Apache Maid Mountain • Hike • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

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Dec 17 2025

mt98dew

Guides 69
Routes 37
Photos 3,010
Triplogs 2,437

56 male

Joined Oct 24 2010
Phoenix,Az

Apache Maid Mountain

Camp Verde, AZ

Apache Maid Mountain

Camp Verde, AZ

Hiking		Dec 17 2025
		mt98dew • Triplogs 2,437

Hiking	10.92 Miles	2,053 AEG

Hiking	10.92 Miles	5 Hrs 34 Mns	1.96 mph
	2,053 ft AEG

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Lol. I have to laugh to at myself. For the longest time I have had Jones Mountain on my radar. It is the last hike I need for the “Munds Mountain” area. And today was the day……. You will note that this write up is being logged under Apache Maid Mountain. lol. There is not much of a write up for Jones Mountain, so I looked for the tallest mountain in the area and assumed. You know what assume means. Just take out the “u”. Hahaha.

Parked near Stoneman Lake around 7am and headed off toward the tall mountain. After two fences, a couple of washes I come upon a smooth dirt road that leads to the base of the mountain. Sigh. Good thing I enjoy hiking. By this time, I am having my doubts about “Jones Mountain”. As I’m approaching the mountain I can clearly see the fire tower and there was no mention of a tower on Jones Mountain. By this time I’m committed. This is my mountain. I had psyched myself up for an off trail hike, so I opted to avoid the road and bushwhack up the mountain. There were quite a few game trails that I took advantage of, but those foolish animals have no concept of switchbacks. Pretty much a straight scramble up with a couple of nicely place and appreciated shelves (flat spots) thrown in. No views on the climb. The trees provided nice shade, but no views. Summiting, I discovered that I had hiked Apache Maid Mountain. lol. The tower was closed, but I was able to go up a couple of levels and get some decent views. There was also a nice lookout spot to the NW of the peak, looking towards Sedona. There was actually a picnic table and a bathroom up there as well. The picnic table was available. Bathrooms were closed.

On the return trip, I actually followed the road for about a mile. About .5 miles from the tower, there was a locked gate. Looked like there was room for about two cars next to the gate, if you wanted to park and hike the rest of the way. The road looked very smooth. Very drivable. Around 1 miles from the from the tower the road started to switchback to the west, so I abandoned the road and scrambled down the slope. Steep, but doable. Heading back to the car was no walk in the park. Gained almost 1000 feet on the return trip and seemed to find every stone along the way….and there were a lot of them.

Not what I intended, but pretty neat hike. Nice Birds Eye view of the Wet Beaver Creek area. Love to see how trail systems come together. Temps were chilly at first, but I ditched the sweat shirt half way through. Saw about 20 deer and elk. They spooked easily, so never got a good look at them. Had the wilderness to myself. Didn’t see anyone. After studying the maps, I have a better idea of Jones Mountain. That will be for another day.

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Nov 12 2025

kingsnake

Guides 120
Routes 348
Photos 11,565
Triplogs 905

male

Joined Dec 20 2010
Sunnyslope, PHX

Apache Maid Mountain

Camp Verde, AZ

Apache Maid Mountain

Camp Verde, AZ

Hiking		Nov 12 2025
		kingsnake • Triplogs 905

Hiking	9.78 Miles	998 AEG

Hiking	9.78 Miles	3 Hrs 32 Mns	2.77 mph
	998 ft AEG

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On the way down 229, I thought I saw a smoking camp fire. (Los of ppl still RV camping along 229.) Turns out to be a snag. I pour a couple of bottles of water on it, kick it over, kick some dirt on it, it's still warm, and I give up. A bit further down 229 there was a sign announcing a controlled burn. Oops.

Fire was mostly burned out around the cabins. I parked short. My wife -- who has very bad feet -- walked up to explore with me. I'm glad she was able to enjoy that, as those opportunities are rare.

Hike is very straightforward, and in the guide.

Lots of cattle in the prairie. I saw a couple of them apparently "play fighting" (?). If there's any ranching ppl reading this, please watch the video and let me know what was really going on.

By the FR 620 map board, I briefly chatted with a couple of guys who were planning to hang glide around 1 p.m. One of them had a four hour glide yesterday. I don’t know diddly about hang gliding, but that’s impressive!

After enjoying the summit views, and eating lunch at the picnic table, I headed back down FR 620. Along the way, I passed the two hang gliders rucking their rigs up the road, and a pickup, with his dog jogging alongside. Moving with a quickness, I made the 4.1 miles back to my wife in only 72 moving minutes (3.4 mph!). Despite feeling good when I finished, I was really sore when I got home. Go figure.

Rumble Video: https://rumble.com/v71sai6-hiking-apach ... izona.html
Vimeo Video: https://vimeo.com/1137399150

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Dakota mock vervain Dalmatian toadflax Hoary Tansyaster Indian Paintbrush Scarlet Bugler Showy goldeneye Skyrocket Yellow Sweet Clover

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Jewel Beetle

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Graffiti Wooden Dwelling

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Apache Maid Fire Lookout Apache Maid Mountain Hog Hill Mullican Canyon T-Bar Ranch Wet Beaver Creek

Meteorology

Meteorology [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Fire Maintained Ecosystem

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

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http://prestonm.com : Everyone's enjoyment of the outdoors is different and should be equally honored.

Sep 07 2021

DixieFlyer

Guides 100
Routes 1,571
Photos 16,476
Triplogs 1,460

male

Joined Jan 07 2017
Fountain Hills,

Arizona Fire Lookouts IV, AZ

Hiking		Sep 07 2021
		DixieFlyer • Triplogs 1,460

Hiking	13.00 Miles	1,519 AEG

Hiking	13.00 Miles
	1,519 ft AEG

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Apache Maid Mountain

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I was on my way up to Flagstaff and decided to hit 4 fire lookouts that I had not been to before: Moqui Lookout, Blue Ridge, Apache Maid Mountain, and the Mormon Lake LO.

Moqui Lookout and Blue Ridge Lookout
I drive up to the Moqui Lookout and parked next to the lookout tower. Unfortunately, in this COVID era they weren't allowing visitors up to the tower.

I then walked on a road to the site of the old Blue Ridge Lookout. All that is left are some concrete footings. There are lots of trees around, so there isn't much in the way of views there.

Apache Maid Mountain
This one is a neat tower, and there was some great scenery on the hike. I found the benchmark and one reference mark on the mountain, not too far from the tower.

I had intended to drive to the base of the mountain and hike up to the lookout -- that would have been about 4 miles. Actually you could drive almost all the way up, but it is a gentle upslope on the road with some nice scenery, so I'd recommend walking. Unfortunately, I took a bad route in on a crappy road, and got tired of the road so I decided to make a longer hike out of it.

Nobody was manning the tower, so I climbed up to the trap door, which was padlocked shut.

Mormon Lake Lookout
This tower no longer exists. I saw a pic of the tower in a triplog by @chumley from 2006, so the tower was dismantled sometime between then and now.

This was a short walk through the woods with almost no views along the way or at the top.

Synopsis
Apache Maid Mountain was the easy winner of these 4 lookouts. Most any vehicle could drive to a shut gate just below the summit, but there is nice scenery so it is worth walking on the gently-graded road to the summit. There is no longer a lookout at the Mormon Lake site or the Blue Ridge site, and there is really not much to see at either one. The Moqui Lookout would be worth stopping post-COVID, whenever that is.

Distance and elevation gain for the 3 hikes are below. Note that I took a circuitous route up to Apache Maid Mountain, otherwise the distance would have been quite a bit less.

Moqui/Blue Ridge: 1.6 miles with an ARG of 102 feet
Apache Maid Mountain: 10.1 miles with an AEG of 1,181 feet
Mormon Lake LO: 1.3 miles with an AEG of 236 feet

Stats above are sum of these.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Desert Globemallow

Geology

Geology [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Mud

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Benchmark Fire Lookout Structures Miscellaneous Survey Marker Reference Mark Wooden Dwelling

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Apache Maid Fire Lookout Apache Maid Mountain Cuter Tank Moqui Lookout Tower

Wildflowers Observation Substantial
There were lots of wildflowers, especially on the hike to Apache Maid Mountain.

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

1 archive

Jul 03 2009

BobP

Guides 2
Routes 251
Photos 4,602
Triplogs 3,265

male

Joined Feb 26 2008
Scottsdale, AZ

Apache Maid Trail #15

Camp Verde, AZ

Apache Maid Trail #15

Camp Verde, AZ

Hiking		Jul 03 2009
		BobP • Triplogs 3,265

Hiking	28.00 Miles	3,800 AEG

Hiking	28.00 Miles	11 Hrs 20 Mns	2.47 mph
	3,800 ft AEG

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Bell Trail to the Crack - Wet Beaver Creek

Apache Maid Mountain

Partners

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	JimmyLyding	sarichter
	Tortoise_Hiker	wallyfrack

If you want to summit... drive there. Time includes an 1 hr or more for breaks etc.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Century Plant

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https://www.seeitourway.org
Always pronounce Egeszsegedre properly......
If you like this triplog you must be a friend of BrunoP

2 archives

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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