Senator Highway - Crown King to Prescott • 4x4 Trip • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

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Nov 22 2024

DixieFlyer

Guides 99
Routes 1,484
Photos 16,072
Triplogs 1,374

male

Joined Jan 07 2017
Fountain Hills,

Horse Mountain Trail #212

Prescott, AZ

Horse Mountain Trail #212

Prescott, AZ

Hiking		Nov 22 2024
		DixieFlyer • Triplogs 1,374

Hiking	4.33 Miles	1,324 AEG

Hiking	4.33 Miles
	1,324 ft AEG

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Senator Highway - Crown King to Prescott

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This was a hike to the summit of Horse Mountain 7078, which is a few miles west of Crown King in the Prescott National Forest.

I took the Bumble Bee exit off of I-17 and went to Crown King, and from there took Senator Highway to Hooper Saddle, where I parked. Roads were good to Crown King, but Senator Highway was pretty rough. I timed my drive out and it took me 50 minutes to drive the 6.5 miles from Hooper Saddle to Crown King.

The hike was entirely on the Horse Mountain Trail, although it isn't much of a trail these days. I could kinda, sorta see a trail for about 3/4 mile, although it was very overgrown in that stretch. Beyond that, the trail essentially ceased to exist.

This hike was more brushy than my hike to Veterans Peak/Mount Washington earlier in the week.

Once I got closer to Horse Mountain there was quite a bit of fire damage from the human caused Horse Fire of October, 2020. There were a few downed trees and quite a bit of dead manzanita. I got a lot of soot on my clothes -- with luck the washing machine will remove it.

The deadfall and brush made this a much slower hike than I envisioned. Views were great at the summit though, and I enjoyed climbing up a large boulder that was the high point. The boulder was a good lunch spot, and the expansive views there were great.

Between the drive to the trail head and the overgrown trail, I can see why this one is seldom hiked.

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Bushwhack

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Horse Mountain Lake Pleasant Towers Mountain

_____________________

Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there

2 archives

Nov 08 2024

DixieFlyer

Guides 99
Routes 1,484
Photos 16,072
Triplogs 1,374

male

Joined Jan 07 2017
Fountain Hills,

Juniper Ridge - Castle Creek Wilderness HP, AZ

Scenic Drive		Nov 08 2024
		DixieFlyer • Triplogs 1,374

Scenic Drive	1.13 Miles	426 AEG

Scenic Drive	1.13 Miles	1 Hour 48 Mns	0.90 mph
	426 ft AEG

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Senator Highway - Crown King to Prescott

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This was a hike to Juniper Ridge (elevation of 7,149 feet and prominence of 389 feet), the highpoint of the Castle Creek Wilderness area. This is near Crown King, and is much more of a drive than a hike; so I have classified as such on HAZ.

The drive to Crown King was longer than I remember it being. The road is actually in good shape, but the last few miles to Crown King were almost single lane, although there were pullouts along the way.

From Crown King I took the Senator Highway a short distance, and then turned on what I think is FR 52. I drove on it until I got to a pullout at Lukes Hoist Divide, which is where I parked. The road to there from Crown King was in pretty good shape although it wasn't much wider than single lane.

I walked the road for a bit and then did a bushwhack up a steep hill to the highpoint. There was a good bit of brush along with some downed trees. The summit had some nice views though.

On the drive out there was a good bit of oncoming traffic, including a semi-truck not far from Crown King.

I'd like to go hike to Horse Mountain sometime, but that road may keep me from going there.

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Horse Mountain Humphreys Peak Mazatzal Peak North Peak Towers Mountain Woodchute Mountain

_____________________

Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there

2 archives

Dec 28 2021

Stoic

Routes 297
Photos 6,928
Triplogs 552

49 male

Joined Dec 30 2007
Avondale,Az

Pleasant to Prescott 4x4, AZ

4x4 Trip		Dec 28 2021
		Stoic • Triplogs 552

4x4 Trip	78.62 Miles	12,296 AEG

4x4 Trip	78.62 Miles	14 Hrs	9.83 mph
	12,296 ft AEG

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Crown King - Back Road

Senator Highway - Crown King to Prescott

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My buddy and I where looking for a semi-challenging 4x4 trail. With snow forecasted, we decided to start as early as possible. We took Walker Gulch to Crown King then the Old Senator Highway to Prescott.
12:05am- Got off work
12:30 Filled up on fuel and snacks
1:53 Saw, what looked like a stuffed animal, near Lake Pleasnt [ photo ]
2:10 Passed Lake Pleasant
3:50 Started to snow
5:30 Stopped for a 2 hour nap
9:45 Woke up from a 4 hour nap
10:30 Stopped in Crown King
3:30pm Back on pavement in Groom Creek

It was a great way to spend the day. Both trails seamed to have been graded since my last visit. There where no real challenging parts to them. You just had to watch out for ice around the turns.

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1 archive

Jul 18 2015

The_Eagle

Guides 41
Routes 1,626
Photos 14,983
Triplogs 2,760

69 male

Joined Jan 20 2009
Far NE Phoenix,

Crooks Canyon - Ash Creek Canyon Loop, AZ

Hiking		Jul 18 2015
		The_Eagle • Triplogs 2,760

Hiking	16.88 Miles	3,392 AEG

Hiking	16.88 Miles	7 Hrs 29 Mns		2.74 mph
	3,392 ft AEG	1 Hour 19 Mns Break	15 LBS Pack

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Collins Trail #282

E Cross L Trail #281

Venezia Trail #381

Senator Highway - Crown King to Prescott

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chumley

John9L

With a 70% chance of Rain, we were all ready to get soaked on the day. Only problem, Ma Nature just decided to crank up the humidity a bit. Chums wanted to try the area Joe and I had been to before and I wanted to click off the Venezia Trail and search south of Palace Station on FR82 and Crooks Canyon.

I showed the guys Palace Station, the Palace Station Cemetery and headed down tree covered Crooks Canyon. Nice area w/ lots of camping opportunities. I still need to head further south in the future. The Elouise Mine area was posted "No Tresspassing", but it didn't appear that anyone had driven up there in quite some time.

We made a turn to the west, past the Bodie Mine area. At this point we were climbing and out of the trees, so none of us felt the urge to hike down to the area.

After 9L had us pass up the Collins Trail, we back tracked to get back on this single track.

Up the E Cross L now, it climbs steadily for 3 miles, up 1300', to an old forest road. Once at the top, we opted to cut a couple of road miles off by scrambling down a "steepish" slope to the Senator.

The Venezia trail does offer some pretty views as it climbs 400' up from the Senator to meet the E Cross L Trail. Anyone hiking the E Cross L trail, should either hike it, ending at the TH by Palace Station, or take the official GPS Track. The lower sections are overgrown and it's easy to see where Joe and I got offtrack last time here.

Temps for the most part were 75 - 80 with scattered clouds, so it made it real nice for hiking. Good company, good conversation, fun times.

Thanks for driving Mr. Chums

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

	Spence Spring	Dry	Dry
	Nothing in the spring box. Pools in Crooks creek though.

	Starlight Canyon	Dry	Dry
	Dry at the Senator Highway

	White Well	26-50% full	26-50% full
	Water in the well, as well as trash from idiots. Crooks Creek offers plenty of filtering opportunities

_____________________

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Dave Barry

Sep 03 2014

The_Eagle

Guides 41
Routes 1,626
Photos 14,983
Triplogs 2,760

69 male

Joined Jan 20 2009
Far NE Phoenix,

Senator Highway - Crown King to Prescott

Prescott, AZ

Senator Highway - Crown King to Prescott

Prescott, AZ

4x4 Trip		Sep 03 2014
		The_Eagle • Triplogs 2,760

4x4 Trip	40.00 Miles	5,314 AEG

4x4 Trip	40.00 Miles
	5,314 ft AEG

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JuanJaimeiii

This is the 4 x 4 driving portion of our Prescott to Crown King adventure.
Hikes and Side trips in separate triplogs / Photosets.

Aprox Mileage to POI's from northern start of the Senator Highway to Crown King.

06.50 - Groom Creek TH
10.25 - Senator Mine
10.50 - Hassayampa Lake
15.40 - Venezia Trail #381
15.50 - Venezia - Site
16.75 - E Cross L Trail #281
17.00 - Palace Station
17.00 - Parking for Palace Station Cemetery
18.25 - Yankee Doodle Trail #284
20.25 - Goodwin - Site
20.75 - FR52 - FR67 intersection
23.00 - Arrastra Creek Trail #275
24.75 - Bradshaw Trail #216
27.00 - Blind Indian Trail #211
30.00 - Hooper - Site
32.25 - Horse Mountain Trail #212
33.00 - Towers Mountain Trail #51 / #131
35.75 - Porphry Mountain Trail
37.00 - Bradshaw City Ruins
37.75 - Bradshaw Cemetery "*"
39.25 - Turn to Crown King Road "*"
40.00 - Crown King "*"

"*" - Driving Mileage includes 1.0 mile RT on FR 192 to get to the Bradshaw City Cemetery

For the Majority of this drive (if dry), Only High Clearance is required.

There is one spot that 4 x 4 is currently required. This is video at the 4 X 4 spot.
I did a terrible job of capturing the rough part.
Video has been stabilized to make it viewable.

http://youtu.be/wQfCMDGXMOs

The trip included:
5 old Town-sites
3 Cabins
2 Cemetery's
6/7 Hike and/or Explorations

The Cherokee performed flawlessly!
Thanks for driving JJ!

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Informational/Interpretive Sign

_____________________

There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
Dave Barry

2 archives

Jul 05 2014

DBmooner

Triplogs 100

40 male

Joined Jan 03 2011
chandler, Az

Senator Highway - Crown King to Prescott

Prescott, AZ

Senator Highway - Crown King to Prescott

Prescott, AZ

4x4 Trip		Jul 05 2014
		DBmooner • Triplogs 100

4x4 Trip	57.00 Miles	1,000 AEG

4x4 Trip	57.00 Miles
	1,000 ft AEG

no routes

no photosets

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Had to cancel the canyoneering trip to Bear canyon due to high chance of thunderstorms so went 4x4 instead seamed like a great back up plan and it was. Started at Bumble Bee and went the back way to crown king. The entire drive up we could see some nice storm clouds building up and as soon as we entered crown king the sky opened up. It rained on and off the entire drive from Prescott . on the drive back we saw that the 17 was closed so we just took a dirt road from Mayor back to Bumble Bee were the 17 was open again.

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Mar 29 2014

Randal_Schulhauser

Guides 71
Routes 98
Photos 9,967
Triplogs 1,009

65 male

Joined May 14 2003
Ahwatukee, AZ

Road to Crown King, AZ

Hiking		Mar 29 2014
		Randal_Schulhauser • Triplogs 1,009

Hiking	8.36 Miles	510 AEG

Hiking	8.36 Miles	8 Hrs	1.05 mph
	510 ft AEG

no routes

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Crown King Rd to Bumble Bee on BCT

Muldoon Gulch & Swastika / Peck Mines

Crown King - Back Road

Senator Highway - Crown King to Prescott

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Road to Crown King with Drew and Janice - March 2014
FitBit totals = 8.36 miles, 510 AEG (51 floors)

Road to Crown King map

https://www.crownkingaz.com/directions/
Impossible Railway history - Mayer to Crown King (Bradshaw Mountain Railroad)

https://www.crownkinghistoricalsociety.org and https://www.azoffroad.net/bradshaw-moun ... 4541828919

Senator Highway - Crown King to Prescott

https://www.experience-az.com/adventure ... orhwy.html
For Google Map, get directions for Crown King AZ to Bradshaw City AZ to Groom Creek AZ to Prescott AZ. Result is 39.0 miles, 2 hours 27 minute drive time.

HAZ description (Backroad to Crown King)

[ Crown King - Back Road ]
HAZ description (Old Senator Highway)

[ Senator Highway - Crown King to Prescott ]

My cousin Drew and his wife Janice came to visit Arizona from their home in Vancouver British Columbia, Canada. They spent the first part of the week at the Orchards Inn (check out

https://orchardsinn.com ) before staying a few nights at our Ahwatukee home. I booked off Friday to to take them on the Apache Trail Circle Route and offered up a Saturday trek to Crown King plus a possible continuance to Prescott via the Old Senator Highway (time permitting).

Bumblebee ghost town

https://www.ghosttowns.com/states/az/bumblebee.html
HAZ description

[ Crown King Rd to Bumble Bee on BCT ]

First planned stop was the Bumblebee General Store where I can recall viewing gold nuggets, gold dust, and other prospecting-for-gold paraphernalia. The General Store appears abandoned (or has become a little used residence). The Bumblebee Ranch seems to be the hub of local commerce

https://bumblebeeranch.com/aboutus.html

Our supposed set back in Bumblebee was soon muted by an obliging gopher snake that I could see crossing the Road to Crown King. We stopped for the photo op. A Jeep and ATV stopped to see what all the fuss was about. When I said "gopher snake", they said they just saw a "Gila Monster" back around the corner by the wash. Guess a gopher snake was uninteresting to them as they left in a cloud of dust. We doubled back to see if we could find a Gila Monster. After poking up and down the wash for what seemed to be half an hour, we gave up the hunt (for now)...

Cleator ghost town

https://www.ghosttowns.com/states/az/cleator.html

Stopped at the Cleator Bar for a beverage and chat with the locals and those just passing through. It was Jimmy's birthday and friends were gathering to celebrate and make some music with their "jam-band". Crock pot was slow cooking some rattlesnake chilli - Drew even posed with the snakeskin and rattle from the donating reptile. With our stomachs offering hints it was time to dip into that picnic lunch, we left colourful Cleator and looked for a suitable spot to set up lunch.

Muldoon Gulch & Swastika/Peck Mines

https://www.apcrp.org/ALEXANDRA/Peck_Vi ... 012311.htm
HAZ description

[ Muldoon Gulch & Swastika / Peck Mines ]

We set up our tailgate lunch near a gurgling stream - Muldoon Gulch. After lunch we boulder hop our way upstream climbing over a series of small waterfalls and crystal clear pools. Plenty of wildlife encounters with small frogs and garter snakes. Walked a little ways up FR89 towards Swastika Mine and Peck Mine ruins.

Eventually we packed up my F-150 and headed into the bustling community of Crown King. We felt out of place driving a pick-up truck that branded us as "out of towners". All the locals (or veteran visitors) arrived in ATV's. Checked out the local saloon sampling the local beverage from a mason jar.

With time approaching 4pm, we decided that traversing the Senator Highway in the dark wasn't our best option so we retraced our route back to Cleator, Bumblebee, and Black Canyon City.

Got home at sundown to once again sample a couple of choice wines and a couple of racks of pork ribs from the BBQ while watching UA getting bounced from the Elite 8 and the Yotes squandering another 3rd period lead...
Sent from my iPad

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Black-necked Garter Snake Canyon Tree Frog Sonoran Gopher Snake

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Castle Creek Wilderness

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

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Aug 27 2008

rwstorm

Guides 1
Routes 136
Photos 22,415
Triplogs 1,041

77 male

Joined Feb 28 2003
Tucson, AZ

Crown King - After the Fire 2008, AZ

Car Camping		Aug 27 2008
		rwstorm • Triplogs 1,041

Car Camping

Car Camping		2 Days

no routes

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Horsethief Lake Trail

Kentuck Trail #217 - Prescott NF

Senator Highway - Crown King to Prescott

Crown King Rd to Bumble Bee on BCT

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Had to do a quick trip up to check out things after the nearly 10,000 acre fire almost wiped out the town. It was pretty grim driving between Crown King and the Hazlett Hollow Campground. But thanks to the incredible efforts of the fire fighters, almost all of the buildings and recreation areas survived. On the way up, I stopped at the saloon at Cleator for a beer. The gal bartending asked if I was going up the mountain. I said yes, and she said, "Well, I have to go up and fill in at the bar up there, so guess I will sell you another beer in Crown King." And so it was, I got served by Judy, both at Cleator and Crown King. That was cool!!

This was the 10,000 acre Lane 2 Fire, which was started by a signal fire for lost hikers getting out of hand (sound familiar?). Of course this year (2012) the town was again threatened by the 16,000 acre Gladiator Fire (caused by a propane explosion at a nearby residence). I'd say the folks up there have been pretty well spooked in recent years. :scared:

I don't get up that way very often, but like the campground in Horsethief Basin. I must say it was really kind of creepy camping there, with nobody else around and the smell of fresh burn in the air. I slept in the back of my truck that night, and the sound of mice crawling around on the underside of the truck added to the spookiness! I took quite a few pictures of the old historic buildings along the way, because the fire was a reminder of quickly they could be gone.

I haven't been up there since, but might have to take a drive up soon to see how things look after the 2012 fire. (posted 9-22-2012)

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Sep 06 1979

rwstorm

Guides 1
Routes 136
Photos 22,415
Triplogs 1,041

77 male

Joined Feb 28 2003
Tucson, AZ

Bradshaw Mountains 1979, AZ

4x4 Trip		Sep 06 1979
		rwstorm • Triplogs 1,041

4x4 Trip

4x4 Trip

no routes

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Senator Highway - Crown King to Prescott

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Cranking up the way back machine for ya.

Out for a day of adventuring with Roger S. and his Bug in the Bradshaw Mountains. We started in Prescott and worked our way south to Crown King and then back to I-17 and Phoenix. Date is a guess, but close to reality.

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Automobile Remains/Wreckage

_____________________

1 archive

WARNING! Hiking and outdoor related sports can be dangerous. Be responsible and prepare for the trip. Study the area you are entering and plan accordingly. Dress for the current and unexpected weather changes. Take plenty of water. Never go alone. Make an itinerary with your plan(s), route(s), destination(s) and expected return time. Give your itinerary to trusted family and/or friends.

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