Mesquite
Canyon Trail
White Tank
Mountain Regional Park.
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| Edge-hugging segment of Mesquite Canyon Trail |
Towering
over cotton fields, citrus groves and an ever-expanding landscape of
subdivisions, the White Tank Mountains on the western edge of Metro Phoenix rise
to just over 4000 feet.
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| Mexican gold poppies open in daylight. |
For more
than 30 million years, tectonic upheavals, volcanic events and erosion have
shaped the range into a mass of canyons, ruptured ridgelines and scoured
drainages where “white tanks”— depressions in buff-colored granite—retain rain
water. The inhospitable terrain is made
approachable by way of the trails within White Tank Mountain Regional Park in
Waddell.
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| Make it a loop with the Willow Canyon Trail if you like. |
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| Poppies galore! |
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| Benches are placed at scenic spots along the first 0.25-mile. |
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| Dainty Desert Hideseed grow in moist clefts. |
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| Excellent views appear in the first mile of hiking. |
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| Complex geology of the White Tank Mountains. |
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| A lone Mexican gold poppy hides among dry grasses. |
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| Long switchbacks ease the climb. |
Although
the park has many family-friendly, effortless routes, most of its more than 30
miles of trails involve difficult-to-extreme mountain ascents. While challenging
hiker-favorites like Ford Canyon and Goat Camp pass through some hazardous
sections of loose rock, precipitous edges and steep climbs, Mesquite Canyon
Trail rises to equally dizzying heights with fewer obstacles.
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| Brittlebush grow along the Mesquite Trail |
The route may be accessed at either the main
trailhead staging area or at ramada #7.
Starting at the ramada bypasses about a mile of flat, easy hiking and delves
right into the uphill trudge. The first quarter
mile follows a roomy dirt track with benches placed at scenic overlooks.
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| Fragrant desert lavender attracts pollinators. |
One of
the best features of this trail is that great views can be had after only a
short bit of climbing and the vistas continue to improve around every bend. A
half-mile in, the lung pumping begins as the trail narrows and takes on a
series of long switchbacks that snake up the canyon above a gorge with brilliant
white stone at its base and a daisy chain of tanks. Crowds become noticeably thinner once the path
transitions into an edgy traverse of outcroppings of layered metamorphic rocks
bent into accordion-like folds and gigantic boulders with peeling veneers. Tucked among clefts, scree and exposed
ledges, springtime wildflowers give reasons to pause on the way up.
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| A fresh crop of jojoba fruits ripen on bushes. |
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| The "white tanks" can be seen at the bottom of Mesquite Cn. |
Lush fringes of brittlebush, jojoba and
cholla shade patches of Dainty Desert Hideseed, lupine, Emory's rock daisies,
globemallow, buckwheat, scorpionweed and bright orange Mexican gold poppies
that unfurl when warmed by the afternoon sun.
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| Watch for fiddleneck near drainages. |
The twisted terrain contains a glut of micro
climates that bounce between mossy gullies and parched flats. The varied
pockets of shade, sun and moisture foster a vast assortment of blooming plants.
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| A scenic point on Mesquite Canyon Trail. |
At the 1.8-mile point, you can opt to
make an 8.4-mile loop using the Willow Canyon and part of the Ford Canyon
Trails, otherwise continue uphill to the trek’s high point and the junction with
Goat Camp Trail above Slick Rock Canyon.
This breezy turnaround perch makes for a fine lunch spot before descending among
woke poppies.
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| Globemallow is a common sight in Mesquite Canyon. |
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| Bud on a pink variety of globemallow. |
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| Lupine grow in open areas along the lower trail. |
LENGTH: 5
miles one-way from the main trailhead or 4.2 miles one-way from ramada #7
RATING:
difficult
ELEVATION:
1540 – 3023 feet
GETTING
THERE:
20304 W.
White Tank Mountain Road, Waddell.
Construction
on Interstate 10 and surface streets in the area may cause detours. Check the Arizona
Department of Transportation website for updates. https://www.azdot.gov/home
Follow the
main park road to the trailhead staging area or continue to Waterfall Canyon
Road and ramada #7. There are restrooms at both sites.
INFO &
MAPS:
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