Great Drives - Arizona

Not for the fainthearted, this circle drive takes up only 85 miles of driving but is an experience you will never forget. A handy day-trip from the Phoenix area, the drive is launched from Apache Junction about 25 miles east of downtown Phoenix (17 miles east of Tempe) and begins with Arizona Route 88 (Idaho Road), heading northeast.

Driving the Apache Trail

The 46 miles between Apache Junction and Roosevelt Lake provides not only the most scenic part of the trip but also the most thrilling (some say heart-pounding) driving. The route is paved and relatively easy until just past Tortilla Flat&emdash;at the 18-mile mark&emdash;passing several points of interest including Lost Dutchman State Park and Goldfield, a commercial ghost town across the road from the park. You pass by Saguaro Lake (part of the Salt River system) and drive through the Canyon Lake Recreation Area, with camping and picnicking available.

After arriving at the Theodore Roosevelt Dam site, the rest of the drive is easy. Paved highway greets you, and you drive eastward near the lake, past the entrance to the Tonto National Monument (picnicking and a trail to the cliff dwellings). Twenty nine miles past the dam and you're in Globe, the center of mining in the state.

The return drive to Apache Junction is along U.S. Highway 60, through the Tonto National Forest.

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