Trail Report - Castle Creek

If you live on the north side of Phoenix, Castle Creek may be just the ticket. This is a great little drive near Lake Pleasant . Off Castle Hot Springs Road , look for the “Doghouse Ranch” sign. This will drop you down into the creek wash, which runs roughly north and slightly west.

This trail has plenty of scenery, some good side cuts to explore (either with 4wd or on foot), and is peaceful and quiet. For all intents, the creek trail ends at the old site of Briggs (also known as "Kirby"). A post office apparently existed from 1883 to 1884, the area shut down and was re-established in 1890, only to fail again. Most of the visible signs are overgrown now, but if you look carefully, you can still see foundations, walls, and long-abandoned slag piles.

Snoopy stands guard at Castle Creek. (42730 bytes)

Old barn around the Doghouse Ranch. (45110 bytes)

From Lake Pleasant , allow 2 hours one way to run up the creek as far as Briggs. Pinstriping will be light at most, and the trail is 2wd passable in dry weather. Some things to see along the way are Castle Hot Springs Resort, Snoopy, the Doghouse Ranch, Briggs, Box Canyon , the Rockhouse and the Whipsaw Mine. The trail rates about an easy 2.0 in dry weather, but exercise caution in wet weather, as flash flooding in the narrow canyon is likely, and quicksand is a possibility.

To return, you have a few options if you don’t want to backtrack all the way to Lake Pleasant :

Head south down Castle Creek, then take Buckhorn Wash west to Constellation Road, then south to Wickenburg. This should be 2wd friendly, but weather conditions do change the trail, so exercise caution. Allow at least 2 hours to get to Wickenburg. (This is the "Buckhorn Creek" trail ²).
Head south back to Castle Hot Springs Road, then west to Hwy 74. This is 2wd friendly and is traveled regularly. Allow 1.5 to 2 hours to pavement. (This is the "Castle Hot Springs Road" trail ¹).
If you have 4WD, continue up and out of Castle Creek to the UFO and Copperopolis mine area. The trail runs roughly west to Constellation Road, then south to Wickenburg. Along the way you’ll pass the grave of Isaac Bradshaw and the old site of Constellation. Route finding is confusing, so be prepared with maps, a GPS and plenty of daylight hours. If you don’t get lost along the way, allow at least 4 hours to get to Wickenburg. (This is the "Wickenburg Mountains" trail ¹).

Speckled Rattlesnake - a protected species. (34747 bytes)

Mining claims dot the area. This one is the "Banty Tail". (48690 bytes)

See you on the trails!

- Matt Watson, "SuperV3K" on the N4W board.

Updates

04/2004:

In the "Wickenburg Mountains" trail ¹description, Castle Creek is mentioned as an "alternate way out". It is described as “difficult, dangerous, road washed out” and was not recommended to be traveled. I used this exit for the first time in May ’03 after driving all the way through from Wickenburg to Copperopolis. I did not want to backtrack, so decided to forge ahead down Castle Creek. As it turned out, it was a very easy drive and is now one of my favorite, close-to-home places to go.

I most recently drove up the creek in April ’04 with Matt ("Mattman555" on the N4W board), his fiancé Norma and my friend Elba. In the past year or so, little has changed in Castle Creek itself. However, if you continue north to Copperopolis, the shelf road leading out of the creek has deteriorated greatly in the past year and is beginning to meet the description in the trail book. (Refer to the UFO/Copperopolis/Bradshaw's Grave trail write-up for more information).

-Matt Watson

References

USGS Quadrangles:

Copperopolis, USGS Ref Code 34112-A4-TF-024
Governors Peak, USGS Ref Code 33112-H3-TF-024
Garfias MT, USGS Ref Code 33112-H4-TF-024

¹ Details can be found in "Guide To Arizona Backroads & 4-Wheel Drive Trails", Author: Charles A. Wells.

² Details can be found in "Backcountry Adventures Arizona", Authors: Peter Massey and Jeanne Wilson.

My Disclaimer - This trail review is based on my subjective and increasingly sketchy memory. Trail conditions change regularly, so be prepared and exercise common sense and caution while exploring "off the beaten path". If you read this and say "I gotta go there!", you do so at your own risk - I do not imply that you or your vehicle are capable of successfully traveling any trail that is described within these pages.

Blue Fish Name and Logo Copyright 2002-2004 Blue Fish Custom Tackle. No portion of this site may be reproduced without written permission. All other Logos and Names are Copyrights of their respective Owners.

Blue Fish Custom Tackle is not compensated by Manufacturers for product reviews or mentions. All reviews are strictly the opinion of the Writer and are not an endorsement. With any given product experience, "Your mileage may vary."