My father expressed an interest in joining me on a hike. Seeing as he's no spring chicken and a novice to the joys of hiking I went searching for something not too far from home and not too strenuous. Pinto Creek Bridge turned out to be a pretty good choice.

There's abundant parking at the trailhead which is off US 60 just east of the Pinal/Gila County line. From there you head downhill on the old roadway. There's lots of beer bottles and shotgun shells at first but it will clear up within the first .75 miles. No route finding involved as you just stay on the semi-paved roadway.

The views are nice as you can see one of the open pit mines outside Miami. Not sure if it's the Blue Bird or the Pinto Valley. I don't know my mines that well. The view of the current Pinto Creek Bridge is spectacular. I never appreciated it as much driving over it as I did from this vantage point.

Pinto Creek was dry, as I expected, but there was a touch of fall foliage in the area which was nice. The return trip uphill was in no way difficult. Not much in the way of wildlife other than a small tarantula crossing the roadway. But it was a pleasant day all around topped off by a stop at Los Hermanos in Superior for some albondigas soup. If that's not enough to convince my dad to hike more I'm not sure what is!