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Back Way to Mt. Ord
Fountain Hills,
Arizona
(Gila County)
Last Updated:
07/07/2021
Trail Information
Highlights
Atop Mt. Ord at nearly 7100 ft in elevation, is the Mt. Ord fire lookout. Originally placed in 1936 at 60 ft in height, the tower was replaced in 1983 and is currently approximately 102 ft tall. The original fire lookout cabin can be seen at the Rim Country Museum in Payson, Az. It makes for an interesting side trip and can be accessed by turning left/south at the intersection of FR 27 and FR 626. If the gate is open at the end of FR 626, continue on up to the end of the road, and if you're lucky, maybe you will be invited up into the tower. If the gate is closed you can hike the approximate 1 mile uphill to the tower. Also sitting atop Mt. Ord are local radio towers and amateur radio repeaters.
Trail Difficulty and Assessment
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Bobby Nelson
Official Crew
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Trail Reviews
Impassable
Visited: 09/25/2022
Difficulty Accuracy:
Harder
Yes it is still Impassable as of 9/25/2022 I wish I had looked at the trail status here on "Trails" before I went yesterday. The rain ruts are getting real bad and have washed a lot of the road out on many of the switch backs. Did not make to the wash out that is noted below. Was stopped by Multiple Hikers on the way down that described a wash out about 7 feet wide and 7 feet deep and that it is Impassable. I made this trip two other times a few years ago and it has changed a lot just in two years time. It is much harder and as noted Impassable. at noted area.
Impassable
Visited: 05/14/2022
Difficulty Accuracy:
Harder
Still washed out.
Impassable
Rated
3/5
Visited: 08/20/2021
My apologies for not getting the exact mileage, but heading up towards fr626 about 2 miles in, there is a huge gap which the picture does not do justice that makes this impossible to get across. . Looks like rainwater just carved a channel way too wide and deep to get over. Trail Should be closed. I Don’t recommend trying it out, you will be making a U-turn
Open
Visited: 07/07/2021
Arizona National Forests and State Lands are back open for travel. There are still some very important fire restrictions in place. These restrictions can often change by specific areas.
Temporary Closure
Visited: 06/25/2021
Tonto National Forest officials will close the state’s largest national forest due to ongoing extreme fire danger beginning at 8 a.m. on Friday, June 25. The forest is implementing this forest closure as a precaution to protect the health and safety of the public, employees and firefighters by reducing the risk of human-caused fires.
No one is allowed in the closure area, including Forest Service personnel, unless they are responding to a wildfire or other emergency or patrolling to ensure enforcement of the closure. The order shall remain in effect until July 31, 2021 or until rescinded, whichever occurs first. Residents or businesses using roads in the restricted area to the extent necessary to access their private property are exempt.
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