Arizona Scenic trail suggestions

[Cypher]

New Jeep owner (JLUR) and new to AZ. I am in the south Chandler / Gilbert area and I am looking for scenic trail suggestions from people who have been on them. I am looking for trails that I can take my wife and daughter on where they won't be too scared. Not dirt roads, but not switchbacks with massive drops. I have a few books and trails I found online, but we found the ratings are not always accurate. (We took a trail in MOAB, and one in Pagosa Springs CO we had no business on that was deemed easy. Person on side by side said it happens all the time).

We did the back way to Mt. Lemmon and they loved that, same for 4 peaks. (Rented Jeep, not my new Rubicon)

Also have family coming in a few weeks, and want to find a longer scenic trail to show off the state.

Any suggestions is greatly appreciated, (also would love to do some family trail days if anyone is interested)

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[47Jeepster]

Here are two possibilities that are about the same difficulty as four Peaks and the Backway to Mount Lemmon.

Take a look at Bulldog Canyon ... roads 10 and 3554 are a good combination. 3554 has a small touch of Box Canyon. We've driven both those roads in our Grand Cherokee. You'll need to obtain a free permit before going.

For a longer trail, that is close by, look at Montana Mountain. There are some high spots on the trail (5400 feet) that really show off the nearby mountain ranges ... pack a lunch and enjoy the view. You'll have to visit the stone house a little over halfway around the trail ... very neat if you like ghost town stuff. There are a couple of smaller trails down near Highway 60 that are also fun.

Do take a digital map of the trail with you ... especially for the Montana Mountain trail ... lots of side roads off that trail.

 

[wildcat45(]

Broken arrow trail in sedona, box canyon out by Florence, actually, allot of trails off cottonwood canyon road near Florence, including a long back way into superior. The back way to crown King, senator highway between crown king and Prescott is pretty, but it's just a really long dirt road unless there's snow. Bloody basin rd to 7 springs is also scenic but again just a road. There's also a trail out of new river to 7 springs.

 

[LincolnSixAlpha]

I can speak for Montana trail, it's worth the trip, but will be a little more challenging than 4 peaks in that the 2nd half of it is a one lane switchback, but otherwise, it's worth the trip. Maybe a little more akin to the back way up Mt. Lemmon, but Beautiful views from the top. I also like offroading near Sedona/Flagstaff such as Schnebly hill road and FR535. For what it's worth, back way to crown king is rated a 4 outta 5 in as far as difficulty, so keep that in mind. I did it last week for the first time. Most of the challenging sections you can go around if you like, but there's a few, such as the river bed that you need to drive in for a while, then a bit later actually cross the river, and climb tough wet boulders to continue on. Those two sections you cannot go around. Worth it, but be prepared.

 

[LincolnSixAlpha]

This will be of help to you, it looks like Schnebly hill road is open now, was closed last month, I'll take that and FR535 tomorrow as I want to play in the snow.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detailfull/coconino/alerts-notices/?cid=stelprdb5339811

 

[Cypher]

This will be of help to you, it looks like Schnebly hill road is open now, was closed last month, I'll take that and FR535 tomorrow as I want to play in the snow.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/detailfull/coconino/alerts-notices/?cid=stelprdb5339811

Let me know how that goes, that is one on my list (I have the FunTreks AZ maps and books).

I just don't trust it for ratings after what we got ourselves into with our grand Cherokee Trailhawk. Local knowledge is always best!

 

[Cypher]

I can speak for Montana trail, it's worth the trip, but will be a little more challenging than 4 peaks in that the 2nd half of it is a one lane switchback, but otherwise, it's worth the trip. Maybe a little more akin to the back way up Mt. Lemmon, but Beautiful views from the top. I also like offroading near Sedona/Flagstaff such as Schnebly hill road and FR535. For what it's worth, back way to crown king is rated a 4 outta 5 in as far as difficulty, so keep that in mind. I did it last week for the first time. Most of the challenging sections you can go around if you like, but there's a few, such as the river bed that you need to drive in for a while, then a bit later actually cross the river, and climb tough wet boulders to continue on. Those two sections you cannot go around. Worth it, but be prepared.

Back way to crown king is on the list for me without my daughter and wife at least the first time. I know it is rated a little harder so would test it first.

What is your setup? I am not planning on a lift. Not a large one anyways. For now I plan to either run the 33s until they are chunked out, or swap to 35s with no lift. Also plan on metalcloak belly armor and full skids and teraflex 3.3 shocks. Wanting to keep it LCG as my wife will use it as a daily driver amd for tips without me from time to time so don't want it to lose road manners. If I need more down the road lll get an RZR Turbo.

 

[Cypher]

Here are two possibilities that are about the same difficulty as four Peaks and the Backway to Mount Lemmon.

Take a look at Bulldog Canyon ... roads 10 and 3554 are a good combination. 3554 has a small touch of Box Canyon. We've driven both those roads in our Grand Cherokee. You'll need to obtain a free permit before going.

For a longer trail, that is close by, look at Montana Mountain. There are some high spots on the trail (5400 feet) that really show off the nearby mountain ranges ... pack a lunch and enjoy the view. You'll have to visit the stone house a little over halfway around the trail ... very neat if you like ghost town stuff. There are a couple of smaller trails down near Highway 60 that are also fun.

Do take a digital map of the trail with you ... especially for the Montana Mountain trail ... lots of side roads off that trail.

Thank you!

 

[Cypher]

Thanks everyone! Really appreciate the local knowledge. I have all the books and digital maps and even a dedicated GPS (Garmin GLO 2) that I can connect to my iPad and it becomes a massive dedicated GPS. It is crazy accurate, and works great. Download the maps before the trip and works awesome. I have a few different map apps that I like for different reasons. Backcountry pro, Gaia, and the FunTreks 4x4 maps are the main ones.

 

[LincolnSixAlpha]

Back way to crown king is on the list for me without my daughter and wife at least the first time. I know it is rated a little harder so would test it first.

What is your setup? I am not planning on a lift. Not a large one anyways. For now I plan to either run the 33s until they are chunked out, or swap to 35s with no lift. Also plan on metalcloak belly armor and full skids and teraflex 3.3 shocks. Wanting to keep it LCG as my wife will use it as a daily driver amd for tips without me from time to time so don't want it to lose road manners. If I need more down the road lll get an RZR Turbo.

When I did Crown King, I was on brand new 17x9 Fuel D564's that I mounted the OEM tires on. The extra 1.5" of width opened up the K02's a bit, and when I aired down to 18 psi to take the trail, I ended up with some war damage on my new rims from the trail, but alas, I guess they had to be broken in some time. However the following day, I installed some brand new 35x12.5x17 BFG KM3's on those rims in hopes to get a little extra height on air down. I was planning on buying a lift and ended up with the Teraflex Sport ST2 2.5" lift as the "Sharktank" coupon on NorthRidge4x4 saved me over 250 bucks over list. I WAS going to buy the MetalCloak Gamechanger, but I figured I'd rather the 250 bucks savings. However that's not arrived as of yet, should have it by Tuesday, and will maybe install it the following weekend.

As for that trail, you could easily do it on the OEM K02's with no lift, I noticed at least three other JL rubicons that day all stock easily doing it. Really the hardest part is the boulders on the other side of the creek, as they were all wet, so that makes them a little more precarious to climb over, but still easily doable with a little time.

Here's a pic of the new wheel's/rims with no lift.

 

[DesertDuck]

Go get a permit for the Indian Reservation, lots to explore!

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