40 CAVE CREEK TRAIL AND SKUNK CREEK TRAIL

KEY AT-A-GLANCE INFORMATION

LENGTH: 10.4 Miles

ELEVATION GAIN: 1,125 feet

CONFIGURATION: Balloon

DIFFICULTY: Cave Creek Trail: easy; Skunk Creek Trail: moderate

SCENERY: Cave Creek, riparian zone, desert, mountain vistas, Quien Sabe Mine

EXPOSURE: Considerable shade along Cave Creek Trail; Skunk Creek Trail exposed

TRAFFIC: Light

TRAIL SURFACE: Packed dirt, creek crossings, gravel, crushed rock

HIKING TIME: 5.5 hours

WATER REQUIREMENT: 3 quarts

SEASON: Year-round; hot in summer

ACCESS: Open sunrise to sunset; free parking

MAPS: USGS New River Mesa and Humbolt Mountain

FACILITIES: Toilet, campground, picnic area

DOGS: Yes, leashed at all times

COMMENTS: This area suffered significant damage from the Cave Creek Complex wildfire of 2005. For more information, visit www.fs.fed.us/r3/tonto/recreation/rec-hiking-index.shtml, or call (480) 595-3300.

GPS Trailhead Coordinates

UTM Zone 12S

Easting 0420004

Northing 3759235

Latitude N33°58.344'

Longitude W111°52.000'

Directions

From Loop 101, exit onto Princess Drive and turn east. The road soon becomes Pima Road. Drive north on Pima Road 12 miles and then turn right onto Cave Creek Road. Follow Cave Creek Road 6 miles to the Tonto National Forest boundary. Continue on Cave Creek Road, which turns into FR 24 and eventually becomes a dirt road (suitable for most passenger cars). Go 10 miles down FR 24 to the pay station at Seven Springs Recreation Area. Purchase a parking pass from the automated kiosk, which accepts both cash and credit cards, and continue 0.6 miles to the Cave Creek Trailhead.

IN BRIEF

Cave Creek Trail provides a pleasantly shaded and mild hike along the banks of perennial Cave Creek. Enjoy the classic riparian flora and the trickling water. Then take the hilly Skunk Creek Trail for a workout and to loop back to the trailhead.

DESCRIPTION

The perennial Cave Creek flows through part of Tonto National Forest northeast of Phoenix. Because it supplies water year-round, Cave Creek feeds a riparian oasis and sustains a wide variety of plant and animal life normally not found in the desert. Largely shaded, this area attracts summer hikers aiming to escape the harsh desert environment, and its proximity to town also draws visitors. Hiking Cave Creek Trail 4 is an exercise in serenity and an experience the whole family can enjoy.

If you crave a more challenging hike and prefer not to backtrack, looping back via Skunk Creek Trail 246 satisfies both fancies. The Skunk Creek Trail touts a 1,125-foot elevation gain and takes visitors high above the canyon, where they can enjoy sweeping views of the surrounding mountains and plateaus. This moderately strenuous trail adds variety and a cardio workout to your day hike.

Access Cave Creek Trail 4 from a parking lot just past the campground, 0.6 miles inside the entrance to scenic Seven Springs Recreation Area. A large trailhead plaque maps the trails in the area. Begin by following the trail southward behind the campground. You’ll immediately notice that this hike differs from other desert hikes. Shady shrubs shroud the trail as you walk along junipers, Fremont barberry, and lush grasses. The trail runs parallel to the creek, where white-barked sycamores display golden leaves in November.

The trail crosses FR 24B at 0.7 miles and dives into a thicket of trees. Look for a marker for Trail 4, and stay to the right. Climb over a metal stepstool straddling the fence, and then head down toward the creek, where the trail soon intersects Cottonwood Creek Trail 247. At this junction, you can choose to hike the large loop in either direction. I prefer the counterclockwise route. Take the right fork and continue along Trail 4.

The Cave Creek Trail parallels the creek and provides plenty of shade under live oaks. Sycamores and even a few quaking aspen stand closer to the water. Hoof prints in the dirt trail indicate significant equestrian traffic, but the trail is only lightly used. At 1.8 miles, pass through a gated fence and secure the gate behind you. Then make the first of three crossings over Cave Creek by hopping carefully across stepping-stones.

The trail meanders up and down the hills on the creek’s left bank where a recent forest fire singed much of the vegetation. As you hike farther downstream, look for the forest of saguaros on opposing slopes which escaped the fire. These giant cacti prefer the warmer and drier environment on sun-drenched southern hillsides. At 2.5 miles, the trail follows Cave Creek southwest and enters a narrow scenic canyon flanked by Cramm Mountain. Watch the shimmering water in the creek flicker in the sunlight as the trail descends back to the creek bed.

Cross the creek a second time at a wide, rocky area 2.9 miles from the trailhead. After crossing the creek, climb up the right side of the canyon and continue west, paralleling Cave Creek. Look carefully beside the trail for a rare cristate or “crested” saguaro, which for yet unknown reasons grows fan-shaped crowns on its branches. This stretch of the creek lies in a narrow canyon, and the rich riparian habitat shelters many animals. Don’t be surprised to encounter families of javelina grunting and racing along next to you. Follow the undulating trail until you reach the third and final creek crossing at 4 miles from the trailhead. Then the trail leaves the creek and enters a vastly different landscape. Grass-covered open slopes take the place of dense riparian vegetation. Evergreens such as sugar sumac and juniper replace deciduous trees like the sycamore. Shortly past the creek, find the signed Skunk Creek Trail junction. The Cave Creek Trail continues another 6 miles and ends on FR 48 near the Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area. To loop back to the trailhead, turn left here onto Skunk Creek Trail, sometimes also called Skunk Tank Trail.

Hilly Skunk Creek Trail differs greatly from the creek-side stroll. It turns east and immediately climbs a long series of switchbacks and steep straights to a ridgeline next to Skunk Creek. Don’t worry; it doesn’t smell like a skunk. The resultant visibility and higher elevation maximize your views in all directions. New River Mesa’s flat profile dominates the western horizon, while various hills and distant mountains complete the panorama. The upward gradient remains punishing until the trail crosses Skunk Creek at 3,665 feet 5.3 miles from the trailhead. From there continue along the thankfully gentler uphill trail another quarter mile to Skunk Tank, a seasonal stock tank that catches occasional runoff during the rainy season and remains dry in summer.

Past Skunk Tank, go through a shoddy cowboy fence that requires some effort to close. Then follow the trail east atop broken rock and packed dirt. This section of the Skunk Creek Trail continues to ascend a gentle slope in a shallow basin. Wide-open landscape occupies your entire field of vision, interrupted only by skeletons of trailside shrubs charred by the Cave Creek Complex fire of 2005. The only moderately challenging trail segment may be tackling some loose crushed rock at 5.9 miles. The trail bends south and then tops out at a clearing where it meets Quien Sabe Trail 250, which takes off south toward who-knows-where, as its Spanish name suggests. This trail junction is the highest point on the entire loop at 4,075 feet.

Stay left at the junction and hike east along Skunk Creek Trail, which wanders around the side of Quien Sabe Peak, skirts drainages, drops gently in elevation, and then regains it. At 7.7 miles the trail opens up into what looks like a wide jeep road and descends a slope packed with loose rock. Pass Quien Sabe Spring at the bottom of the hill, and then forge ahead toward the east on a high plateau. From here you can see a distant ranch house near FR 24. A 0.2-mile-long spur trail leads uphill to the Quien Sabe Mine at 8.2 miles from the trailhead. Past the mine, the trail finally begins to descend in earnest. Notice an old miner’s camp next to the trail where hundreds of rusted tin cans lie strewn under a tree.

Skunk Creek Trail 246 eventually meets Cottonwood Creek Trail 247 at a flat spot 9.3 miles along the loop. Turn left onto the rough Cottonwood Creek Trail toward Cave Creek. Near the creek crossing, the Cottonwood Creek Trail is deeply rutted and bends westward before crossing the creek and joining the Cave Creek Trail at 9.6 miles. Complete the hike by turning east here, and then retrace your steps across FR 24B and back to the Cave Creek Trailhead.

NEARBY ACTIVITIES

The Seven Springs Recreation Area offers creekside camping and picnic areas. The Bronco Trail and historic Sears Kay Ruins are also accessible from FR 24. Elephant Mountain, in the Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area, lies downstream from Cave Creek. Nearby Bartlett and Horseshoe Reservoirs provide scenic hikes and opportunities for water sports.