The Apache Trail’s famous Circle Route begins and ends in Apache Junction. This 120-mile scenic route will take you through deserts, mountains, cliff dwellings, along lake shores, through old mining towns, and beautifully eroded canyons. This popular route has been used by tourists since 1922.
The State of Arizona, under the leadership of Governor George P. Hunt in 1919, decided to build a transportation link between Phoenix and the cities of Globe and Miami. Governor Hunt wanted to open the Globe and Miami copper industry to the Phoenix market. The only road in 1919 linking these two important economic centers was the Mesa-Roosevelt Road (Apache Trail) or the long rail route through Tucson, Bowie and Safford. The Apache Trail was not an efficient roadway for moving goods from place to place. The roadway was originally built as a haul and service road for the construction and maintenance of Roosevelt Dam. For the most part, the Apache Trail was a single-lane road with occasional pull-outs; however, the roadway fascinated tourists who visited the area.
In 1919, there were several stations along the Apache Trail. There was Government Well, Mormon Flat, Tortilla Flat, Fish Creek Lodge, and Snell’s Station between Mesa and Roosevelt Dam.
The completion of the Phoenix-Globe Highway through Superior in May of 1922 completed the famous Circle Route that allowed drivers of automobiles to circumnavigate the entire Superstition Wilderness Area, an almost roadless region.
Starting in Apache Junction, drive northeast along State Route 88 (Apache Trail) until you enter Tonto National Forest. You will notice the absence of billboards and advertising signs. No commercial signing is permitted along the historic and scenic Apache Trail for the next forty miles. The Apache Trail was designated Arizona’s first historic and scenic highway in 1988. About two and a half miles down the road from Lost Dutchman State Park is the site of Government Well. This site was an important stage stop in the early days (1903–1915) for teamsters and their teams when traveling the Mesa-Roosevelt Road (Apache Trail) during and immediately after the construction of Roosevelt Dam (1906–1911).
The first automobile to travel the Apache Trail was on August 25, 1905. This car was a Knox Automobile built in Springfield, Mass. The car would carry seven passengers and it had a 20 horsepower gasoline engine to power it. The drive from Lost Dutchman State Park to Canyon Lake is eleven miles over good asphalt roads.
The volcanic rock formations along the roadway are spectacular. Most of the rocks were formed during the Tertiary Period of geologic time about twenty-nine million years ago and are composed of volcanic ash and basalt. From Apache Junction to Government Well, a distance of seven miles, the most famous mountain in Arizona looms on the eastern horizon. Superstition Mountain rises approximately 3,000 feet above the desert floor. This mountain is second only to the Grand Canyon as the most photographed landmark in Arizona.
Driving along the shores of Canyon Lake (formed in 1925, after the completion of Mormon Flat Dam) is a real contrast to the desert. The visitor seldom expects to see such a large body of water in the middle of the desert. At Canyon Lake, you will find a restaurant, marina, and the “Dolly.” Tourists have been visiting the beautiful waters of Canyon Lake since October of 1925; first on the S.S. Geronimo, and today on the “Steamboat Dolly.”
Our next stop, just two miles from Canyon Lake, is the famous stage stop of Tortilla Flat constructed in 1904 as a staging area for the construction of the Mesa-Roosevelt Road from this point to the bottom of Fish Creek Hill. There are several interesting points along the Apache Trail between Tortilla Flat and Apache Lake. As you leave Tortilla Flat you will cross Tortilla Creek. This creek drains a large portion of the Superstition Wilderness Area. It is in this region that the alleged Lost Dutchman Mine is supposed to be located. The next creek bed you cross is Mesquite Creek. The pavement ends about four and three tenths of a mile from Mesquite Creek.
About seven miles from Tortilla Flat you will see a sign marked Fish Creek Hill. This is certainly one of the most famous hills for automotive testing in the Southwest. Since 1906 cars have been tested on Fish Creek Hill because of its steep grade. The roadway going down Fish Creek Hill has a ten percent grade. After your descent of Fish Creek Hill, about eight-tenths of a mile from the Fish Creek Bridge on the right side of the road, is the site of the old Fish Creek Lodge that burned down on January 6, 1929.
You will soon cross another bridge and then you will travel along the course of Lewis and Pranty Creek until you come to the IV Ranch. At the top of the divide, you will see a sign on the right side of the road directing you to the Reavis Ranch Trail Head. It was 1910 when a group of Mesa entrepreneurs thought they could promote the qualities of the Reavis Ranch Valley. This group of men started selling lots in the upper end of the Reavis Valley and promised to build a road to the site some ten miles from the Apache Trail. They called their summer resort area Pineair. A road wasn’t built to the Reavis Valley until 1946. This road was built to service a ranch and not a resort.
This ranch service road was closed in 1967. The Reavis Valley’s greatest claim to fame has to be the choosing of the site for the first Roosevelt Council Boy Scouts’ Camp Geronimo in 1921.
The Arizona Department of Transportation advises drivers that a section of State Route 88 between Fish Creek Vista and the Apache Lake Marina has reopened as a primitive roadway for limited use. This section of SR 88 from milepost 222 at Fish Creek Vista to milepost 223.5 at Fish Creek Bridge is restricted for use only by high-clearance four-wheel drive vehicles and utility terrain vehicles (UTVs); no trailers are allowed. For their safety, drivers of other vehicles should not attempt to travel through this section of SR 88. Drivers towing trailers or boats to Apache Lake Marina should enter SR 88 from the east at SR 188. Please note that SR 88 is a primitive dirt road between milepost 220–229.2 and drivers should use caution. The last turnaround point before the restricted area for eastbound traffic is at the Fish Creek Vista, at milepost 222. The last turnaround before the restricted area for westbound traffic is near the Reavis Trailhead Road at milepost 227.6.
