At the end of the day, I felt like an intrepid adventurer, after surviving my daring drive across the Superstition Mountains. After the AZ-202 entrance, it will become the Apache Trail until you turn left onto AZ-88. Very scenic hike and the cave was bigger than I thought it would be. Another mile or so down the road is the entrance to the I should mention here that Lost Dutchman State Park and the Apache Trail offer some great Arizona trails to hike. When completed in 1905, the Apache Trail (then called the Tonto Wagon Road or the Roosevelt Road) was 62 miles long, connecting the railroad in Mesa to the dam site. We did not find the scenery worth the time and rattles, but glad we did it once. Most of the way it’s wash-boarded, so don’t plan on going fast unless you want to jar your teeth loose!As another aside, the country is very rough through here and the power lines were laid along the same route as the road. For those who find the washboard bouncing to be stimulating in the wrong way, there are toilets available (soap and water not included). Haralambos Babaletskos / EyeEm / Getty Images On our last trip, we reached this point in late afternoon. Best Day and Road Trips From Phoenix (For those coming from Phoenix, take US-60 east to Idaho and follow AZ-88 north about two miles to meet Old West Highway. We will be driving in from This is the version of our website addressed to speakers of We opted, since it was a hot day, to pass on the hike, but there is a nice view from the terrace at the center and a telescope is provided for a closer look. At least not when we’re on it!From the overlook, the road dives down steeply to level out near the water. After some re-calculation, it was found that the dam could not contain some floods, so the dam was rebuilt, 1989-96, to add an additional 77’ of height to it.There’s a viewpoint just before the dam which provides a good place to take pictures and make another pit stop if needed. In other states, this would rate a park of its own, but here it’s just a nice view. I'm sorry you didn't like your trip on the Apache Trail. The Complete Guide to Tonto National Monument However, if you are nervous or if the weather might be a problem, use caution. 1 Helpful vote. The scenic drive starts in the town of Apache Junction. By the time we stopped for pictures along the Trail and at the dam, we’d spent another two hours finishing that portion of the trip.The Apache Trail meets AZ-188 just past the dam. Date of experience: March 2020. Enjoy the tranquil setting while hiking the popular Apache Fire Trail — this loop trail has a gradual elevation gain that leads to the now vacant House of Apache Fire, an adobe style property built during 1946 by Jack and Helen Frye. The drive is a little scary with windy roads and one lane bridges, but it is so worth the views. It then became a stagecoach route in the early 1900s and now winds its way through both the Superstition Mountains and The historic trail gets its name from the Apache Indians who originally used the trail to navigate through the Superstition Mountains.
So I skipped the I've drove 'half' of the Apache Trail in 2013 and it was breathtaking. Tortilla Flat is a little disappointing, pretty much a souvenir stop and a … Read more. We got there about an hour after we started the trip (25 miles an hour!