2018  HIKING, CYCLING,

& RV TRAVEL ADVENTURES

Starr's Mill and Lake, Peachtree City, GA

 

   
 
Runtrails' Web Journal
 
Previous       2018 Journal Topics       Home       Next
 

   HIKING/CYCLING TRAILS IN & ADJACENT 
TO LOST DUTCHMAN STATE PARK, p. 2

MONDAY, DECEMBER 17

 
 

Continued from the previous page.

Although Lost Dutchman doesn't have a lot of hiking trails within the park itself, they connect to a larger network of other trails in the adjacent Tonto National Forest and Superstition Wilderness Area. Trails in the park are easy; those in the national forest range from easy to very difficult.

I believe the only mountain bike trail is a four-mile loop within the park boundary. I hiked only a small portion of the narrow trail with Holly-pup early one morning before the cyclists were using it:

On this and the next page I'll show pictures and briefly describe the trails within the park first, then the national forest.

TRAILS WITHIN THE PARK

Here's a map from a sign in the park that shows the trail system in and adjacent to the park. With a large enough screen,  you should be able to read the names of the trails. If not, you can find a larger, more updated map on the park website.

Not shown on this map are the bike trail loop, the new campground loop where we parked, and an easy half-mile trail that goes from the campground to the visitor station at the entrance to the park:

There is also a quarter-mile loop near the entrance called the Native Plant Trail; we didn't hike on that one.

The main hiking trail within the park is the Discovery Interpretive Trail, an easy path that connects the day use parking areas with the campground loops and Siphon Draw trailhead. It's about a mile long, with great views of the Superstition Mountains.


Sunset on the Superstitions


Majestic old saguaro cacti, sentinels of the desert;
they don't grow "arms" until they are about 50 years old.


Cactus humor; the "head" was gone the next day.


Brittlebrush flowers were in bloom all over the place.

There are half a dozen interpretive signs along this trail with interesting information about the geology, history, plant life, and critters that inhabit this part of the Sonoran Desert:

There is also a sundial along this path:

A fence separates park property from the Tonto National Forest, with gates at four locations so hikers can easily access the trails leading up into the Superstition Mountains.

TRAILS IN THE NATIONAL FOREST & WILDERNESS AREA

On the map above you can see the boundary line between the park and national forest, with four gates that lead to several trails up the north side of the Superstition Mountains.

JACOB'S CROSSCUT TRAIL #58

This is the easiest trail to hike in the hillside network. It runs a little less than a mile north-south along the base of the mountain. It extends another mile to the north and 4.5 miles to the south beyond the park area. Although I was on the trail two or three times I hiked only the part shown on the map above.

You can access the trail from the Siphon Draw Trail or two sides of the Treasure Loop Trail. The next two photos show the park boundary gate on the Siphon Draw Trail and the intersection with the Crosscut Trail:

 

The Crosscut Trail is single-track, partly smooth and partly rocky. It undulates gradually in and out of little washes that are filled with flowers right now. There are expansive views down to the valley and up to the mountains:

 

 

 


Chuparosa AKA Beloperone

Above and below:  ubiquitous Brittlebrush

 

 

If I had done only a loop incorporating Jacob's Crosscut Trail from our campground site it would have been about 2½ miles long. When I used this trail it was always in combination with other trails on the mountainside.

TREASURE LOOP TRAIL #56

This 2.4-mile long loop is an interesting trail of moderate difficulty. I hiked to the top of the loop twice from different directions. It is longer if you're hiking from one of the campsites.

The first time I did the entire loop in the CCW direction with Casey, our six-year-old Lab It was early in the morning and the whole mountainside was in shade. The colors in the pictures I took with my old compact Sony camera that day leave a lot to be desired. The photos with better colors were taken later on another day.

The trail gains 500 feet elevation as it climbs up to and above Green Boulder, so-named because of all the greenish lichens growing on it:

 

 

 

Treasure Loop starts/ends at either the Cholla or Saguaro day use area.

It is pretty smooth and wide below Jacob's Crosscut Trail, then becomes more rocky single-track as you ascend in either the clockwise or counter-clockwise direction:


Circling around behind the Green Boulder


Looking down at the back of the Green Boulder

The bench on the overlook above Green Boulder (below) is at 2,600+ feet elevation, with even better views down to the valley and out to several mountain ranges.

I took the next set of photos on the descent:

 


Looking back up the trail as other hikers ascend in the CW direction


Backlit Teddy bear cholla cacti glow in the early morning sun.

Above and below:  mama deer and her twins in the desert; papa was several hundred feet away.

 


Wider, smoother trail below the Crosscut Trail


Unusual Hanging Chain AKA Hanging Fruit cholla cactus

Continued on the next page Prospector's View and popular Siphon Draw Trail, which "draws" a large hiker crowd

Happy trails,

Sue
"Runtrails & Company" - Sue Norwood, Jim O'Neil, Cody, Casey, and Holly-pup

Previous       Next

© 2018 Sue Norwood and Jim O'Neil

-