🥾 ActiveWeekend · from Phoenix, AZ
Apache Trail & Roosevelt Lake — Superstition Canyons, Steamboats & Salado Cliff Dwellings
The Apache Trail is one of Arizona's original scenic drives — a serpentine route through the Superstition Wilderness, past turquoise reservoirs impounded on the Salt River, to the great masonry arch of Roosevelt Dam. Day one climbs east out of Phoenix into the volcanic spires of the Superstitions, stopping at Canyon Lake for a Dolly steamboat cruise and short shoreline hikes, then rolling into Tortilla Flat, a stagecoach stop of six residents that has served travelers since 1904. Be aware that the dramatic unpaved section of State Route 88 beyond Tortilla Flat — the white-knuckle switchbacks of Fish Creek Hill — has been closed by flood washouts for years, so this itinerary explores the paved trail from the Apache Junction end and reaches Roosevelt Lake by the paved highway. Day two is built around Roosevelt Lake — the largest lake wholly within Arizona — its landmark bridge, and the Salado cliff dwellings of Tonto National Monument, seven-century-old rooms of stone and mud tucked into a natural cave above the Sonoran Desert.
Day 1 — Canyon Lake, Tortilla Flat & the Apache TrailDay 2 — Roosevelt Lake & Tonto National Monument cliff dwellings
Day 1 — Apache Trail — Superstition Wilderness, AZ
Day 1 — Apache Trail — Superstition Wilderness, AZ
🚗 55 min driving📍 5 stops
🌅
Morning
🚗
Drive
Phoenix, AZ → Apache Junction / Apache Trail (SR 88)
55 min8:00 AM → 8:55 AM
Lost Dutchman State Park
★ 4.7The gateway to the Superstition Mountains and the ideal first stop as State Route 88 begins its climb out of Apache Junction. The park sits directly beneath the sheer western face of the Superstitions, a wall of eroded volcanic rock that glows orange at sunrise and is laced with saguaro-studded desert trails. The short Native Plant and Discovery loops give an easy leg-stretch, while the Treasure Loop climbs toward the base of the cliffs for closer views. It's named for the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine, the legendary and never-found strike that has drawn prospectors into these mountains for over a century.
8:55 AM📍 See location
🍽️
Lunch
Canyon Lake & the Dolly Steamboat
★ 4.8A narrow, fjord-like reservoir on the Salt River, Canyon Lake is hemmed in by towering walls of the Superstition Wilderness and is the scenic centerpiece of the paved Apache Trail. The Dolly Steamboat, a paddlewheeler that has cruised these waters for decades, runs narrated nature and twilight cruises deep into the canyon, where bighorn sheep and bald eagles are regular sightings. On foot, the short Boulder Canyon Trail from the Canyon Lake Bridge climbs quickly to an overlook of the lake and the surrounding spires. Swim beaches and shaded picnic ramadas make it an easy place to spend the heart of the day.
9:55 AM📍 See location
🍽️ Lunch10:55 AM
Superstition Saloon, Tortilla Flat
Tortilla Flat is the last surviving stagecoach stop on the Apache Trail — a town of six residents that has fed travelers since 1904. The Superstition Saloon is its beating heart, a rowdy Old West watering hole whose walls and ceiling are papered with tens of thousands of signed dollar bills left by passing visitors. Order the prickly-pear chili or a green-chile burger and settle onto a bar stool made from a saddle. The adjoining country store and ice-cream counter sell famous prickly-pear soft serve — the perfect antidote to the desert heat before pushing on.
2 options · tap to switch
☀️
Afternoon
Tortilla Flat & the Apache Trail Scenic Drive
★ 4.7Beyond its saloon, Tortilla Flat is a genuine relic of the road built in 1905 to haul supplies for the construction of Roosevelt Dam. Wander the wooden boardwalk, browse the old post office and general store, and read the history of the freight route that became one of Arizona's first tourist drives. Note that the celebrated unpaved section of SR 88 just past town — the vertiginous gravel switchbacks of Fish Creek Hill down to Apache Lake — has been closed by flood washouts for several years, so the paved trail effectively ends here from the west; plan to backtrack and reach Roosevelt Lake via the paved highway. The paved stretch you have driven, through the Superstition Wilderness scenery, is the trail's most accessible and rewarding portion.
12:00 PM📍 See location
🌙
Evening
🛏️
Roosevelt Lake / Globe lodging
Base for the night on the eastern side of the mountains, within reach of Roosevelt Lake and Tonto National Monument. Options are limited but characterful: the Roosevelt Lake Resort and the marina area offer simple lakeside rooms and campgrounds directly beneath the dam, ideal for an early start on the cliff dwellings. For more choice, the historic mining town of Globe — about 40 minutes southeast — has a range of motels, a walkable downtown, and dinner options. Book ahead in spring, as lake and dam rooms fill quickly on weekends.
Day 2 — Roosevelt Lake & Tonto National Monument, AZ
Day 2 — Roosevelt Lake & Tonto National Monument, AZ
🚗 2 hr 25 min driving📍 3 stops
🌅
Morning
🚗
Drive
Roosevelt Lake / Globe, AZ → Tonto National Monument Visitor Center
25 min8:00 AM → 8:25 AM
Tonto National Monument — Lower Cliff Dwelling
★ 4.8Tonto National Monument preserves some of the best-kept Salado-culture cliff dwellings in the Southwest, built into natural caves in the hillside above the Salt River valley around 700 years ago. The self-guided Lower Cliff Dwelling Trail climbs a paved but steep half-mile — roughly 350 feet up — to a nineteen-room complex of masonry and mud walls sheltered beneath a great rock overhang, where you can step inside the rooms and see original ceiling timbers and mud handprints. The Salado were skilled farmers and famed for their polychrome pottery and finely woven cotton textiles, some still preserved in the monument. Start early: the trail is exposed and the desert heats fast, and the ranger-led Upper Dwelling hikes must be reserved in advance for cooler months.
8:25 AM📍 See location
🍽️
Lunch
Roosevelt Dam & Roosevelt Lake Bridge
★ 4.9Roosevelt Lake is the largest body of water lying entirely within Arizona, impounded behind Theodore Roosevelt Dam — a masonry arch dam completed in 1911 that was the tallest of its kind in the world at the time and remains a National Historic Landmark. The overlook near the dam takes in the vast blue sweep of the lake against the desert mountains and a full view of the Roosevelt Lake Bridge, a graceful steel arch that is one of the longest of its type in North America and carries SR 188 across the head of the reservoir. Photograph the bridge from the vista pullouts, then walk a stretch of shoreline at the marina to feel the scale of the water in this arid country.
9:25 AM📍 See location
☀️
Afternoon
🍽️ Lunch12:00 PM
Globe Historic Downtown & Lunch
The old copper-mining town of Globe makes a relaxed late-lunch stop before the drive back to Phoenix. Its brick downtown along Broad Street is lined with restored early-1900s storefronts, antique shops, and family-run Mexican restaurants serving Sonoran classics — enchiladas, green-chile plates, and sopaipillas. Chalo's and the local cafes are longtime favorites for a hearty, unhurried meal. Stretch your legs among the historic buildings and let the afternoon heat ease before pointing west on US 60.
2 options · tap to switch
🌙
Evening
🚗
Drive
Globe, AZ → Phoenix, AZ
2 hr5:00 PM → 7:00 PM
Plan your own escapeExplore more trips →