Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area

It’s a good place to burn calories the day after eating a heavy Thanksgiving meal. The trails are easy to moderate. I like the serenity of the desert landscape. It’s a great place to reflect and think about upon a new year. Definitely, it would be one of my favorite place to hike!

Extremely peaceful and open. Plus, it’s extremely close

Arizona is so cool for having loads of public access trails. The desert landscape is otherworldly, made even more so by the fact that I decided to hike 5 miles, uphill in both directions at 2 PM, full sun and 97 degrees. By the time it was over I was slightly delirious. Not really. But be sure to bring plenty of water and sunscreen when you decide to get your Carlos Castaneda on and wander the desert.

We loved this ranch! The views were breathtaking, our guide was so knowledgeable about the dessert, plants and history of the area. He took his time until we got comfortable with the horses. He even jumped off his horse Tonto (love the name) and took some pictures of us. We took the 2 hour ride and it was very peaceful and just a wonderful time. Cant wait to go back!

Winner! This place was simply enchanting last weekend as it was a rare cool and drizzly day and a pleasure to take hike. Just wish people would not talk so loud while they hike and spoil the tranquility for others, Silence is golden…

I don’t know why I only gave this place 3 stars. I recently did the metate trail and felt like I was at an arboretum or botanical garden. Lots of plants, scenery, cactus and wildflowers starting to emerge. It’s a great place for a nice walk!

Loved every minute of our multi generational family hike. Beautiful scenery, Blue skies, perfect weather to take a 2 mule hike. A wonderful time was had by all!

For beauty this area gets 5 stars but the trails are in such damaged condition from the storms that it is impossible to give high marks. The trails are also extremely poorly marked. Some markers merely say «cave creek trail» with an arrow which don’t correspond to the map. Can be dangerous for new hikers solo hikers and those who have to beat sunset to get back in. The cacti are some of the most magnificent in the area but this just isn’t my favorite around. Trail running is next to impossible on the bulk of this in it’s current condition.

some really tough riding areas, some smooth and flowy. but overall, since the big rains, the trail has taken a beating. it is really, really, rough in many areas. i can’t believe just a year ago, i raced this course on a hard tail single speed. this past weekend, it rattled my teeth on a plush full suspension!!!
the volunteer (MUCHO APPLAUSE) trail maintenance crews are out in full force to clean it up a bit, but hell, it’s called mountain biking for a reason, right? so a little roughness is fine!
the trail is superbly marked, and you can make it a very long or short (ish) bike ride. start and end at the coffee shop/​bike shop in cave creek for great coffee and some hoppy beer. this off road area is great!!!

So I have lived in Phoenix for 35 years now and driven all over the place to hike… Now I live in Cave Creek, so I decided to check out Spur Cross that you can access just before you get to downtown Cave Creek… So how good can it be so close to town??? We went this past Sunday and started off on an intermediate trail, which was just was it said, but then we were pleasantly surprised that the Creek was actually running! They had boards over the first few crossings and then we had to do a little bit of boulder hoping on the later crossings. We went in about two miles until we got to the horse back riding stable (I think it is just a stop for their tours). Great scenery even if the creek was not running and even better that it was…
So on the way back we decided to do the ‘Easy’ leg to the parking lot and WOW! There was some of the LARGEST Saguaro’s I have ever seen in AZ!
If you have out of town guests, and want to impress them, take them here! Its only 1.5 miles on dirt roads and the easy trail where the impressive cactus are is only about mile so even ‘out of shape’ guests can do it.
Then head into Cave Creek for some food. You won’t be sorry you took the time to drive up there!

A must see for any hiker who visits Carefree. Do it!

Lots of trails. You could get lost here, and I did actually. Lol. I think this trail is a bit overrated personally.

Visited Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area on a beautiful February Saturday afternoon. This area truly showcases the spectacularness of the Sonoran Desert! Several well marked trails to choose from — depending on how long you intend to hike. We chose to do the Spur Cross trail and turn around after about 1.5 miles since we were with two kids (ages 6 and 9). It wasn’t too difficult since we didn’t hike all that far.
At the beginning of the trail, there is a box to pay ($ 3 for adults, free for kids 15 and under) as well as nice 11×14 maps of the area. Signage is great, and everything well marked. There are porta potties available and some shaded picnic benches. We saw some two wild burros (so neat!!), mom & baby, right in the parking lot.
We enjoyed checking out Cave Creek that was flowing. There was a nice little «bridge» to cross the creek, so no boulder hopping required unless you were so inclined.
Huge abundance of cacti and interesting desert landscape — volcanic rocks, limestone outcroppings, washes, etc. Great photo opportunities in this spectacular place. Can’t wait to go back and hike the rest of the trails!

Love hiking in Spur Cross Ranch! If you are looking for a place that feels completely disconnected from the normal world with only the sound of nature, and very few people around, this is the place. It is a bit of a drive once you turn off the main street but it’s a very pretty drive. The amount of cactus and greenery here is outstanding and the views are beautiful. There are easy trails and hard trails, and it’s easy to get lost in a nice sort of way (aka it’s not that hard to find your way back to the trail). Some of the trails go by a creek, which actually does have a good amount of water after a rain.
After hiking in Spur Cross its easy to get a bite, a cup of coffee, or some beers in the quaint town of Cave Creek.

Can I just say?
That if there is a hiker heaven, than this place is pretty close, red rock, river, mountains, non travelled trails with spots that will take your breath away if you can find them (all part of the challenge) easy to get to, spectacular vistas and what in effect just a sea of saguaros by a river (running) bed, that will just astound and amaze you, grinding stones from the indigenous Indians and lots more await the adventurous.

Located only minutes from Scottsdale and Phoenix this Maricopa County park contains a variety of hiking trails suitable for anyone from beginner to expert. There are six named trails in the park including Dragonfly, Elephant Mountain, Metate, Spur Cross, Tortuga, and Towhee. The park borders the Tonto National Forest to the north and some of the trails continue out of the park and into the forest intersecting the Cave Creek trails system.
This is a well maintained park with hikes that range for easy to difficult. There are excellent views, porta potties, and a flowing creek (Cave Creek flows at least in the winter).
I hiked extensively in the park in February of 2011.

On Sunday I made my way up to Cave Creek to go hiking and found myself in one of the loveliest settings I’ve seen in a while. The reserve is endless, there are loads of trails of varying distances and difficulties and all are clearly laid out on the free map provided at the entrance. My cousin and I made our way up the Tortuga trail to get a clear view of Elephant Mountain and then along the first half of the Spur Cross Trail. There was a HUGE group of hikers who’d arrived just before us, and we found out that rangers offer free guided hikes throughout the reserve. The group was testing out the newly opened Dragonfly Trail which branches off Spur Cross and heads southwest.
Cave Creek is verdant this time of year, which is a stark contrast to what I’ve seen in East Scottsdale lately and I even saw some new plants I couldn’t identify. And on our way back down the Spur Cross trail we spotted a gila monster (see photos) and it was totally scary and rad all at the same time. I will definitely be back to explore more of this reserve this spring!

This is one of my favorite places to hike in the valley. There are usually hardly any people on the trails, unlike South Mountain or Squaw Peak, and it doesn’t feel like you’re still within an hour’s drive of 4 million people.
There’s also an interesting history to the park (there are numerous Hohokam ruins, an old dude ranch, and a few other stories) and if you ever get the opportunity to take a guided hike with a park ranger, it’s worth your time.
$ 3 per person fee to enter the park (Cave Creek residents exempt)