Apache Trail (109 km)

Apache Junction to Roosevelt Dam · one way, about 109 km back to the start

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Why this ride

A one-way ride of 109 km, Apache Junction to the finish - roughly 1 h 28 in the saddle. The stops in between: Canyon Lake, Tortilla Flat and Fish Creek Hill. The highest point is about 1,350 m. It suits an unhurried touring pace.

Roadbook

1. Apache Junction start

   Apache Junction is the last big town on the eastern edge of the Phoenix sprawl, a desert city of about thirty-eight thousand people at the foot of the Superstition Mountains. The mountains rise abruptly behind the suburban streets, a wall of reddish volcanic rock with a jagged crest, and they are one of the most famous landmarks of the American Southwest, soaked in legend and mystery. It is a place of RV parks, rock shops and diners, but also the starting point of one of Arizona's most dramatic roads.

   The legend is of the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine. A German immigrant named Jacob Waltz, known as the Dutchman, supposedly found a rich gold vein in the Superstitions in the 1870s, and when he died in 1891 he left only hints about its location. Since then, hundreds of people have searched for it, and a number have died trying, victims of heat, thirst and falls. The mountains are rugged and unforgiving, and the Superstition Wilderness is not a place for casual exploration. The legend lives on in the names of local businesses, and a museum nearby tells the story.

   The Apache Trail, Highway 88, begins here and was built in the early 1900s as a supply road for the construction of Roosevelt Dam. It is a winding, scenic road that passes through the desert with views of saguaro cactus and rocky canyons, then skirts Canyon Lake and continues to the old stagecoach stop of Tortilla Flat, a quirky roadhouse with dollar bills pinned to the walls. Beyond Tortilla Flat, the road turns to gravel for about twenty miles, with steep grades, narrow sections, hairpins and sheer drops with no guardrails. It requires care and a bike that can handle loose surfaces.

   Fill the tank here, since fuel is hard to find along the trail. Summer heat is severe, with temperatures above forty degrees Celsius, so ride in the cool months from October to April, and carry plenty of water. Spring brings wildflowers after wet winters, and the desert glows in the evening light. Check conditions before you set out, as the road can be closed by floods or rockslides, and avoid riding in the rain, when the gravel turns slick.

2. Canyon Lake scenic

   Canyon Lake is a long, narrow reservoir tucked into the Sonoran Desert about eighteen kilometres north-east of Apache Junction, and it is the first real surprise on the Apache Trail. After the saguaro cactus and dry rocks, the water is a startling blue, with red canyon walls rising straight out of it. The lake was created in the 1920s by Mormon Flat Dam on the Salt River, one of a chain of dams that provide Phoenix with water and power, and it has become a favourite for boating and fishing. A small paddle-wheel boat, the Dolly Steamboat, takes visitors on cruises along the canyon.

   The Apache Trail itself, Highway 88, was built in the early 1900s as a construction road for Theodore Roosevelt Dam, and the stretch past Canyon Lake is where it starts to twist. The road runs along the north shore in a series of tight curves, with the Superstition Mountains forming a jagged skyline to the south, and pull-outs let you look out over the water. It is paved up to this point and slightly beyond, and the surface is generally good, though the verges are soft and rock falls happen. Weekends, particularly in spring, can be busy with cars and boats.

   The Superstitions are famous for the legend of the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine, a story about a prospector who supposedly found a rich vein and died without revealing its location. Many have searched, a few have died looking, and the mountains still hold their secrets. Whether or not you believe in the gold, the scenery is impressive, with saguaro, cholla and brittlebush covering the slopes and, in a wet spring, a carpet of poppies.

   Summer is brutally hot, with temperatures well over forty degrees, so the best months are October to April. Carry plenty of water, wear sun protection, and take care on the hairpins. Apache Junction, about seventeen kilometres to the south-west, is the nearest town of any size and has fuel, supermarkets and restaurants, so fill the tank and your bottles there. Tortilla Flat, further along the road, has a small shop and restaurant with dollar bills pinned all over the walls. The pavement ends beyond that, and the rest of the trail is graded dirt, which suits a dual-sport better than a cruiser.

3. Tortilla Flat scenic

   Tortilla Flat is a tiny settlement on the Apache Trail, in the Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix, with a population that can be counted in single figures and a reputation far larger. It began as a stagecoach stop on the road built in 1905 to carry materials to the construction site of Roosevelt Dam, and today it consists of a restaurant, a saloon, a general store and a gift shop, all in a cluster of wooden buildings with a western look. Inside the saloon, the walls are covered with dollar bills, thousands of them, signed and stapled up by visitors, and the bar stools are saddles.

   The mountains around it are rough, volcanic and full of legend. The Superstitions are said to hold the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine, a treasure supposedly hidden by a prospector named Jacob Waltz in the nineteenth century, and people have been searching for it, and sometimes dying in the attempt, for more than a century. The scenery is a vivid desert, with saguaro cactus on the slopes, jagged cliffs and canyons that glow orange and red at sunset. Spring wildflowers, after a wet winter, carpet the hills with yellow and purple.

   The Apache Trail, Arizona State Route 88, is the road that matters. It leaves Apache Junction and climbs through twisting curves, past Canyon Lake, a deep blue reservoir in a red canyon, to Tortilla Flat, and the pavement is narrow with tight bends and steep drops. Beyond the village, the road turns to gravel for around thirty kilometres, with narrow shelves cut into cliffs, steep grades and a famous switchback section that is unnerving in a car and demanding on a motorcycle. Check conditions before going on, because the surface can be rough or washed out after rain, and it is not for the inexperienced.

   The restaurant serves chilli, burgers and a prickly pear ice cream that is a house speciality, and the place is crowded on weekends, with bikers and tour buses competing for parking. Summer temperatures are dangerous, often above forty degrees, so go in the cooler months, from October to April. The evenings are cool and the stars are brilliant, and a pause on the terrace with a cold drink is the right way to end the climb.

4. Fish Creek Hill scenic

   Fish Creek Hill is the moment on the Apache Trail when the road stops being polite. Past Tortilla Flat the pavement gives way to graded dirt, and then the road comes to the lip of Fish Creek Canyon and drops over the edge in a steep, winding descent with an ugly drop beside you and no guard rail. The grade is steep, the gravel is loose, and the width is one lane in places. Cars slow to a crawl, and on a motorcycle it demands your full attention and a light hand on the brakes.

   The canyon is the reward. The walls are streaked in red, yellow and green volcanic rock, and the vegetation is the classic Sonoran mix of saguaro, ocotillo, cholla and palo verde, with a thin line of cottonwood along the creek far below. There is a pull-out at the top where you can park and take stock before committing to the descent, and many travellers get off their vehicles, look down and take a deep breath. Photographs seldom do justice to the angle. The light in the late afternoon turns the cliffs a deep orange.

   The Apache Trail was built in the early twentieth century to supply the construction of Roosevelt Dam, and the road follows an older route used by the Apache and by prospectors in the Superstition Mountains. It was once the main road to Globe, and travellers on it described it as one of the most terrifying roads in America. The terror has been somewhat reduced by grading, but the scenery is the same. Today the road is maintained as a historic route, though flash floods and rockfalls cause closures, and the dirt section is often rough with washboard.

   For riders, the main factors are tyres, nerve and timing. A dual-sport or adventure bike is ideal, and a heavy cruiser or tourer will find it hard going. Go slowly, stay in the centre of the track where it is firm, and give way to uphill traffic. Do not ride it after rain, when the dirt becomes slick and the creek crossings flood. Gold Canyon and Apache Junction, to the west, have fuel and food, so fill up there, and carry water because the sun in the canyon is hot.

5. Roosevelt Dam finish

   Roosevelt Dam is a monument to the idea that the desert could be made to bloom. Completed in 1911 and dedicated by Theodore Roosevelt himself, it was among the first big projects of the new federal reclamation programme, designed to capture the Salt River and send its water to the farms and growing towns of the Phoenix valley. It was built of rough stone blocks, quarried on the spot, and is still one of the biggest masonry dams in the world, though later work has raised it and covered the stones in concrete.

   Behind it lies Theodore Roosevelt Lake, the largest lake in Arizona, a long, blue, branching reservoir in the middle of the brown desert hills. The contrast is startling, and the lake is a favourite for boating, fishing and camping, with bald eagles nesting nearby in winter. A graceful arch bridge carries the highway across the water just below the dam, giving a good view of both structures, and on a still day the reflection is lovely.

   The road here, the end of the Apache Trail, was built to carry the stone and supplies for the dam, and the old route is a wild piece of work, with steep, dusty hairpins and canyon walls, and the dam itself appearing suddenly around a bend. The last section of the trail is gravel and demands care, with loose surfaces, blind curves and big drops. It is a journey into the past, with much the same landscape the builders saw, studded with saguaros and ocotillo, and little traffic.

   The area has few services, though the marina has a small store and cafe, and the village of Tonto Basin, about twenty kilometres to the east, has fuel and basic supplies. It is wise to arrive with a full tank and plenty of water, and to remember that mobile signal comes and goes. Tonto National Monument, a few miles away, protects cliff dwellings built by the Salado people some seven hundred years ago, and is well worth a visit. Summer heat is intense, so the best time is from October to April, and sunsets over the lake are glorious.

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