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Weekend Warriors Arizona Hiking Guide
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If a climb to the top of a desert peak, with good views of the Anthem and New River areas appeals to you, this is your hike. This hike is located near New River, AZ. From the Phoenix area, take I-17 North to the Anthem Way exit. Turn right onto Anthem Way and drive about 0.2 miles to the traffic light at Navigation Way. Turn left onto Navigation Way and drive about 0.6 miles. The trailhead is on the left, in between some houses and at the intersection of Navigation Way and Livingston Way. This trailhead is nestled in a neighborhood, so please minimize your impact by being respectful to private property and parking appropriately. Your positive actions at the trailhead will go a long way in making sure the public has access to this area. Be Aware of: route finding, mountain bikes 30 yr old Recommendation: This is an enjoyable but little known climb near the Phoenix area and well worth hiking. This is a Moderate Difficulty hike. Elevation change: about 1250 ft gain.
Distance: 6.4 miles for the lollypop loop described. Time: It took us a bit over 3 hours, with a 15 minute stop at the top. Time of year: All year (hike early in the day during the summer) Solitude: Considering how close this trail is to civilization, the solitude wasn't bad. Expect to share this trail with about 10 other people. Map: Click here for a map Just when we thought we had hiked all the trails in the Phoenix area, someone let us know about this gem of a hike. From the trailhead within the growing neighborhood community of Anthem, follow the old dirt road towards the ridges of Daisy mountain in the distance. There are a number of trails (all unsigned) in this area, so some route finding is needed. To stay on the correct trail, use the map and follow the below instructions. The trail follows a typical Sonoran desert environment, with a good assortment of Saguaro, Barrel, and Cholla cactus. The trail is wide and easy to follow during this section. After hiking for about 0.8 miles, stay right at the fork (JCT 1R on the map). Hiking 1.2 miles gets you to another trail junction (JCT 2R on the map) where you will stay right again. Here the trail heads more directly towards Daisy Mountain. After 1.7 miles of hiking, you'll reach an obvious fork in the trail (JCT 3L on the map). You can go either right or left here to take the loop. We arbitrarily chose the left fork, as the trail was more defined in this direction. From this point, the trail narrows significantly, but is still easy to follow. After 2.4 miles of hiking, you'll reach a four way intersection (JCT 4R on the map) with some old dirt roads. Take the dirt road on the left, that heads steeply up the nearby hill. At the top of this hill, you'll be able to see the American Flag at the top of the mountain... this is the direction you will be climbing towards. Continue on this trail as you head up along the ridgeline that makes up Daisy Mountain. The climbing starts in earnest here and you'll feel like you earned the great views to come. After 3.0 miles, you'll reach the first peak with great views of the communities of Anthem and New River. There is a proud American Flag here, along with a trail register notebook in a jar. This is a nice spot to take a quick break, snap a few pictures, and enjoy the scenery. When ready, continue generally South towards the next peak (Daisy Mountain). The trail gets more faint here. If you're confused about where the trail heads, look along the ridgeline and keep an eye out for cairns. Hiking along the ridgeline is very enjoyable, with great views to either side. After 3.7 miles of hiking, you'll stay right at the trail junction (JCT 5R on the map). This section of trail descends steeply and is cut out of the side of the mountain. Hiking 4.1 miles will get you back to JCT 3L, where you will turn left and hike the remaining distance back to the trailhead.
[Daisy Mountain in the distance]
[Desert around Daisy Mountain (that's Gavilian Peak on the left)]
[A lone Saguaro admires his view of New River]
[views along the ridgeline]
[Views of the community of Anthem] We took this hike in November, 2009. Special thanks to Marc P. for letting us know about this one.
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