Quartz Peak – Sierra Estrella Mountains

About an hour’s drive from exiting the I-​10, heading south on Estrella Parkway, your adventure begins on the road. The scenery transitions from a beautiful golf course community to farm lands then to remote desert. Around the intersection of Bullard Avenue and Riggs Road, an unmarked dirt road (around 6 miles) begins paralleling phone lines towards the mountain range. If you drive some little car or pseudo SUV with only 2wd, you might get stuck in the sand. Most of it is shallow but there are some deep sand areas where lower vehicles could get trapped. You’re better off heading towards the trail in a 4wd high clearance vehicle. You’ll eventually hit a «T» intersection. Veer right and you’ll see a tiny vertical pole sign that says «Trail.» Then go for another 2 miles and turn left at the second tiny replica sign that says «Trail.»
You eventually reach the dirt parking area. There is a single outhouse with no running water in case all that jiggling on the off-​road part got to you!
The hiking trail itself ascends the entire way and seldom has flat areas. Believe it or not, going up is easier technically because it’s more a pain in the butt heading down since there’s so much loose gravel and rock shards. But don’t get me wrong, your cardio will really have its fair share of hard work as you climb about 2,473 ft. The actual summit is around 4,000 ft but you start at around 1,500 ft in the valley. (Sorry — rough «guesstimates»). The entire trail was shiny because it was full of bits of quartz and other mirror like rocks. This trail hugs ridges all the way to the peak. The last quarter mile is where the real scrambling begins. The trail is not as obvious and you have to take your time «finding» the cairns to lead you the way to the top.
Breathtaking views await at the top. We were so high that we spotted a few hawks flying under us. There were some cool black lizards along the hike but luckily no snake sightings as we were warned. We found a geocache treasure at the top and logged our climb in the journal inside. That was a fun surprise! Sitting on the quartz was unique because it felt so cold! We were lucky that it rained the day before because temperatures were in the 70s and made it cooler to hike since there was not a whole lot of shade cover on this hike. It’s definitely worth trying at least once in your lifetime. I would recommend bringing along a friend since it’s so isolated. We only saw one other couple hiking the entire time! This is a hike recommended for more experienced hikers and it definitely is weather dependent too.

Hats off to the BLM for keeping our public lands public! Quartz Peak is a 6 mile roundtrip hike with an elevation gain of 2,500 feet. It is the only established trail in the Estrella Mountain Range. The views from summit are incredible — not to mention the large quartz outcrop at the top. To the northeast lies the expanse of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Rolling desert mountains and valleys lie to the west. Don’t count on cell service out there, as this is the boonies. This hike is a challenging, yet refreshing hike near Phoenix, but without the traffic and swarms of heavy breathers you see on the trails more accessible in the city.
The hike is strenuous — a 2,500 foot elevation gain over 3 miles from the trailhead to peak. The first 2.5 miles is an easy to navigate Class 1 trail. The last 0.5 miles to the summit requires some scrambling and route finding abilities, as a series of cairns help to mark the ‘route’. This trail is not recommended for the average day hiker — you should be in good shape and have good navigation skills. Leave the kids and the dog at home. Trust me, they won’t make it.
There is a parking area at the start of the trailhead with a pit toilet. No running water is available. An informative sign marks the trailhead with a register. The elevation gain on the hike is very constant, so there are no surprises for the first 2.5 miles. You will be greeted by lizards and standing groves of saguaros. You will also find bits of quartz and mica spread out along the trail. The trail heads in a northerly direction. There are many lookouts toward the west, which get better and better the higher up you get. The trail heads in a northerly direction and should not be a problem to navigate for the experienced hiker. At 2.5 miles, the trail stops at a small ‘meadow’. The last 0.5 miles is marked only by cairns and requires some scrambling. The highlight of the hike is definitely at the summit, where you can sit on a large outcrop of quartz and admire the desert surroundings to the east and west. Wow!!! The GPS coordinates for the summit is: 33D13’50.1“N 112D13’49.1“W
Getting there is not the easiest. You will spend about 10 miles on a sandy washboard road. Expect the side of your vehicle to get scratched up by the creosote lining the edge of the road. You don’t absolutely need 4×4, but experience with driving in sandy conditions is a must.
From I-​10, take Exit 126 south on Estrella Parkway for 8,3 miles. Turn west (right) on Elliot Road and go 2.6 miles. Turn south (left) on Rainbow Valley Road and go 9.3 miles to Riggs Road. From here, the rest of the trip is unpaved. Head east (left) on Riggs Road for 3.9 miles to Bullard Avenue. Turn south (right) on Bullard Avenue and take your first ‘immediate’ left (east) on an unmarked dirt road that follows along power lines. Follow this dirt road 5.3 miles where it T’s into another unmarked road. Head south (right) for 2 miles where there is hopefully a sign marked ‘trail’. Take this road east (left) for 1.9 miles to the Quartz Peak parking lot and trailhead. GPS coordinates for this parking lot is: 33D11’56.3“N 112D14’24.7W.
I’d highly recommend following this same route back as the ‘roads’ in this area have very deep sand and often go to the middle of nowhere. You will not have reliable cell service, so don’t expect to be able to call a tow to get you out.