If you’re looking for some of the most spectacular scenery in Arizona, the Apache Trail scenic drive is a must-see. The 39 miles of road, paved and unpaved, wind its way with hairpin turns and narrow stretches of road along the north side of the rugged Superstition Mountain Wilderness Area that passes through the south side of Canyon and Apache Lakes. Unfortunately, the unpaved part that is the eastern half of the road is closed due to road damage. However, the drive along the paved in and out section is well worth the effort and time, where the road passes over two arched one-lane steel bridges with views of Canyon Lake and Needle Point. They provide some awesome photo opportunities of Arizona. landscape.

The journey down the 60 and 188 freeways to reach the east side of the Apache Trail, where a few miles of paved section remain open, provides spectacular Arizona scenery. The east side of the road shows Inspiration Point, where the view of Lake Roosevelt with the mountains as a backdrop is beyond spectacular. Just a mile away you can see the Roosevelt Dam, which holds back the lake from the Salt River. Visiting the Tonto National Monument at the end of the street makes the trip even more appealing.

The Tonto Basin is very rich in history and has been occupied by numerous types of people for thousands of years, and the Salado people left behind the most artifacts dating back about 700 years. With only a few modifications made by archaeologists to the Tonto National Monument to facilitate visits and safety, the home showcases remarkable architecture from the Salado people. Access to the lower cliff dwelling requires a one-mile round-trip hike on a paved walkway that is steep with a 350-foot elevation change with stairs to reach the top. However, this home was limited by the size of the bedroom which measures 40 feet high, 85 feet long, and 48 feet deep, where each room housed a family and a covered breeze divided the home in half. Even today, some of the ceilings remain partially intact, where the ceilings and walls still have smoke stains from their cooking fires. In addition to cliff dwelling, the trail offers some stunning photo opportunities of Lake Roosevelt in the cactus-filled desert valley below.

On the western edge of Apache Trail is Goldfield Ghost Town, where you can experience the excitement of the Arizona Wild West. At Goldfield’s heyday in the 1890s, the town boasted 3 salons, a general store, a smithy, a brewery, a meat market, a school, and a boarding house. Unfortunately, the gold vein failed causing the city to die a slow and painful death. Today, the historic buildings along Main Street are filled with gift shops with tours of the gold mine and a narrow gauge train ride with other opportunities for visitors to experience what the Wild West was like. Arizona.

Just west of Phoenix in the White Mountains is White Mountain Regional Park, best known for its bike trails and walking trails that range from short easy trails to difficult all-day trails. The two most popular and busiest are Black Rock Loops and Waterfall Trail. The Black Loop trail is 5 miles or 1.3 miles through a Hohokam village with signs along the way explaining the desert plants and wildlife that live here. The 2 mile round trip Waterfall trail begins on a concrete walkway through the desert floor ending at the midpoint where Petroglyph Square is located, a large number of petroglyphs dating back to 800 can be seen here years. The rest of the trail is over loose dirt and rocks before ending in a narrow granite box canton where there is a refreshing pool of water on the canyon floor that kids love to play in. Unfortunately, the water only falls on the cliff face after heavy rains.