Best place for summer sluicing
Roadrunner 1 Poland junction next mayer Arizona
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Ride starts at GC entrance, ride to left Spruce Mt trail, cut off at bent branch, to 3 rocks, up to cabin at trail sign, back down right then left
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Trail 531 off of Woodshute Trail after rain - nice view of Sedona’s red rocks.
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Beautiful ride. A lot of long down and up hills. Some rocky areas but mostly good footing.
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This is a really pretty hike. About 1.5KM in, there's a long stretch with wild flowers, butterflies, and a bunch of birds.
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Bouncy, not too bad. Some nice spots to stop in the forest for lunch or camping.
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I give high marks for being able to loose the crowds. Within a mile you are in the pines and oaks. Areas are rocky so not recommended for runners and mountain bikers.
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Lovely hike. At about 200 m elevation. The snow pack starts and the ground is more rocky.
We got sun, thunder, wind, rain, and snow.
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This is the close loop around Goldwater. I love this hike. Great for older kids. Would be tough with littles. Couple places where you are on a narrow dirt trail that has a steep drop off on one side. Beautiful views of the water, birds, and I saw several deer. If you prefer seeing less people, do the bigger Goldwater Loop. If you want a little shorter hike you can start at the lake but you have to pay for parking.
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This is a great loop for a sxs or jeep. Expect a full day in a Jeep or half day in a side by side. Full of great trails that go from town to the high desert, then pines back through Jerome. Great loop!
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Granite Mountain Hotshots Juniper Tree (Giant Alligator) — Prescott, AZ. Excellent hiking conditions (clear day, albeit windy on the return from the Memorial Site). Overall, fairly good terrain w/ the exception of a couple of rocky points (scree).
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Good hike but trail has a lot of loose rock. Great for conditioning and views.
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I like this trail, not too long, not too short. It has a few climbs but not too many and not too steep. In short it’s a nice average hike, it’s close to home for me so I can be on it quickly and get out into the forest without having to travel too far.
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Great hike. Beautiful views. Bring extra water in the summer, lots of sun.
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Great ride with beautiful views. Smiley rock is a lot of rocky washes. Recommend atleast37s
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Way tougher than you think it’s gonna be. Some obstacles have by passes. Some do not. Beautiful though. Very crowded, be prepared.
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Beautiful, well maintained trail, moderate (almost easy). Not steep.
Smell of pine trees and beautiful sound of wind in the tree tops. Found the fireplace and spring about half way.
Couple of small water crossings.
We did it in 2 hours versus the 3 that was shown. 5.15 miles per Gaia, 5.44 miles per Apple Watch.
Some shade, some exposure.
55 deg, am. March 31.
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This trailhead offers plenty of parking, and it’s a well used, well marked trail. Restrooms are available at both the trailhead and up at Spruce Mt. lookout. Hiking the loop clockwise offers a fairly steep climb up to the lookout, then a more gradual decent as you follow the loop around.
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Perfectly straightforward, well signed, moderate hike. My favorite part is the walk along Mint Creek.
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Very nice walk up to a small outcrop above the climbing cliffs. Trail all the way. Although it is rated difficult it is really straightforward and not very challenging. For more of a challenge bushwhack over to the Summit of Granite Mountain.
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These trails are epic for your average afternoon stroll, conditioning runs or better yet a shred with your friends on some bikes! The trails are well maintained and very accessible through visible markers and signage. Highly recommend butte trail system to people of the area 😎
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I would not recommend. The trail going to Jerome is very sketchy and over grown.
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We ended up on this trail due to a navigation error and I’m glad we did. What an epic trail through the Bradshaws. Very remote, I would not recommend doing this trail alone. The trail offers sandy washes, narrow shelf roads, boulder fields, steep climbs, off camber and washouts. Plus much more. Expect pinstripes. A stock high clearance rig can make it. That said a lift and minimum 33” tires will reduce the chance of scraping skid plates. We did it in my JLUR with a 2” lift on 33’s and had no issues.
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Instead of the Spruce Mountain loop trail 307 which takes off from Groom Creek on Senator Highway, we decided to go the 8.8 mile trail from Smith Ravine to FR 52 aka Spruce Mountain Road. The trail is well maintained and easy to follow. Once on FR 52 it is a steady climb to the top of Spruce Mountain. We were greeted by about 6 adult deer at the top. As we were descending toward the Smith Ravine parking area a gentleman on his way up reported seeing a black bear that was good sized. We did not encounter the bear but this area of the forest is replete with a wide variety of critters so it is important to pay attention.
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Lots of potential for exploring. Lots of washes. Rocky of course in
Some spots.
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R1 two tiered drop of ~20', then ~30' - can be split into two drops to aid in rope pull
DC1 40' falls can be bypassed on the left or rappelled from a chockstone on the right
DC2 15' elevator downclimb with a pool to swim after the drop. This can also be bypassed on canyon left with some easy scrambling.
R2 another two tiered section with two 15 foot drops through some large boulders. Rope pull is difficult again here - a second anchor can be added or the first 15' drop can be bypassed on canyon left.
R3 ~160' anchored from a small tree on canyon left
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This is a good exercise loop with elevation ups and downs, Forest, and some nice views. All good, clear trail with little traffic.
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I tried to continue up this trail but there was a few boulders blocking the path maybe when I get my wish I will move them to open up the trail so I can go further.
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This is a little hidden trail that gets tight quickly and there is also no one around and I couldn’t go further because it was to tight.
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Please don’t do this trail! This trail is tight and there is a deep water crossing towards the end. The water was up to my hood on my truck and the water was pushing my truck down stream but I pushed through it and made it to the other side, and then of top of that there is 3 locked gates.
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This was a long scenic hike. It is a very beautiful trail to hike part of the trail that crosses over into cougar trail is hard to follow and when you are walking along the bottom of the trail you might see an occasional person walking from a different trail. I didn’t see anyone on this trail. There is also 2 lakes along the trail which are nice to stop at and take a break.
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This is a nice scenic trail with very minimal traffic on the trail. It does cross over a few off-road trails so you might see an occasional off-road vehicle but other than that the length and incline is a nice workout.
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This is a nice hiking trail with nice views. The beginning of the trail looks like a dirt road but the end of the trail is a scenic trail overlooking thumb butte.
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The start of the trail is nice and wide and easy to follow and then once you tart climbing up the hill the trail is hard to follow because of the light foot traffic. When you start coming down the other side the trail is easier to follow and it has nicer scenery. When I went on this trail with friends we also saw a Big Black Bear.
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This is a nice trail. The trail is not very well maintained but that is also because there is almost nobody on the trail. Every time I went it was empty. There is nothing spectacular about this trail, but it is a nice relaxing hike in the woods.
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This is one of my favorite hikes because it is not to long and not to short. It is also very scenic with very few people on the trail. If you get lucky you will be alone on the trail. You also see a nice view of thumb butte coming around the end of the trail.
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This is a beautiful trail. It is free parking on Wednesday and there is still a few people out on the trails. It is a nice trail around the lake.
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A nice beautiful hike with beautiful views. The is a little pond off of the trail with a small little waterfall. I only saw one person on the trail the whole time.
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Great trail. Very narrow and would be very hard if there were someone coming from the other direction. But we really loved it.
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Great easy ride...graded roads all the way to Crown King. To Horse Thief Lake from Crown King gets bumpy but not a bad ride. Challenge rating 1-2 for all of it. Bring a picnic or get food at the general store in Crown King. They also have gas but only 87 octane. There is a bar/restaurant in town.
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Lovely ride! About 2 miles in and the rest of the way to the lake has some quite technical places for the horses through the rocks but all managed quite well Nice spot to stop just by the lake and tie up the horses, sit on the rocks and have lunch. Easier ride back tho still a few tricky places, and met a few men bikers. Several hikers out as well. Awesome weather and great ride!
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This was a great hike. Not too strenuous, probably 75% in the shaded pine trees. Some beautiful boulders and a rest stop not far from the lake.
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The best views in the area all along the trail. Many tree species; Douglas Fir, Ponderosa Pine, Spruce, Oak, Locust. Well defined trail and a nice escape from the heat.
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Great loop to avoid people entirely. Trail 260 is unmaintained and steep and that’s the charm. Stunning views.
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This is a nice trail with a good length. I didn’t see anyone on this trail and it is also scenic but there was nothing special about it.
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I love everything about this trail but I didn’t complete the loop because it is 9 miles. I might take out the mountain bike someday to complete it. The trail portion that I did do is really beautiful and there is barely anyone on the trail. It is very scenic as well. I would rate it higher if the distance was less but I still might be able to complete it with a mountain bike someday.
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This is a technical off-roading spot and there is even a very steep area with big rocks to climb over. This connector will take you from the Friendly Pines trail to Wolf Creek
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I love this trail there is almost no one on the trail and it’s is a little technical and it’s also scenic.
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Scenic trail with a nice overlook. There was nobody else on the trail but it’s was really tight almost the whole way and it scratched up the truck a lot but there is a nice scenic overlook near the end.
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Very scenic but it’s just a bumpy dirt road and it’s usually busy. I don’t usually do this trail unless I want to show someone new the trail.
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Really tight trail I would never do this again and there was no turn around. I was scrapping my truck the whole way up.
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Mainly a dirt trail. It’s kinda scenic and there may be 3 camping spots but they are usually taken. It’s in the desert of Wilhoit.
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Loved this trail. It’s easy but very very quite and peaceful. I saw nobody on this trail and if you sit around and wait the cows will come up and say hi.
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This is a nice trail but it gets tight in some areas. It is really scenic and there is a seasonal creek that runs through it. Occasionally you will see some other people on the trail.
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This trail got closed and now it is way to tight in some areas and you can no longer complete it unfortunately.
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Long, very long. Start early. Lots of climbs and switchbacks. Rocky after you get into the trail. End is worth it. Pretty views. A few small water crossings. Was very hot and busy.
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Very pleasant casual hike. Mostly flat with a few steep but short sections. Overall I’d rate it “easy.” Trail is narrow so some issues maintaining proper social distancing with oncoming traffic but nothing too difficult to manage. Nice views. We hiked this on a Tuesday and both parking lots were nearly full, showing what a popular destination this is.
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Nice walk if you only have 10 minutes or walk. Also has benches and information about the area if you want to spend a little more time. The tail is paved so it is wheelchair accessible.
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Steep inclines at 35 degrees up hill and I got stuck but I was able to get free I wouldn’t recommend this trail again.
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Nice easy walk through the pines and along the Goldwater Lake shoreline. Our dog enjoyed the walk too.
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Nice easy beautiful hike through the woods and along the shoreline.
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Pretty rough terrain with lots of rock but there is a cool campsite at the end. Pretty easy to do its just really bumpy.
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Some tight spots and some technical spots but it was fun to do overall. I really like doing this trail and going under the tunnel has to be my favorite part. The rest of the trail is pretty standard for an off-roading trail and you see an occasional camper.
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This trail is very scenic and it has nice water crossings some nice offroading but not it’s technical enough. It’s definitely more scenic than it is technical and thats why I still rate it so high. You can also take other routes along this trail system and there is even a waterfall and nice places to stop and relax. Unfortunately camping is not aloud on this trial. You will also see the occasional off-roadie or hiker on this trail but it is usually empty.
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I love this trail. It has technical spots and amazing views. It’s also close to town and it’s a short fun trail to off-road. This is one of my favorite trails. Whenever I am in town I try to do this trail because it is so beautiful. I also try to show new people this trail and everyone seems to love it. It does have more technical stuff near the top.
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Technical in a few places but nothing the trucks couldn’t handle. I didn’t scrap at all. If you go from white spar you will pass through the homeless camp area end then end up in the backside of a camp on senator highway and you will pass behind a baseball field. This is a nice scenic trail to do.
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This trail is very very long trail and very scenic but not technical enough of offroading. I wouldn’t do this trail ever again because it is so boring and long and there is no shortcuts to take to get done sooner.
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This is a beautiful trail with a few technical spots where 4WD is required and I used 4WD-LO in 1 spot. The views are also amazing as you climb up the mountains from Dewey into Prescott. I would do this trail again because its very beautiful and scenic and there is many detours you can take along the way.
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This is a decent trail with a few closed gates that you have to open. It’s mainly dirt road and in the desert but in the woods it’s a cool trail. I would do this trail again only if I had nothing better to do. There is also a cool sandstone part of the trail that I really liked doing.
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It’s a little technical nothing to bad all you need is 4WD. There is a nice lookout at the end possibly for camping otherwise I wouldn’t do this trail again.
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This trail has some technical spots and it gets a little tight in some spots but its nothing that you can’t handle. The road also turns into a logging road so it gets boring quick.
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Very scenic but it’s short and steep in some spots and it’s also very tight. You are also unable to complete it. If you want to complete it I recommend a winch and another vehicle. It’s very steep at the end and I just would turn around instead of going further.
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Really nice hike for a lot of reasons
1. Only saw 1 person in 5 hours over 10 miles
2. Dogs were off leash the entire time and only other dog we saw was also off leash
3. Trail was well maintained and mostly well marked
So to begin with this is a very secluded area with very few houses and/or traffic. The parking area is small and only 8-10 vehicles could fit but it was fairly easy to find but GAIA was of by only a bit and we drove just a bit far before turning around and finding the trailhead. I have added quite a few photos to show markers etc but I don’t think they all were attached. This is my first review and only second recorded hike so I am still learning.
The trailhead for this is actually “Smith Ravine” Trailhead. SO look for that at the parking area on the west side of 297 (Walker Road)
Go thru the gate and the trail is really well defined for just over 3 miles.
Once you hit 3 miles be on the lookout for a few postings. 1 is on a fence right by a dirt road (Spruce Mountain Road) and 1 is a wooden sign facing away from you for others coming toward you. This sign is telling others that Walker road is 3 miles from where you stand via the Smith Ravine Trail. On the fence you should see a yellow sign that says “Please! Close the gate”. You will need to go thru this gate and follow Spruce Mountain Road until you get to the US Forest Service road that will most likely be gated shut.
Proceed under the gate and continue on until you reach the picnic area right be the lookout tower......return the way you came.
There is a restroom at the picnic site but not guaranteed to be open and not sure what season they open consistently. It was closed at this was on a weekend at 11am so just another sign that not many people frequent this trail due to length, stress of ascent....basically difficulty.
This is a strenuous hike of roughly 10 miles total. Over 2200 (per Garton but only 1800 per GAIA) vertical ft of ascent so it will work your heart and your legs pretty well as well as working up a sweat.
We ran into quite a bit of snow so check if you are going in the winter as there could be a lot more if there was a s storm that went thru.
Suggest wearing good waterproof boots that can take a lot of water and mud. Dress in layers and bring energy snacks and plenty of water. There are indicators that there are 2 springs along the trail off a ways but we did not run into any of them nor did we go looking for them so not sure if there is accessible water along the trail if you run out.
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Cold morning with temperatures starting at 27 degrees. The east side of the lake is the best side with only dirt and rock trails.
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This is a fun trail but it is short and it ends with a dead end. I wouldn’t do this trail again because it is so short and you have to turn around.
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I attempted 97B to Golden Eagle and the trail 667 Turns into a dirt bike trail and gets to tight. This trail has scenic spots and is very beautiful overlooking the valley and there is also a house deep in the woods. I wish I could rate this trail higher but you can’t complete it because it gets way to tight.
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We hiked this trail on June 25 2019, The trail started on Senators Hwy and as we continued on the trail it went though a recent logged area which opened up the landscape and provided an extended view of the land. Along the hike we saw asclepias (milkweed) and aquilegia (yellow columbine) and many other wildflowers. The trail passes Upper and Lower Goldwater lakes which requires a side trail the hike to. The trail ended at White Spar campground and made for a pleasant hike.
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