Mountains

The approximately 40-mile-long Apache Trail links Apache Junction at the edge of the Greater Phoenix area with Theodore Roosevelt Lake in the Tonto National Forest. It also passes by Canyon Lake and Apache Lake. It is unpaved from Tortilla Flat to Roosevelt Dam. Much of it runs along the Salt River, which is dammed at various intervals to form the three lakes.

On the way out, we stopped briefly at Lost Dutchman State Park, where I was lucky enough to get some nice close-ups of a male Gambel's Quail.

Such a cool bird

The park is named after the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine. According to legend, a German immigrant named Jacob Waltz discovered a mother lode of gold in the Superstition Wilderness and revealed its location on his deathbed in Phoenix in 1891 to Julia Thomas, a boarding-house owner who had taken care of him for many years. Several mines have been claimed to be the actual mine that Waltz discovered, but none of those claims have been verified. Maybe it still out there.

We just stopped briefly in the park, which was filling up with bikers, hikers and a group doing some serious trail maintenance.

We headed out on the road, winding past blooming Saguaro cacti ...

Spring!

... rugged desert landscape ...

Sonoran Desert

... some very interesting saguaro formations ...

An interesting plant

... a wide assortment of desert plants, including ocotillo, mesquite, cholla, prickly pear and sage, many of which were blooming ...

It's a tough environment

... and a few birds, including a Curved-bill Thrasher ...

Looks like an ouchy place to stand

The Superstition Mountains form a barrier on the eastern side of Phoenix. The highest elevation is only 6,266, but the desert climate makes the mountains very daunting.

Not really high

The name, Superstition, came from local farmers who had heard stories in the late 1860s, from the Pima Indians about strange sounds, people who disappeared and mysterious deaths. Some Apaches believe that the hole leading down into the lower world, or hell, is located in the Superstition Mountains. Winds blowing from the hole is supposed to be the cause of severe dust storms in the valley. I think it's one of the best place names I've heard, up there with Possum Kingdom Lake in Texas and Bloody Basin in Arizona.

The dammed river creates a string of reservoirs

The lakes along the Apache Trail are popular with boaters. Because the road is narrow and winding, many people drive around through Globe and come in from Roosevelt Dam in the east with their big boats. Passing them on the road is tight.

Cool blue in the red desert

I guess my advice on this road is to make sure you are comfortable driving on gravel and winding roads with drop-offs and steep grades. Make sure you have plenty of gas, water and a picnic and don't take a low profile vehicle. Give yourself plenty of time and enjoy the scenery.

The road winds around big rock formations

Cell service is very spotty and there aren't a lot of services, so take what you need with you. Also, don't believe your GPS about how long it will take to make the drive. It will take longer.

The Apache Trail ends at the Roosevelt Dam, from which you can see a very pretty bridge crossing over the Salt River.