Anniversary Arch Loop Photoset • kingsnake • 2021-02-04 • HikeArizona.COM

Anniversary Arch Loop, AZ

	2021-02-04
	15 by kingsnake

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Anniversary Arch Loop

Phoenix, AZ

Anniversary Arch Loop

Phoenix, AZ

Hiking	8.71 Miles	888 AEG

Hiking	8.71 Miles	3 Hrs 55 Mns	2.22 mph
	888 ft AEG

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The last time I hiked in the Goldfield Mountains was when AZLumberjack and I bailed on attempt to climb Dome Mountain. I guess that was 2015. Seemed longer ago. Too long, anyway, so off I went.

My plan was to hike from the Horse Trails Trailhead, on an unnamed, unnumbered, foot trail northwest past Cottonwood Spring. After three miles, I would head north for ¾ of a mile on a jeep trail through an unnamed canyon. I then planned to turn south onto another unnamed, unnumbered, foot trail ¾ of a mile to Anniversary Arch. From the arch, it is not quite three miles back to the trailhead.

The Goldfield Mountains are riddled with jeep trails, foot trails and side canyons. It is very easy to wander off in the wrong direction. I saw no trail signs, so unless you have a REALLY good sense of direction, you should take a GPS loaded with the route attached above, which includes waypoints such as “split left” and “sharp right turn”.

After breakfast at Denny’s in Apache Junction, I arrived at the Horse Trails Trailhead about 8:00 a.m. There were a number of horse people and offroaders camping out in the large dirt lot. I managed to wander 50 yds. down Apache Trail / AZ-88 before finding my way around a fence, but the hike actually starts straight across the road.

The loop begins on a apparently decommisioned jeep trail, which is riddled with horse hoof prints. The singletrack continues another 1½ miles to Cottonwood Spring, winding between distant rock outcroppings, through grassy hills, and across dry washes. The saguaro were generally young, but I saw several that had large, apparently spineless, darker green sections that resembled alligator skin. I wonder what that is?

The wash between Cottonwood Spring and the spring box was muddy, though more likely from recent monsoon flooding than the slow drip of overflow from the spring’s catch basin. The spring box had some water in it, but again from rain, as the pipe was totally disconnected.

At Cottonwood Spring, I picked up a jeep trail, following that off & on down wash for the next mile. A ⅓ of a mile north of Cottonwood Spring, a foot trail splits left for a longer loop. Instead, I stayed on the jeep trail / followed the wash bottom as it instead turned northeast into a small canyon with close, lichen covered walls.

Just under four miles into the hike, on the south side of the wash, there (currently) is a cairn. I turned right onto the foot trail, which climbs 200 ft. in a ½ mile, the only real elevation gain on the loop, past nearby cream- and rust-colored rock formations. From the top of the climb, it is a ½ mile across a saddle to Anniversary Arch.

Both across the saddle, and from within Anniversary Arch itself, there are great views north and east, with the old standby — Four Peaks — easily visible. The reddish mountain that looks like it is about half way to Four Peaks is El Recortado, on the north side of Canyon Lake. Anniversary Arch is not large, but there is enough room for several people to comfortably sit. The arch also funneled a pleasantly cool late morning breeze.

From Anniversary Arch, the trail winds a ½ mile down to the flat below the backside, then turns south, following a wash 1¼ miles back to the base of the the loop. There’s some decent shade in the wash. Although the trail is going up, the elevation change is barely noticeable. From the base of the loop, I booked the mile back to the Horse Trails Trailhead.