The Apache Trail is a 50 mile stretch of Arizona Route 88 with the last 22 miles of it being unpaved. It is a short drive from Phoenix and there are plenty of stops along the trail if you want to stop. Once you hit the end of the Apache Trail, there are several options to get back to Phoenix including the way you came.
Our first stop along the Apache Trail was the Goldfield Ghost Town. The hubby wanted to see a Ghost Town last year but he wanted to see a real ghost town and not a tourist trap. Goldfield was a hip happening back in the late 1800s when it was a booming mine town. Once the mining dried up so did the town. It is your stereotypical Ghost Town with a saloon or two, a general store, a gunfight in the middle of town every weekend. You can take a mine tour, pan for gold, take a train ride, and hit up a museum. Since the hubby isn't into the whole touristy thing (most days) we did none of that. I would suggest actually taking at least the train ride or mine tour (my picks if we played tourist)
We did stop in the general store for some postcards and a sheriff's badge. Someone has to tame the West.
After stopping briefly at the ghost town, we continued our journey to Tortilla Flat. En route we traveled through the Tonto National Forest. This is a very scenic drive and entirely paved. As you travel through this section of the Apache Trail, you have views of Canyon Lake. There are several spots for hiking and boating as well. We stopped for some photos of Canyon Lake at one of the overlooks.
Shortly after Canyon Lake, we came into Tortilla Flat. A town of six residents and about as many buildings. There is a general store and restaurant. We had lunch at the restaurant and saloon. They are known for their burgers and chili. The hubby had a burger and I opted for a brisket sandwich. Both were very good. The entire place is plastered with dollar bills of people who ate there. The women's restaurant was worth a visit too. I was disappointed we didn't get a chance to have prickly pear gelato at the general store but we were too full.
A couple miles out of Tortilla Flat the pavement ends and you have 22 miles of dirt road through the Superstition Mountains. 22 miles doesn't seem like all that long...except when you are going 10-15 miles an hour around hair pin turns and switchbacks next to steep canyon. The ride is not for the faint of heart. There are a few spots with large pot holes but for the most part the dirt road is well maintained. If that's not bad enough, you also have one lane bridges over ravines and washes.
I understand why the hubby was told we had to take this drive. The views are amazing. However you are literally in the middle of nowhere. Cell service is pretty much non-existent. There were plenty of other people on the trail even on a Monday just case we ran in to trouble.
At the end of the Apache Trail is the Roosevelt Dam. There is a parking lot and a walkway describing the history of the dam. It is not as big of the Hoover Dam but it's still impressive.
Then we drove 70 some miles back to Phoenix through the Tonto Forest on regular paved roads. It wasn't all that exciting of a drive once you get off the Apache Trail.
Would I do it again? Sure if I had a dune buggy. The hubby says no way and not because it was nerve wracking. He didn't like the bridge we had to go over to head back to Phoenix. The Apache Trail itself was fine. Getting home was the problem.
I suggest if you are ever in Phoenix and don't get motion sick, take a drive on the Apache Trial. It's worth seeing.
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