Deer Creek Trail #45 Photoset • 00blackout • 2026-02-10 • HikeArizona.COM

Deer Creek Trail #45, AZ

	2026-02-10
	30 by 00blackout

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Deer Creek Trail #45

Payson, AZ

Deer Creek Trail #45

Payson, AZ

Hiking	9.88 Miles	1,523 AEG

Hiking	9.88 Miles	5 Hrs 12 Mns	2.12 mph
	1,523 ft AEG	33 Mns Break

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DesertNymph

Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

With a bit of a time crunch, S and I continued our new-to-us area tour, pulling into the Deer Creek TH parking lot just after 8, with a couple of trucks already there and a guy putting on a suit

. With this being an 'easier' hike, I decided not to wear my ankle brace (which turned out to be a stupid decision). Nice easy hike moving past the GR and SF junctions before turning into Deer Creek, where I lost focus for just a split second, rolling my left ankle, the same recovering ankle I should have had a brace on

. Fortunately, it was just a mild averted sprain, but it would be a PIA the entire day.

Deer Creek Trail
Nice, easy, wide trail to start as it moves up on the left side bench with a few mini ups and downs. We made a quick stop at the old windmill site and the David Gowan grave, where S and I both commented on how surprised we were by the trail conditions after reading previous triplogs. As we neared the wilderness boundary, the scrub oak intensified and started encroaching onto the trail. Once past the boundary, it deteriorated even more, not to the point of not being able to find the trail, but to the point of scrub oak thrashing your legs time and time again. After going through great parts of trail and not so great parts off and on, we came to a creek crossing and decided this would be our stopping point based on my time crunch. S spotted a small field of poppies up on a ridge and climbed up to photograph them while I relaxed by the creek. Uneventful hike back out, however, the hiking was on the slower side with my ankle giving me fits. Near the TH we got a low pass flyover by a couple F-35’s which is also awesome to see, couldn’t get my phone out quick enough for any video.

Wildlife - a hare, a single cow, and a beautiful cardinal was it for the day, with no sighting of any two-legged wildlife either; the last hike I encountered any humans was back on December 27th.

Water was plentiful, flowing nearly the entire way except for the bottom section. I would love to come back to hike this trail in the fall when the colors are plentiful.

Bars Canyon

Medium flow

Deer Creek / Canyon - Mazatzal Wilderness

Dry

South Fork Deer Creek

Dry

_____________________

Hiking is just walking where it’s okay to pee.

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