Basics
- Length:
- 67 miles (107 km)
- Time:
- Allow at least four hours to drive this partially-unpaved byway.
Description
Take the chance to see the Tonto Natural Bridge, which soars 183 feet above Pine Creek and a wet, leafy world. The beautiful scenery gives the sense of being transported to another world. At Aztec Peak, the high point of the Sierra Anchas, there is a panoramic view that stretches more than 100 miles in every direction.
See the fragments of an old civilization by visiting the Sierra Ancha Wilderness. Also located in the Sierra Ancha is a great place for recreation, due to the plethora of hiking trails, ranging in elevation from about 4,000 to 7,400 feet. One of the best starter trails is the Parker Creek Trail. It starts from the Sierra Ancha Experimental Station at 5,000 feet and climbs to 7,000 for a picturesque view.
If you want to rest along the way and continue your journey throughout the next day or so, the Tonto National Forest allows disbursed camping throughout the area. For those who want a stable campground to call home, there are three different campgrounds available as well.
Points of Interest
Points of Interest Along The Way
Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest (AZ)
The Sitgreaves National Forest was named for Captain Lorenzo Sitgreaves, a government topographical engineer who conducted the first scientific expedition across Arizona in the early 1850s.
Tonto National Forest (AZ)
As the fifth largest forest in the United States, the Tonto National Forest occupies nearly three million acres of land and is one of the most-visited forests in the U.S.
