Boulder Canyon Trail – Superstition Mountain

Beautiful Arizona desert and canyon lake. Abundant of natural desert beauty, hiking here provides you endless amazing scenery.
I came here the other day to hike. This place was on my bookmark for a long time and had finally had a chance to visit.
Parking is the same place as the Dolly Steamboat. Closer to the street side, they have designated parking area for hikers. No parking fees. I highly recommend coming early as parking fills up quick.
Trail itself is very easy. I think it’s appropriate for most fitness level. We walked around for about 2.5 miles when we decided to turn around to go back.
Bring your camera, trails, mountains, lakes are beautiful but they also have some photogenic bridges along the way to the parking area.

This is a beautiful trail about 60 minutes east of Tempe. The trip up the mountain is great in itself, but the trail is breathtaking. Great views of the Superstitions and Canyon lake, by far my most favorite lake. The hike is moderate I would say, and it runs 12 miles one way, although I’ve never done more than 3 miles in.

My little dude and I headed up here after a night at a hotel where he decided he was going to sleep for a total of 2 hours. My better half and I took turns trying to convince him that was a bad decision and come about 5:30 it was time for mom to get a little shut eye. Enter Unilocal and a search for sunrise spots!
We started driving East from Mesa and about 60 minutes later and 15 miles up a very dusty, but very well kept road, my little guy and I had one of those stories that I’ll remember for a long time!
The road weaves up into the hills for about 10 miles and is quite a fun drive, even in a rented Chevy Impala. We came as the sun was starting to come up and it made for some great pictures of the desert and the rock wall that greets you from the parking lot of the trail head. It was actually very reminiscent of the sun rising and setting at Uluru (Ayers Rock) in Australia. We didn’t go hiking, though we did look at the map which looked very impressive. Additionally, we had some guy time in the car pushing buttons, because that’s what’s cool to an 18 month old, so obviously I was down!
Make sure to bring a coat as you’re up a surprising amount at the trail head and when the sun was coming up, it was chilly.
Regardless of your circumstances, this is a great place to go watch the sun come up and get away from things for a bit, without having to go too far.

a couple of weeks ago, we tried to hit this trail again early in the morning to avoid the heat. although we started early, i quickly got very hot and by 10am, we were finished and headed back. i had to put the little doggie booties on my pup as she is now getting a little dramatic and slow in her older age.
but with the heat comes some dangers. we saw a very large desert tortoise just cruising alone which was really cool to us. shortly thereafter, what appeared to be an extremely long king snake crossed the path in front of us. i know they’re not poisonous to us, but it’s still freaky to see something that long that bites.
finally, the creepiest of all. i was not really paying attention, staring at some buzzards above when my trusty pup started whining and not walking anymore. i looked down and about 2 feet in front in front of me was a very large, very fat, very scary rattlesnake. he was about 4 feet long and stretched completely straight on the trail. just sunning like it was nobodies business. my skin tightened up at the thought that i probably would have stepped right on him if it wasn’t for the dog.
i tossed a few pepples at him to persuade him to move but he did not. then i thought he might be dead so i stepped an inch or two closer with a stick in hand. he obviously smelled me then and instantly coiled and started rattling. that sent me back a few extra feet before he finally headed off the trail.
so that’s it! for the next 3 miles, my eyes and senses were completely focused on the trail! watch out out there!

Excellent Trailhead into the Superstition Wildernesss if you want to get away from people quickly. After 3 miles we saw no other people until the next morning, 9 miles away.
Showers at the marina public restroom are not the highest quality, but after a few days in the wilderness it was like a spa. March to Mid-​April and October to November are most recommended for having water sources available.

Awestruck.
That is how I felt sitting on an overhang just off of the Boulder Canyon trail, taking in the most magnificent view I have seen since moving to Arizona. Enjoying the pleasant warmth of the sun and the light breeze, it was one of those rare moments where I wouldn’t change, well, anything.
The Boulder Canyon trail was my first venture into the Superstition Mountains/​Tonto National Forest. What a great introduction! I am happy to know that something so enjoyable is less than an hour from my front door.
First, the winding section of AZ88 to/​from Canyon Lake Marina (parking for the trail) is an experience in itself. Definitely a take the convertible, drop the top, wind in the hair type of drive. Woo! Twists, turns, breathtaking views of the lake and rock formations, plus a couple of one-​way bridges thrown in just to keep things interesting.
The trail itself begins on the south side of AZ88, right across from the Marina, and immediately starts climbing into the hills. Parts of the trail are a little challenging, with loose rock and a couple of fallen saguaro to maneuver around/​over, and a few areas with somewhat steep incline. Take it at your own pace, you will get there! (hint: if your friend is much faster than you and disappears into the distance, take solace in knowing you have the car keys… haha!) There is a lot to see along the way — cool rocks, huge cholla and saguaro that look like something out of a Dr. Seuss illustration. Due to the recent rain, everything was much greener than I expected too. The reward at the peak is more than worth the effort — a panoramic view of Weaver’s Needle, Battleship Mountain, La Barge Canyon/​creek and the Superstition ridgeline. Truly spectacular.
If you haven’t been here, add it to your to-​do list. Now. In a couple of weeks, there should be wildflowers…

Kim and I were at the trailhead just after sunrise. The Cactus Wrens and woodpeckers just sang to us. Real quiet is really quiet. We saw no one for 3 hours. As you move down into the canyon it becomes more ‘red & gold’. If you take the trail until the intersection of the second water trail and come back its 7.6 miles roundtrip. After the hike, we went to the Superstition Saloon for lunch. That is some hot chili.

I took another trip to Boulder Canyon the other day, and this time the creek was flowing. It certainly added a whole new element to the trek, and made it somewhat more difficult. There is one point in the canyon narrows where it is impossible to avoid wading through thigh-​deep water without climbing over a 30-​foot vertical rock wall (not recommended – just enjoy the water!). It took almost an extra hour, although this time I had some other people with me, and did a fair amount of waiting.
If you don’t mind getting a little wet, go after it rains (not while it rains; flash floods could be a concern).

The five stars is not only for this trail but for the Superstition Mounntains and all her beauty. I more or less just wanted to add some photos of mine that I took on this trail. If I remember correctly, this trail is fairly easy in comparison to other trails into these mountains. I might be mistaken but from this trail you cannot see weavers needle, maybe the tip of it, but no matter there are other majestic views to observe. Like any hike you do, you will want to bring plenty of water. Enough for the entire trip cause there is no place to refill your water on this hike. Unless you have a backpacking water purifier. I did it as an overnight hike, which I believe the only way to hike the Superstitions. And unlike the other review I read, when I hiked this trail the stream flowed with water. This was also years ago and it might be a different story nowadays. This is not a hike for the family or unprepared, this is wilderness your entering and one must be careful.

I can’t comment on the hiking trail itself as I’ve only done the drive up AZ 88, but Canyon Lake is absolutely gorgeous. I’ve always wanted to do the hike, but don’t quite have the proper gear. Word of caution: AZ 88 is fairly treacherous in some parts; I wouldn’t advise doing this drive without a four-​wheel drive.