Once used by stagecoaches to cut through the rugged Superstition Mountains, the Apache Trail offers some of Arizona’s most awe-inspiring scenery. It’s a stunning drive that leads through twisted ravines and weaves around hairpin bends with landscapes that have stepped right out of those old Western movies: a 'must on' any Arizona itinerary.
Just a short drive trip east of cosmopolitan Phoenix, the bustling capital and largest city in Arizona, and you are ready to embark an adventure that could have stepped out of an old spaghetti Western movie -- it’s the Apache Trail. Pan for gold, saddle up and explore the desert wilderness, chow down on one of the hottest chillies you are likely to come across at a wild west saloon bar are just a few of the attractions on this drive.
As this journey is all about exploring the Apache Trail you will want to take the most direct route from Phoenix to Apache Junction, where the adventure begins. Use Interstate 10 south to Highway 60, (Superstition Freeway) where you travel east, following the signs to AZ 88 (the less attractive official name of the Apache Trail).
If you set out from a resort in nearby Scottsdale, head south down the Arizona Loop 101 (Pima Freeway/ Price Freeway) to pick up Highway 60 and then follow the same directions as those from Phoenix.
You’ll pass a lot of modern real estate and several RV parks along the way, then all at once you are in Apache Junction, on the frontier of the ‘old west’. The adventure starts here. It’s not a movie set, it’s a genuine piece of American history.
While regular passenger cars can make the entire Apache Trail loop, this is not a trip for recreational vehicles. Remember to get a full tank before driving the trail. The only filling station (or car repair service) on this route are at Apache Junction and Globe-Miami – and there's a lot of mileage between them.
A bit of trivia: it was the summer of 1905 when the first car travelled the Apache Trail – a Springfield-built Knox with a 20 horse-power engine: it could carry seven passengers.
Apache Junction is not just the start to your Apache Trail drive. If you are in a Stetson and spurs frame of mind, it’s the place to make those cowboy dreams come true with a horseback adventure. OK Corral runs a year-round range of rides just off Apache Trail area. They are geared for novices as well as those who know their way around a horse.
The most popular guided rides are one, two, and four hour treks across the desert foothills that lead into the nearby mountains, but longer rides, from all-day to three-day camping trips are available also. If you were keen to take a full day’s ride, stay the first night of this trip at one of the local motor inns, such as the Best Western Apache or the Apache Junction Motel.
The Apache Trail is steeped in legends and folklore, and this is especially true of Goldfield, your first stop as you head north. It all began with an enigmatic prospector named Jacob Waltz. He was also known as ‘the Dutchman’, though he actually came from Wurttemberg in Germany. A drifting fortune seeker, Dutchman Waltz lived in various American states before heading west to become a miner during the 1850s California gold rush.
The story goes that while mining in California he fought alongside a Mexican in a brawl south of the border, and in return the Mexican told him of a gold mine that his family had discovered earlier in Arizona’s Superstition Mountains. Soon after, Waltz and another fortune hunter set out together to find the mine.
He found some gold, that’s for sure, but nobody knew where the mine was apart from Waltz, and he wasn’t about to tell anyone. He died back in 1891 with his secret intact.
The tale of ‘Dutchman’ Jacob Waltz and his mystery mine is celebrated at Goldfield, six kilometres north of Apache Junction. The town had its glory days -- the local Mammoth Mine produced about three million dollars in gold bullion over a four-year period at the end of the 1800s. But the good days came to an end, and Goldfield would probably have become just another forgotten ghost town had it not been for the ‘Dutchman’ and his mystery gold mine. A lot of people have tried to find the mine and failed.
Legend has kept Goldfield alive and it has joined the ranks of good ol’ American kitschstory, where bits of history are Disneyfied. Enjoy the old time ‘wild west’ stores and buildings, a train ride, mine tour and the ‘mystery’ shack, where the guide will tell you "it's half mystery and half shack, all at the same time!"
There is a small entry charge at Goldfield, and each attraction takes more dollars out of your wallet – but you can buy a combo ticket for the mine, train and mystery shack, which saves you a little.
Kids, and kids at heart, will want to do a little gold panning – and, as you would expect when you hand over your six-dollar panning fee, the pans will give two dollar’s worth of gold back, and maybe help you believe in hidden mines. It’s all part of the fun.
Just half a kilometre from Goldfield you come to the Lost Dutchman State Park. The park offers a range of hiking and nature trails and is open year round. The park sits at the foot of the towering Superstition Mountain, which is second only to the Grand Canyon as the most photographed landmark in Arizona.
Lost Dutchman State Park is a place of stubby, pastel green cholla cacti, carpets of Mexican gold poppies, and bright petaled palo verde trees (the state tree of Arizona). It’s home also to an array of desert wildlife such as Gila woodpeckers that build nests in the cacti, predatory packs of Harris hawks, desert cottontail rabbits and Gila monsters -- the only venomous lizard native to the United States.
There are rattlesnakes and scorpions in this part of the world as well, but don’t worry, you are safe unless they feel threatened: just keep an eye out – always watch where you walk and where you put your hands.
Lost Dutchman State Park has picnic facilities, toilets and showers and more. It also hasmore than 70 campsites. The visitor centre has a gift shop that sells maps of the park and is open daily 08.00 – 16.00, though the shop’s summer hours tend to vary.
October to May is the best time for hiking in these parts. Summer hikes should only be done in the very early morning, if at all. There are interpretive ranger and volunteer-naturalist guided hikes available. They are fairly easy-going, and fees for guided hikes are included in the park entry fee for your vehicle. Reservations are not required.
From the Lost Dutchman State Park, the Apache Trail snakes up to Canyon Lake, one of three man-made reservoir lakes on the Salt River south of the Roosevelt Dam.
Approaching the lake there is a scenic view stop, and at Canyon Lake itself there's a restaurant, store, marina, campground, and the Dolly Steamboat 90-minute narrated boat trip. The Dolly Steamboat docks at Canyon Lake Marina and Campground. You’ll find the entrance to the marina just after you cross the second one-lane bridge.
From Canyon Lake it’s a short drive on to Tortilla Flat, not ‘Flats’ as the local residents will tell you -- all six of them.
Tortilla Flat sits in the Tonto National Forest, an authentic remnant of an old west town. It started out as a stagecoach stop on the way to the Roosevelt Dam construction site at the beginning of the last century; and despite being hit by flood and fire over the years, lives on to tell the tale.
During its boom era, the tiny town had more than a hundred residents, a school, church, post office, hotel, livery, general store, saloon and a restaurant. In 1942, a devastating flood swept through Tortilla Flat, destroying many of the homes and most of the town. It was then hit by a forest fire in the 1980s. A small portion of the town has been restored and half a dozen residents still live there year-round to greet travellers driving the Apache Trail.
Tortilla Flat’s big attraction is Superstition Saloon, with real saddles as bar stools. Enjoy a cold beer or maybe a good old-fashioned sarsaparilla. It’s one of those places where visitors from around the world wallpaper the bar with bank notes -- small denomination, of course.
The saloon’s restaurant has wide choice of burgers (and these are not you average burgers) and Mexican-style food, and prides itself on the ‘house speciality’ listed as a Boule of Fire, a killer chilli made with jalapeno peppers disguised with melted cheese and sour cream -- it will likely burn a hole in the roof of your mouth.
A few years ago the owners tried to sell Tortilla Flat on e-Bay. They were asking for $5.5 million. They never cut a deal, and probably were not that serious about selling – but it gained Tortilla Flat some great publicity worldwide.
While most of the Apache Trail is paved these days, the adventure steps up a notch just past Tortilla Flat, where the unpaved road begins and continues as you drive on to the Roosevelt Dam. The dirt road is much better than it used to be, and is now graded to accommodate the traffic that travels this route.
The second half of the Apache Trail has you driving down Fish Creek Hill. The road has numerous sharp twists, blind turns and narrow sections as it takes you down a deep descent to the beautiful Apache Lake. For many, this is a highlight of the day -- but there should be an accomplished driver at the steering wheel as there are several white-knuckle moments along the way.
The road gets easier once you have navigated hill, taking you through the rugged canyons of the Superstition Mountain Wilderness to man-made Apache Lake. It’s a little less than twenty kilometres long with spectacular views at every kilometre.
Apache Lake Marina and Resort offers accommodation, and if you have set out late from Phoenix or Scottsdale makes a good overnight option for an extended stay on the Apache Trail. There is a minimum stay policy of two nights at weekends from April to end September. Similar restrictions apply at many other properties in the area
Don’t forget: making the Apache Trail trip mid-week not only gives you a better chance of securing accommodation, it also means you avoid Arizona’s weekend getaway brigade.
Work began on the Roosevelt Dam in 1903 and took just over eight years to complete. It was at that time that the old stagecoach route was developed to become the Apache Trail of today, and was used to haul supplies to the construction work. The dam was built in order to supply water and electricity to farmers working the land down in Salt River Valley.
Originally called Tonto Dam, it was later renamed Roosevelt Dam, and in 1959, it was renamed again as Theodore Roosevelt Dam to avoid confusion as to which President Roosevelt it is was dedicated. Not that it made a difference: people still call it the Roosevelt Dam.
About six kilometres from Roosevelt Dam stop and admire the Tonto National Monument – two ancient cliff dwellings set in beautiful Sonoran Desert scenery: abundant cacti (they bloom from April until the end of June) and colourful spring wildflowers such as lupine, Indian paintbrush, owl’s clover and Mexican gold poppies (best seen after winter rains). The area also boasts an array of wildlife including wild pigs (known as javelinas), ringtail racoons, coyote, whitetail deer and black-tailed jackrabbits. For nature lovers it doesn’t get much better.
Tonto National Monument is open every day year round from 08.00 until 17.00. There are trails to the cliff dwellings: the lower ruins are a little strenuous in the summer sun, while the upper ruins can only be reached on a ranger-led hike, which is offered three days a week from November until the end of April. Even if you do not visit the ruins you should at least stop at the interpretive centre. It shows an eighteen-minute orientation video and has several interesting exhibits that bring alive the ancient Salado Indians and their fascinating culture. There is a small entrance fee.
From Tonto National Monument the trail follows the Roosevelt Lake, with its stunning shorelines; small, isolated islands and coves; and dramatic rocky cliffs. In the autumn, wildlife in this area includes migrating waterfowl; while during the winter you may spot bald eagles and osprey. The Tonto Creek arm of the lake is closed from the beginning of November until mid-February for wildlife protection.
From Roosevelt Lake down the Apache Trail to Miami (no, not that Miami) and nearby Globe, where you head west again to get back to Apache Junction.
Carrying on along the Apache Trail it’s about 50 kilometres to Miami (no not that one, this one was once a copper mining town).where you’ll find a road off to your left that takes you to Globe.
It’s a short and worthwhile detour as Globe is a small town with a big history. It was once isolated from the rest of Arizona and remained a frontier town for many years. Its past is one of gunfights, stagecoach robberies, lynchings, and Apache raids. Geronimo, the Apache Kid and the two Clantons who survived the famous gunfight with the Wyatt Earp his brother Virgil and Doc Holliday at Tombstone’s OK Corral, all passed through Globe.
The old Gila County Courthouse and its jail where many outlaws were hanged in Globe’s early days is now an arts centre. But you can still get a drink at the Drift Inn Saloon, which has been in business since 1902 and was where the gunslingers once hung out. Enjoy a mean Angus cheeseburger with bacon and spicy jalapenos, but don’t get hustled at the pool table.
Heading back west on the Apache Trail from Globe you come to Oak Flats, from where the descent through Queen Creek Canyon is another spectacular driving experience.
You then arrive in the old mining town of Superior, once the home of the prosperous Silver King Mine -- in its time it produced close to fifteen million dollars in silver. Today all that remains of Silver King are a few grave markers and the ruts cut into the ground by wagons that once carried silver ore.
At Gonzales Pass, a few kilometres west of Superior, you leave the Tonto National Forest and cross the tracks of the old Arizona Magma Railroad. The owning company stopped using steam engines in 1965. It’s a ‘must’ on the list of train spotters passing this way.
A bit of trivia: one of the old engines to be found here was used in a scene in the movie How The West Was Won.
A few kilometres further and you are once again in Apache Junction. On the way back to Phoenix you have time to reflect on your short drive through history, the days of fabulous gold mines, rough and tough prospectors, whoop-it-up saloons and Arizona’s early cowboys.
Here’s a thought. As you make your way down to Miami from the Roosevelt Dam, there’s a road to your left called the Globe-Young Highway (State Route 288). It’s designated as the Desert to Tall Pines scenic highway – and that’s a good description.
It’s another route that will take you back to Phoenix – but one that only should be attempted by accomplished drivers with a 4X4 with enough time on their side to extend the trip.by a day.
It’s about a hundred-kilometre drive to Young, along a lightly travelled, narrow, winding, dirt highway, with just some paved sections. Another 4X4 self-drive adventure.
Young is situated in Arizona's eastern mountains and completely surrounded by the Tonto National Forest. It’s a small town and is located close to Pleasant Valley, which many years ago was the scene of a deadly range feud that cost lots of lives.
Known as the Pleasant Valley War, it was fought between two families, one of them cattlemen, the other sheep herders -- and it lasted for some fifteen years.
That was back in the time when the west was still untamed. Strangers entering Pleasant Valley disappeared, never to be seen again. Horse thieves and cattle rustlers infested the area.
If you did decide to take the Desert to Tall Pines route, you would head west to Peyson from Young on the 260, before heading south on the Beehive Highway (87) for yet another hundred kilometres to join the 202 Loop Road for the last twenty kilometres into Phoenix.