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Well, had been planning this hike for awhile but things turned out to be a total disaster today. The locals are very much not interested in having hikers park near their town (potato patch) and have put up "NO TRESPASSING" signs everywhere (including on land that i believe that is not theirs). It is fairly evident that anywhere parking was available on the road has been covered in rocks sizable enough to deter my vehicle (jeep). Inquiring on where to park that I was not to park anywhere near their town, suggested 4 miles back.

Basically it appears that the locals are not interested in having hikers park their vehicles down there (don't see the problem we were the only ones out there to hike) and have made everything appear as private land, although some things are quite obviously not (didn't want to take the chance though...)

Has anyone had any experience with this sort of thing at this trail or any others? I'm considering writing the local usfs office to see what they have to say.

In response to justind145's reply:

I'm sorry to hear about your bad experience. Worrying about local attitudes and what might happen to your car takes a lot of fun out of the trip.

I had a similar experience this summer in Shenandoah National Park. There seems to be animosity between the neighbors and the park, and most of the trailheads and approach roads on the Western side are illegally closed off by adjacent property owners. Even those that aren't closed are surrounded by no-parking and tow-away signs, despite being 15 miles from the nearest town. I ended up parking in what was marked by the NPS as an official trailhead parking area, but was plastered with hand-painted No Parking signs. I hiked in on a marked and named NPS trail that was nevertheless posted with No Tresspassing and Private Property signs every 50 feet for the first mile.

My probably inflammatory observation is that the greatest offendors seemed not to be true locals, but outsiders who scooped up cheap land with great views and now want to close the door behind them.

I'm hearing and seeing this problem more and more everyday out here, especially since they are selling off acres of State Trust Land to developers that abut either National Forest or State Park Land. There's a TH that used to at the terminus of Broadway Road in Gold Canyon(at the foothills of the Superstitions) that is now in the middle of a housing development and the parking has been reduced from spacious to maybe 4-5 cars. There is another development at the end of Meridian Road on the Pinal/Maricopa County line that is the back way into Usery Park and hiking trails there. They are putting up custom homes there at 850K and up a pop so it's just a matter of time before they decide we can't use this TH anymore too. There was also an issue a few years ago with the Hieroglyphic Trail in Gold Canyon since they built a bunch of homes out there.

Of course, my favorite is the atrocity is that resort deep in the Red Rocks Wilderness at Boynton Canyon in Sedona. Nothing like hiking along a trail that has NO HIKERS/NO TRESPASSING signs all over and a barbed wire fence.

Hmmm . . . I wonder what Edward Abbey would have to say about this? How would you define non-violent resistance? Thank G-d for women like Rosa Parks.

Yeah I saw that too earlier this year when I drove by. The Hells Canyon Wilderness area is worse/funnier yet, the signs have machine guns on them

Suppose the prudent thing to do would be to call the FS and see what have to say.

Personally I'd be more concerned parking at Bell Trailhead, Salome Jug or Poland Creek.

In response to Trishness' reply:

Remember when there was 10 miles of open space between Mesa and Apache Junction, and just about nothing east of 88? It seems like yesterday.

Trishness wrote:Of course, my favorite is the atrocity is that resort deep in the Red Rocks Wilderness at Boynton Canyon in Sedona. Nothing like hiking along a trail that has NO HIKERS/NO TRESPASSING signs all over and a barbed wire fence.

They want to keep us wild eyed, long hair, miscreants out, (or are we wildlife) and not scare the tourist. I thought the warning signs were funny. A brief thought of howling crossed my mind when I seen some folks walking around below the trail.

It saddens me to see that this is prevalent throughout the state (and probably everywhere in the country). I'll be giving the local FS office a call on Monday just to give them a heads up.

I do plan on hiking out to this trail though, looks like incorporating it into the groom creek loop would work out well.

Hiked this today. Near-perfect day spent with bewdy flora, active fauna, few Homo-Saps, perfect temps, light breezes, fantastic views and a wicked-cool visit with the smoke-tower lookout resident and her pup. Hike this, it's a perfect reminder of why we love AZ; 90 miles from 110 degrees it was 84, breezy, partly cloudy and threatened to sprinkle. Clear trail, nice elevation changes and awe-inspiring views of Prescott & the Prescott Valley. Really a great day. A little surprising that the sign at the summit of Spruce Mountain said 6 miles back to the Isabella Trailhead, so it was a 12 mile day, not 6 as mentioned in the previous writeups. 2.5 hours up, 2 hours down so the mileage felt like 12 not 6

About the parking: A friend of mine bought j-u-s-t outside the Potato Patch last year. We've seen Isabella Trail hikers parked all around on Walker Road. The Potato Patch NIMBYs remain but I would not hesitate to recommend this trail with the caveat that we Tread Lightly and Park Respectively.