![]() Take the US60 to Idaho Road and go north. Location Goldfield Mountains, Tonto National Forest, Apache Junction, Arizona Just know this is the more adventurous choice and will require some scrambling, crab walking, and maybe stemming (okay, only if you’re me.) Oh yeah, did I mention watch for snakes? Cuz no wildflower picture is worth playing around with a snake, even if it’s not a rattler. I like the loop because the canyon has some interesting formations, including a tight squeeze to pass through. That was my first time finding that one!Īt this point, you can turn back and retrace your steps, or if you’re up for a little more adventure, you can explore the neighboring canyons by making a loop. Next to it and down lower is another small arch, and a little farther back is the third arch. Woohoo! Almost there! Now I have no idea what Hillary and Heather were doing in the arch, but let’s just go with it. On the other side, you’ll reach another wash, and if you look up, you’ll see the big arch sitting perfectly atop a rocky outcropping. This part has a poorly defined trail, but it does have cairns, so keep a sharp eye for them lest you suffer the same fate as Heather and me. You’ll follow a wash for a while, then turn to go up and over a saddle. If you’re lucky enough to navigate the first section of the trail successfully, congratulations! Now comes the fun part. So look at your GPS frequently, and when you get off trail, remember I told you so. All the navigation you can possibly get your hands on! There are about a zillion use trails out there and some 4WD roads, too, so you have close to 100% chance of getting off of it at some point. But you know what’s even more important to look for on the way? those arches are kinda far out there, and it’s nice to have something to look for on the way. It’s nothing too special, but let’s face it. ![]() Unfortunately, he wasn’t very photogenic, but I saved the photo with a little Photoshop magic. And sure enough, there was a rocky spire made out of gray rock that didn’t match the surrounding rock, and it kinda looked like a tin man sitting up there. Now I don’t know if these people just made this up as we passed them or if it’s really a thing, but they told us to look up and to our right to see a rock that looks like a tin man. Once in a while, we find something we truly weren’t expecting on a hike. But at least you’ll probably have it to yourself! The trail starts on an OHV road, but don’t write it off just yet! After about a quarter mile, it leaves the road and starts on a trail through some beautiful scenery. There are a lot of use trails out there, so definitely bring your GPS! The Triple Arches Loop travels more than nine miles through a scenic OHV area to a set of three arches with the option to go back the way you came or make a loop out of it to explore nearby canyons. We don’t recommend walking onto it, although people do.Often overlooked due to their famous neighbor, the Superstitions, the Goldfield Mountains have some hidden surprises of their own. Turn in, park your car on the road and scramble the last 1/4 mile over scrub cactuses, rocks, discarded car bumpers and empty water bottles to get to the arch.Īnd be warned: Footing is tricky, snakes live in the area and parts of the 22-foot arch are eroding. If you’re heading west, look for a gravel road just past the turnoff to the local dump. It’s about 10 miles west of Terlingua and 1.4 miles east of Lajitas, on the north side of the highway, about 3/4 mile or so off the road. The GPS coordinates of the natural bridge are 29.2752778 latitude and -103.7675 longitude. This one, though, stands alone, in a dry creek bed, and if you’ve ever driven FM 170 from Terlingua to Lajitas, you probably passed right by it without noticing. The arch - actually a double arch, because you can glimpse a second, smaller one just upstream of the main one - looks much like the ones scattered through Arches National Park outside of Moab, Utah. Tucked behind a trash dump about 10 miles west of Terlingua, a crumbly stone arch stands like a rocky red reminder that Utah didn’t get all the cool geological formations.
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