Horseshoe Pass, AZ

The Burro Trail starts in Maple Camp. The trail climbs south from the South Fork of Cave Creek to Horseshoe Pass. This is a view-filled climb of 1600 feet. To the south of the Pass, the trail leads to Burro Spring and drops into Horseshoe Canyon.


Maple Camp is 1.6 miles from the South Fork Trailhead on a beautifully maintained trail with an elevation gain of only 300 feet. The stretch to Maple Camp is birding country and you are likely to see more birders from more countries than anywhere else in Arizona. You may also see an elegant trogan and a painted redstart.

From Maple Camp, cross the creek to the south and start the switchbacks that lift you out of the canyon. Fifteen minutes of climb through silver leaf oak thickets brings you to the first of many spectacular views up and down the South Fork. The trail was well-used in 2005 and 2006 and there were no deadfalls or any problems with the tread to the Pass and down the other side to Burro Springs. This has always been a heavily used route by those avoiding the law - it is likely that the Powers Brothers came through here on their flight from the shootout in the Galiuros in the early 1900s.

A helipad site was cleared in the Pass during a fire in May 2006 resulting in excellent camp sites and views (but, the closest water is Burro Spring, about a mile and a half to the south).

It is possible to follow the Horseshoe Ridge Trail to the southwest toward Sentinel Peak and return to Maple Camp via the South Fork trail. This makes a ten mile loop. In 2007, the Horseshoe Ridge trail was fairly easy to follow but heavily overgrown and with many logs across the trail. The same can be said for the upper mile or two of the South Fork Trail below Sentinel Peak.

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2007-10-10 sumnergeo