Oak Spring Canyon - Tonto Basin • Canyon Trip • Arizona • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

Payson, AZ

Canyoneering		Mar 10 2024
		mikemcg • Triplogs 129

Canyoneering	3.35 Miles	650 AEG

Canyoneering	3.35 Miles	3 Hrs 54 Mns	1.20 mph
	650 ft AEG	1 Hour 6 Mns Break

Linked

none

no linked trail guides

Partners

none

no partners

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

Last year when we did this route, the waterfalls were frequent, powerful, and impressive. This year, not so much. Six of us arrived around 11am. The weather was sunny, around 80°, and beautiful. The water flow in the creek was intermittent, and only a few inches deep at most. There were a few nice pools, with clear water, up to 3 feet deep, and some were good enough for a polar plunge, but they were nothing like what we saw last year. All of the waterfalls were trickles, except the last one. The 90 foot waterfall was decent, and nicer than most of the falls in Arizona, so we enjoyed it, but it was nothing like the powerful torrent that we encountered a year ago. We still had an enjoyable day, with beautiful weather, great views, and excellent company.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] California Poppy

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Cow

Wildflowers Observation Light
Some clusters of poppies along the way

1 archive

Mar 26 2023

mikemcg

Guides 2
Routes 127
Photos 1,478
Triplogs 129

male

Joined May 07 2019
Tempe, AZ

Payson, AZ

Hiking		Mar 26 2023
		mikemcg • Triplogs 129

Hiking	4.52 Miles	1,283 AEG

Hiking	4.52 Miles	5 Hrs 49 Mns	0.97 mph
	1,283 ft AEG	1 Hour 10 Mns Break

Linked

none

no linked trail guides

Partners

none

no partners

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

Thanks to @ssk44 for posting the description of another great hidden gem. I thought this canyon might be worth checking out after all the recent rain and snow. It was amazing.

We ended up with an enthusiastic group of 10 (all of whom are accustomed to rugged terrain and Leave No Trace). The road in definitely requires a high clearance 4x4. We walked along the barb wire fence to the creek, which had light flow. It was an easy upstream trek, with the water level varying between light and a trickle. At about 0.8 mile, I checked my GPS to see how much further the falls were...and discovered that we were in the wrong canyon.

We decided to climb straight up the side of the canyon and down the other side. The uphill wasn't too bad, fairly steep with loose rocks and a lot of vegetation, but we found a game trail to follow. I did get caught in a thicket of catclaw along the way. The route down into the next canyon was much longer, and just as steep, with very thick vegetation, but we found a game trail which led to a wash, and eventually made it down into the correct canyon, after getting torn up by more catclaw along the way.

The correct canyon was much better. The water flow was much stronger. There was a small waterfall or cascade every 30 yards at least. There were numerous stops for pictures and poses. Soon we reached the 4 taller waterfalls (>15 feet), culminating in the final waterfall, which was magnificent. The pictures don't come close to accurately depicting the power and beauty of the final waterfall. We hung out there for a while, and didn't have any strong desire to climb above the big one, so we eventually headed back. It was much easier heading back, as we stayed in the correct canyon the entire way.

Overall: fun group with great attitudes, excellent views, enjoyable scrambling, numerous waterfalls with the best one at the end. There were no other people nor vehicles. It would have been better if we had entered the correct canyon at the beginning, but it all worked out.

Wildflowers Observation Isolated

Oak Spring Canyon

Medium flow

9 archives

Feb 14 2021

eru

Guides 8
Routes 10
Photos 1,028
Triplogs 40

44 male

Joined Jun 14 2019
nomadic

Payson, AZ

Canyoneering		Feb 14 2021
		eru • Triplogs 40

Canyoneering	3.80 Miles	1,265 AEG

Canyoneering	3.80 Miles
	1,265 ft AEG

no routes

Linked

none

no linked trail guides

Partners

none

no partners

I gave up on driving the road in with a high clearance RWD vehicle - saw quite a few UTVs and their tracks on it. I drove down to the first FR junction near the worn "not maintained past this point" sign, parked and noped out with a 5 point turn out. There's only one solid parking spot by the gate, but aside from the junction there's a flat area alongside a corral & tank setup by azdeer.org I guess. The road had enough wash outs, 6-8" height differences between sides, and sharp (if smallish) drops that'd it'd be more of a 4WD road than high clearance, unless you're in a really tricked out 2WD/AWD ride I guess.

Burn scar is burnt, but made for interesting terrain. I've been near two tiny lightning fires in the alpine, and passed through old burn scars, but this was new. It rained around a quarter inch the night before, so dust was tamped down - though wet ash on slopes is _slick_. Navigating past the roads in the creekbed might be a bit easier than before, but I can only imagine what it was like earlier. After a while the burn impact gets a bit more sporadic, and peters out as the canyon tightens.

We had enough water to enjoy the cascades, but there wasn't enough to make navigation an issue. Interesting short bypasses that required some scouting/reroutes and a bit more bushwhacking than I would have wanted (though thankfully few thorned plants).

Had a grey sky coming in that had me worried despite the forecast, but it cleared up in the creek bed so we went in and enjoyed the hike. Didn't due the upper grotto due to time / partner's lack of interest in steep loose slopes. It was fun to see a little more water, though due to temps we kept our socks dry (boots got wet, but not consquential).

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

Oak Spring

Gallon + per minute

2 archives

Dec 27 2016

chumley

Guides 94
Routes 840
Photos 22,055
Triplogs 1,993

52 male

Joined Sep 18 2002
Tempe, AZ

Payson, AZ

Canyoneering		Dec 27 2016
		chumley • Triplogs 1,993

Canyoneering	4.42 Miles	1,580 AEG

Canyoneering	4.42 Miles	4 Hrs 48 Mns	1.06 mph
	1,580 ft AEG	38 Mns Break

Linked

none

no linked trail guides

Partners

none

no partners

Jon introduced me to this place four years ago, but it was almost totally dry. I figured with good rain and snowmelt on Mt. Ord there was a chance for some good flow today. I heard the creek running from the trailhead and knew I wouldn't be disappointed.

After reaching the main falls, I decided to try to climb up and get to the top. The scree slope is very manageable and didn't take too long. Up top, I headed back downstream toward the top of the falls, and encountered a series of other falls on the way. All of them were able to be bypassed on the left/north side of the creek, with some steep scree slopes and exposed class-4 climbing along the way.

I enjoyed the upper falls, and the creek up here was more open and picturesque than below. Snow dotted the mountainside above and rough pink granite and smooth grey granite combined to make a nice stretch of creek. I was unable to get to the very top of the 95-foot drop as there was one final fall just above it. This was in a narrow slot with smooth granite and no way down without a rope. There was a nice tree with vibrant yellow just above the top of the big fall.

I headed back the way I came, and did my best butt-scoot/ski on the scree slope. I rode a nice little rock slide/avalanche for about 20 yards along the way. Got cut up a little bit, but otherwise no big deal.

It got dark on me and I made slow progress down creek, alternating between hopping on creek rocks and searching for some kind of cattle path on the side of the creek. The flora here isn't too friendly and I am apparently taller than anything that travels along the creek, so I did a lot of ducking to follow the best paths. Got back to the truck a little over an hour after dark set in. This was just what the doctor ordered for today! :y:

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Moss

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

Autumn Foliage Observation Isolated

	Oak Spring	Gallon + per minute	Gallon + per minute
	Didn't find spring source, but canyon was running nicely.

_____________________

I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies.

2 archives

Nov 30 2013

ssk44

Guides 20
Routes 12
Photos 2,343
Triplogs 298

51 male

Joined Mar 31 2008
Gilbert, AZ

Payson, AZ

Canyoneering		Nov 30 2013
		ssk44 • Triplogs 298

Canyoneering	2.00 Miles	650 AEG

Canyoneering	2.00 Miles	4 Hrs	0.50 mph
	650 ft AEG

no routes

Linked

none

no linked trail guides

Partners

none

no partners

Oak Spring never disappoints. Perfect light flow with unique fall conditions. Very cool canyon. Rugged as hell, but very cool.

Eric

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

Autumn Foliage Observation Substantial
Perfect!

_____________________

MATTHEW 11:28-30 / PSALM 84:1-2

Sep 07 2012

chumley

Guides 94
Routes 840
Photos 22,055
Triplogs 1,993

52 male

Joined Sep 18 2002
Tempe, AZ

Payson, AZ

Canyoneering		Sep 07 2012
		chumley • Triplogs 1,993

Canyoneering	2.20 Miles	543 AEG

Canyoneering	2.20 Miles	3 Hrs 20 Mns	0.66 mph
	543 ft AEG

Canyon Hiking - Non-technical; no rope; easy scrambling; occasional hand use

A - Dry or little water; shallow or avoidable water; no wet/dry suit

II - Normally requires a half day

Linked

none

no linked trail guides

Partners

partners

Jonnybackpack

Got frustrated sitting at my desk looking out my window and watching it rain all morning. Ten minute break on the landing outside didn't fix the problem. About five phone calls later I decided that I wasn't going to accomplish anything today anyway. Walked into my boss's office and interrupted his viewing of the US Open on ESPN3.com (really, was he going to deny my request?) and more or less announced that I was going to leave and play in the rain.

Met Jon a bit later in Fountain Hills, and we headed for Tonto Basin. I knew nothing about Oak Spring Canyon. Never read the description, not a triplog, not a photo, not a glance at a map. Nothing. Made for a little bit of an adventure.

In the end, Mt. Ord had only gotten .24" of rain and subsequently, there wasn't much going on in the canyon. There was a nice trickle of water over the main falls, but otherwise it was mostly just a very cool hike in a nice remote canyon. I'll definitely head back here for spring runoff or after a more substantial (maybe 2+"?) monsoon storm.

Despite a little disappointment in the lack of flow in the canyon, it was an enjoyable hike, and was 1000x better than sitting in my office surfing HAZ while pretending to work all afternoon!

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Dog

Culture

Culture [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] HAZ Rides

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Sycamore Creek

_____________________

I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies.

Feb 12 2011

Vaporman

Guides 3
Routes 4
Photos 8,687
Triplogs 931

46 male

Joined Mar 28 2005
Gilbert, AZ

Payson, AZ

Canyoneering		Feb 12 2011
		Vaporman • Triplogs 931

Canyoneering	3.00 Miles	1,400 AEG

Canyoneering	3.00 Miles	6 Hrs 15 Mns	0.48 mph
	1,400 ft AEG

Intermediate Canyoneering - Difficult or dangerous; Tech Climb; rope reqd; descent anchor; exit technical;

B - Up to light current; wading/swimming; possible wet/dry suit

III - Normally requires most of a day

no routes

Linked

none

no linked trail guides

Partners

none

no partners

This canyon has been on my radar ever since ssk44 posted those sweet waterfall photos last spring and it was great to final technically descend it. :y:

In my search for the secret canyons of Parallel Play & Double Play, I thought this canyon might have been on of those but those canyons were later determined to be other canyons. Though this canyon was very recently descended by Todd Martin and names A-Okay Canyon. Well now that I know the rope length needed and the drops all have new anchors, it sounded like a great time to run out there and finally descend it. :sweat:

There's probably a few different ways to get above the narrows of this canyon. Originally I had plotted out hiking up the smaller drainage to the east and scrambling up a saddle and dropping in above the narrows. But on the drive in, I changed my mind and we hiked up the lightly vegetated ridges on the western side of the canyon. And then once above the narrows, it looked like one could also rock hop up this drainage to the 140ft falls and then scramble up a loose scree slope to get up to the first rappel. Our route on the western slope may have been a tad longer, but it seems like the easiest approach of the three.

When we were above the narrows, we came upon a side drainage that looked interested enough so we dropped in that side canyon and ended up getting an additional 100ft double drop to reach the main drainage. Ohh snap, we dropped in right in the middle of the narrows and missed the upper section. ](*,)

Ohh sweet, we can scramble up the eastern ridge and get above the first rappel. :GB:

We thru the wetsuits on and I went a bit further up canyon to get a good view down that scree chute ravine and got a rush when I saw the 140ft falls down below. The upper narrows starts with a 25ft slick waterfall rappel followed by two slippery slides. The top of the two slides is a 15ft bumpy ride and ends in a super chilly swimmer that was rather shocking to the system and I banged my elbow pretty good also.

The canyon mellows up for a bit with loads of rock hopping & light down climbing & plenty of sunshine to warm us back up. Though I was staying plenty warm in my 4/3 even though we were playing in chilly snow runoff.

The canyon takes a hard right and soon we're hitting the 2nd official rappel (not counting our bonus rappel) of 30ft down another slick falls into a brief narrows section. Very soon afterwards we hit the super sweet big drop down a ~140ft lightly flowing falls. :y:

I recently bought a spool of canyoneering rope and this was my 200-footer first canyon and I already put a fuzzy section in the sheath going over a sharp edge of the falls. :roll:

The technical section was over, but we left the gear on as we continued down canyon thru loads of down climbing & rock hopping and eventually dropped the gear in a sunny section. Further down canyon, the creek hiking got easier and the side ridges dropped lower and we recognized were we crossed the creek and scrambled back out and to my buddies SUV parked nearby.

Woot! Another sweet run down another flowing Mazzie canyon along the Tonto Basin.

Hmm, I wonder what that nearby steep & craggy Sycamore Canyon barely to the south has in store. :-k

Might have to start from the top of Mt Ord to get down into that one...

_____________________

Yea, canyoneering is an extreme sport... EXTREMELY dramatic!!! =p

May 01 2010

skatchkins

Guides 2
Routes 24
Photos 3,436
Triplogs 230

47 male

Joined Dec 22 2007
Mesa, AZ

[ checklist ] Blackfoot Daisy Hedge Bindweed Western Spiderwort Yellow Columbine

Payson, AZ

Canyoneering		May 01 2010
		skatchkins • Triplogs 230

Canyoneering	5.50 Miles	1,265 AEG

Canyoneering	5.50 Miles	5 Hrs	1.10 mph
	1,265 ft AEG

A - Dry or little water; shallow or avoidable water; no wet/dry suit

no routes

Linked

none

no linked trail guides

Partners

none

no partners

I had a couple places in mind for a Saturday hike and maybe a pre-camp, but after waiting too late to hear back on some things I was w/o the camp option and more looking like a just me trip. Either way I was looking for some more water involved hikes before it was too late, so I chose Eric's logged hike near Oak Spring.
I drove up in the morning and hit the dirt for the drive in. It really has become a high clearance trail and at least in a couple step spots I'd say 4x4. The road is washed out in one section to and you have to drive in the creek for a bit.
I was worried at first because the creek was only a trickle down the hill from the trailhead. A few more small pools and then a long dry section where the creek lay underground didn't help. Past this, when the canyon got more canyony I started enjoying myself more. Larger pools and the sound of running water started making it worth it. Nothing was too tricky on the canyoneering side as long as you planned ahead of time. It wasn't until I sneezed that I realized how echoey it had become inside the slot. I (we) had fun with that as we continued on up. You could hear the main falls quite easily before spotting them. While it wasn't boomingly rushing like on Eric's trip, it was still flowing more than I had hoped. I was pleasantly surprised for sure. I ate lunch and snapped some non wildflower pics with a couple of stacked CPL's to keep the F's lower (higher) for an attempt on the falls.
On the way back down I stopped at the larger 5ft deep pool for a dip. I may or may not have brought my clothes in with me.
Kept hiking back, spotting lots of lizards and frogs and three fast long snakes that wanted nothing to do with me.
When I got back to the up and out, my legs said they wanted to keep going and maybe look for the ruins downstream. I went up the other side and poked around for a while admiring the views. It was more meadowy up there so going wasn't too tangled like down around the creek. I wasn't able to find anything that resembled structures, just a lot of rocks strewn about. I did find what I believe was a broken Metate, so that was cool. On my meandering way back down to refollow the creek, I almost stepped on another gopher snake. I've come to accept the girly shriek I make when I find out that my next step is going to be all snake unless I roll my weight. This is my third in less than a month. I refreaked out when I pet my new friend and he fake rattled. Pretty convincing at first.
With my animal spotting complete, I headed back. The creek down from the trailhead was actually quite pretty too.
While driving out a saw a deer chilling in the shade.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

Wildflowers Observation Light

_____________________

May he guide you through the wilderness : protect you through the storm;
May he bring you home rejoicing : at the wonders he has shown you;
Armchair Crisis Design

Feb 05 2010

ssk44

Guides 20
Routes 12
Photos 2,343
Triplogs 298

51 male

Joined Mar 31 2008
Gilbert, AZ

Payson, AZ

Canyoneering		Feb 05 2010
		ssk44 • Triplogs 298

Canyoneering	7.60 Miles

Canyoneering	7.60 Miles	6 Hrs	1.27 mph

Basic Canyoneering - Scrambling; easy climbing/downclimbing; frequent hand use; rope recommended; easy exit

B - Up to light current; wading/swimming; possible wet/dry suit

I - Short 1-2 hours

no routes

Linked

none

no linked trail guides

Partners

none

no partners

Oak Spring Canyon (02/05/2010)

What a ride! I had so much fun on this hike. The upper waterfall far exceeded my expectations. The momentum of the hike just keeps building as the canyon gets steeper. The waterfalls just keep coming! My 8-inch Gore-Tex Danner boots came in very handy while working my way along the creek. Keeping your feet dry is must in the winter. A single walking staff is a tremendous advantage in a canyon with water! I am not accustomed to standing below large waterfalls. The power, the sound, the wind, and the mist must be experienced in person to truly appreciate! Very cool... Although this is primarily a seasonal hike, I suspect that there is light perennial water flow in the upper canyon throughout the year due to thick vegetation and numerous large sycamore trees. This is a unique special location that not many know about.

Eric (ssk44)

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Arizona Sycamore

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]