Lost Dutchman State Park in Apache Junction has much to offer an outdoor enthusiast. Whether you enjoy hiking simple or more difficult trails, mountain biking, camping in the open desert or searching for legendary lost caches of gold, the park has something to fit your needs.
Located 30 miles east of the Tempe campus, Lost Dutchman State Park in the Superstition Mountains makes for a great escape from the city for several hours. Unlike the other hiking areas in the Valley I mentioned earlier in the semester, Lost Dutchman is more secluded with wide-open spaces.
There are several hiking trails of varying difficulties at the park. There is a simple ¼ mile nature trail and three longer, moderately difficult trails along the base of the mountain. Mountain bikers can ride one of those trails, trail number 58, too.
The featured hike is the more difficult four-mile-roundtrip Siphon Draw Trail. It can be extended to 5.8 miles if experienced hikers wish to continue on an unmaintained trail to a higher spot on the mountain.
I haven’t made it up the Siphon Draw trail yet, but plan to this winter or spring. The other trails along the base of the mountain are good for shorter, less-challenging hikes if you only have a few hours to spend there.
Entrance to the park is $7 per vehicle. If you’d like to stay overnight, there are 72 campsites available, 38 with electricity and water, at $15 per night. Only half of those are open until January 2011, though, as the other half are getting electric and water hookups according to the park’s website.
And of course, I can’t write about the Superstition Mountains and Lost Dutchman State Park without mentioning the legend of the lost gold mine that gives the park its name.
Long story short, the legend is that the Peralta family of Mexico developed gold mines in the Superstition Mountains during the 1840s. They were ambushed by local Apaches and all but a couple family members were killed. Then in the 1870s, a man named Jacob Waltz, the “Dutchman,” discovered the location of the Peralta’s mine, but no one knows exactly where that location is. Check out the Wikipedia page for a more detailed history of one of the most famous lost mines in the country.
So whether it’s hiking, biking or searching for gold you wish to do, of course the best time is during the cooler months. But the early spring months are an especially good time to visit as the park is known for its acres of wildflowers that bloom during late-February and March.
