Legends of Superior Trail: Queen Creek Canyon

LOST: QUEEN CREEK CANYON SEGMENT

Boulders line the upper part of the Queen Creek Canyon hike

Imagine the trip from Phoenix to the Copper Corridor towns of Globe-Miami taking all day. That was the reality back in the early 20^th century before U.S. 60 replaced the old Apache Trail route. While the annual Renaissance Festival traffic might still make the trip feel like a lurching marathon, the highway shaved the 88-mile drive time down to about an hour and a half.

Inside the defunct Claypool Tunnel

The highway’s original, “million-dollar-a-mile” sinuous alignment opened in 1922.  

Ruins of mining equipment visible on the hike

Convicts were used to build parts of the route, including the Claypool Tunnel near the town of Superior, which was blasted from solid rock in the rugged cliffs above Queen Creek Canyon.

Hike follows the 1920s alignment of U.S. 60

 

The current U.S. 60 bridge spans Queen Creek

While known for its fabulous views, the narrow, edge-hugging road with hairpin turns and queasy drop-offs proved just too dangerous for modern travel needs.  So, the route was retooled in 1952 to its safer, current alignment which includes the slick (yet claustrophobic) Queen Creek Tunnel. 

The rough-blasted interior of the Claypool Tunnel

A 1920s-era bridge crosses Queen Creek

But the decommissioned U.S. 60 didn’t just disappear. Its crumbling course, which is now on Resolution Copper property, has been repurposed into a recreational trail that’s part of the Legends of Superior Trails (LOST) system.

Early 20th century masonry work

Picketpost Mountain and the Superior water tank

 Located roughly 65 miles east of Phoenix, the 11.65-mile  LOST system is divided into 5 segments open to hiking, biking and equestrian use.

Sycamores grow in the riparian zone around Queen Creek

Each segment explores a unique slice of Superior’s history and environmental diversity. There’s the stunning riparian corridor of Arnett Canyon with connectivity to the Arizona National Scenic Trail, a walk through the abandoned town of Pinal and an interpretive in-town stroll among artifacts from the area’s rich mining and ranching heritage.  But it’s the Queen Creek Canyon segment that gives a boots-on-the-ground tour of the defunct highway.

Close up of the 1952 Queen Creek Bridge

 

The 4.2-mile out-and-back hike begins on the outskirts of the historic downtown business district.  Following the disintegrating substrate of pavement and gravel, the old highway traces the bed of Queen Creek where bits of old mining equipment and barred-off prospects teeter over the usually dry waterway. 

The Claypool Tunnel was blasted from solid rock

Throughout the hike, a palpable push-pull of old and new defines the mood, beginning with the crossing of a 1920s-era concrete bridge that stands below the gargantuan span of its metal-riveted replacement bolted into vertical cliffs soaring above the sycamore-lined creek. Among eroding culverts, barriers and drainage systems, interpretive signs augment the trek with information on local wildlife, geology and history.  About halfway through the hike, the road swings around a water tank and begins a winding ascent through a geologically complex zone of quartzite, limestone and volcanic tuff--an amazing display 540 million years in the making.

Mineral-rich geology in Queen Creek Canyon

Interpretive signs augment the hike

On its way uphill, the trail unpacks views of 4,377-foot Picketpost Mountain and the remote, chiseled landscape of Alamo Canyon and Tonto National Forest to the southwest.

Abandoned mines are dangerous. Stay on the trail.

The crumbling foundation of old U.S. 60

The trail tops out at the old Claypool Tunnel.  It’s a short, sort of creepy, walk through the rough-blasted stone tube that lands hikers just yards beyond its replacement on the new U.S. 60.  For average-paced visitors arriving from Phoenix, the hike takes about as long as the drive to the trailhead, Fair traffic notwithstanding.

LENGTH: 4.2 miles roundtrip

RATING: moderate

ELEVATION: 2,807 – 3,485 feet

GETTING THERE:

Magma Avenue Trailhead:

From U.S. 60 in Superior, take the Kearny/Winkelman exit 227 for State Route 177. At the top of the offramp, go left and merge onto Magma Ave. (toward the business district) and continue 0.2-mile to the intersection of Magma Ave. and Heiner Dr. where there’s a dirt parking area. Hike begins at the gate at the north end of the lot.

INFO:

Legends of Superior Trails

https://superioraztrails.com/