Arizona’s Apache Trail packs canyons, lakes and ghost towns into one drive

It’s Arizona’s wildest paved road

State Route 88 starts at the edge of Apache Junction and heads straight into the Superstition Mountains.

You follow the Salt River corridor through Tonto National Forest, past a chain of desert lakes, with giant saguaros standing like sentinels on both sides.

The paved stretch runs smooth enough for any passenger car, but the scenery looks like it belongs on a dirt road in another century. Canyon walls, distant mesas and rolling desert hills fill every turn.

The pavement won’t last forever, and that’s part of the draw.

Crews carved this road to build a dam

Native peoples walked this mountain corridor for generations, moving between the desert lowlands and the cooler high country above.

Then in the early 1900s, construction crews turned the old route into a wagon road to haul materials for Roosevelt Dam. The dam went up in 1911, and the rough supply road picked up a new name soon after.

Some stretches still show original stonework and hand-built drainage systems cut into the rock. The name honors the Apache people tied to this stretch of the Superstitions.

Goldfield is a ghost town with a backdrop

Just past Apache Junction, you hit Goldfield. The settlement popped up in the 1890s after a gold strike, and it emptied out within a few years once the ore ran thin.

What remains sits right against the face of the Superstition Mountains, so the backdrop alone makes the stop worth it. Goldfield also marks the line between the city’s edge and open desert.

Once you pass it, the suburban sprawl disappears and the cactus takes over.

Lost Dutchman State Park sits below the peaks

The 320-acre park spreads out directly beneath the Superstition Mountains, and those jagged peaks rank among the most photographed scenes in the Phoenix area.

The park takes its name from the old legend of a hidden gold mine somewhere up in the range. Trails lead from the valley floor into the Superstition Wilderness and Tonto National Forest beyond.

If you time a visit after a wet winter, wildflowers carpet the foothills in spring and the whole base of the mountains turns green and gold.

Pick a trail from easy to punishing

The Treasure Loop Trail runs about 2.4 miles through the foothills and gives you sweeping valley views without too much effort. If you want something lighter, the Native Plant Trail is an easy, accessible desert walk.

For a real test, the Siphon Draw Trail climbs toward the Flatiron, a landmark rock formation and one of the toughest hikes in the area.

Mountain bikers get a four-mile singletrack loop, and Jacob’s Crosscut Trail traces the mountain’s base, connecting several paths together.

Mule deer and javelina roam the slopes

Mule deer move through the foothills during the cooler hours of the day, and javelina, coyotes and jackrabbits show up regularly along the trail edges.

The Sonoran Desert landscape here supports saguaro, cholla and palo verde trees that frame every view.

Winter storms occasionally dust the higher peaks with a thin coat of snow, which changes the whole mood of the mountains. You can drive this route in different seasons and see a different color palette each time.

Hairpin turns climb past one-lane bridges

Past Lost Dutchman, the road tightens into a series of sharp hairpin turns as it gains elevation. Saguaros line both sides while the route climbs, and then you crest a hill and the first lake comes into view below.

The descent brings you through rugged canyon walls with desert peaks stacking up in the distance. Two one-lane bridges cross the water along the way, so you slow down, wait your turn and take in the canyon from above.

Canyon Lake sits between sheer cliff walls

Mormon Flat Dam went up in 1925, and the water it holds back formed Canyon Lake. Deep blue water fills a narrow gap between steep cliffs and open desert wilderness.

It is the smallest of the Salt River reservoirs, but the tight canyon setting makes it the most dramatic.

Hidden coves cut into the rock walls, and the road follows the southern shore close enough that you can pull over and look straight down at the water.

Bighorn sheep scale the cliffs above the lake

Desert bighorn sheep sometimes appear on the steep rock faces above Canyon Lake. Look for them high on the ledges where the cliff meets the sky.

Wild horses graze near the shoreline on occasion, and the surrounding Superstition Wilderness supports a wide range of desert birds.

Unusual rock formations rise straight from the water’s edge, and on calm days, the canyon walls reflect perfectly off the surface. Keep your eyes moving here.

The wildlife shows up when you least expect it.

Tortilla Flat has a population of six

Past Canyon Lake, you reach Tortilla Flat. The tiny settlement dates to around 1904, when it served as a stagecoach stop on the old route.

Weathered wooden buildings still stand along the road, and the whole place holds onto a genuine Old West feel that most Arizona towns lost decades ago.

Prickly pear, agave and open desert frame the setting on every side. It is one of the last surviving stops of its kind on the historic Apache Trail.

The pavement ends a few miles further

A few miles past Tortilla Flat, the smooth road gives way to dirt.

The desert out here grows more remote and rugged, with prickly pear and towering agave lining the roadside. Distant mesas and rolling hills stretch to the horizon in every direction.

This is where the paved portion of the Apache Trail ends.

You can turn around here and drive back through everything you just saw, and it looks completely different heading the other way.

The Salt River carved all of this

The Apache Trail follows the Salt River corridor through the heart of the Superstition Mountains.

A chain of reservoirs along the river anchors the scenery, and steep canyon walls coated in dark desert varnish give the rock its layered, dramatic tones.

Water and desert sharing the same frame is unusual for this part of Arizona, and it makes the whole route feel like two landscapes pressed together.

The drive packs an entire tour of Superstition Mountain country into one road.

Drive the Apache Trail in Arizona

You can pick up State Route 88 by taking US 60 east from Phoenix to Apache Junction, then exiting at Idaho Road and heading north.

The paved stretch runs from Apache Junction to just past Tortilla Flat, around milepost 213, and any passenger car handles it fine. Spring is the best time, with wildflowers and mild temperatures.

Summer heat regularly tops 100 degrees. SR 88 is currently closed between Fish Creek Vista at milepost 222 and the Roosevelt Dam access road at milepost 240.3 for storm-damage repairs. Check az511.

gov for real-time conditions before you go.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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