Telegraph Canyon Road

The trail 4 at the first waypoint can no longer be used. The forest service or the mine have blocked the trail at many points with huge boulders. We were able to make through the blockages with some difficulty. But when we got to the cattle guard at waypoint 3, it was also blocked. We were able to squeeze around the blockage through the cattle gate. However, at the bottom of the hill, the trail was blocked again with large boulders. We had to temporarily remove a trail marker and squeeze around the boulders. After all that, we were back on the trail. From this point on the trail had several obstacles that the recent rains had made more difficult. I expect the forest service or mine to continue to make trail 4 more difficult to use or not usable at all. To get around this, use trail 230 up and over the hill where you can rejoin the trail.

This trail exceeded expectations. Scenery was great and just enough challenge to make it fun to drive. I would say it's a solid moderate trail. I ran it in my '20 Gladiator with 3" of lift and 35" tires. I did drag the tail a couple times traversing washout sections. At a minimum you'll want good offroad tires and some ground clearance. Good suspension articulation will negate the need for lockers.

Nice trail with lots of critters and birds, desert in bloom, and great desert interest. I must say the erosion made the first mile of the trail more difficult than thought. Once you negotiate this first mile the trail becomes exactly as described.

Danny Martinez led us on this trail one month after he posted this trip report. He organized a bunch of AZFJ folks for an early morning meetup in Superior. It was pretty cold, and air down was shiver time. 🥶. This is an Awesome trail, had a very nice blend of every kind of terrain, and several good obstacle challenges. This was kind of the maiden flight for my GX470 since I added my FJ suspension to it. (Well, actually Imogene in Ouray-Telluride was its maiden voyage) but this is my 1st real AZ trail. I must say I miss my locker a bit. The first effort was at Waypoint 2 (Turn right at the "Y"). This is now far more washed out with many more slippery boulder faces to climb up. This is the point I had to engage my Center Diff Lock. Still took 4-5 attempts to get up. (If you don't have aired down tires, forget about it and take the left fork). Evidence of the telegraph fire was everywhere. There were a startingly lot of dead tall saguaro cacti on the hillside. It was quite disheartening looking at all the devastation, but the grasses and bushes have returned in force. There was quite a bit of water back there as soon as you hit Waypoint 4, you'll be in it and crossing it for a while. The Washout at Waypoint #5 has been fixed by TRAL-AZ? On the way down from the top view at Waypoint 8 and before you get to Waypoint 9, there's an incredible washout that will cause you to pause for assessment. It wasn't hard to traverse, keeping to the left and straddling the berm was the solution, but the hole is about 4' deep!. Lots of SXS's at the Ajax Mine ruins. (Which are frustratingly decayed since my last visit in 2012). It looks as if a WWII battle, complete with bullet pocks & tank shell hits on the block walls has occurred. One of the major walls has collapsed. Why are people this way?

Ran this trail from east to west on 12/8/21 and found it to be very washed out with tons of exposed boulders. The first couple of miles has some pretty bad washouts that will put you very off camber, so be careful. Ran this trail in 2020 and it was a 2 rated trail at best with only one good obstacle at the wash crossing. The fires and last years monsoon season have changed the trail dramatically. I would say it is a 3 to 3.5 rated trail and shouldn't be done with stock vehicles on stock tires. I dinged both front rims and hit my skid plates a few times. Also hit my driver's side rock rail once when my tire slipped off a boulder in the wash. This is still one of my favorite trails of the Box canyon trails.

Tried this trail today starting on the East side from Hwy 177. The recent heavy rain has caused the front part of the trail to have 4-5 foot deep ruts that are parallel to the trail and not passable until a dozer comes in to level it out.

Due to extremely high fire danger, exceptional drought conditions, resource availability, and increased fire activity, the Department of Forestry and Fire Management and the Arizona State Land Department will implement closures to State Trust Land throughout Arizona. These closures are also in conjunction with our USFS partners. As of 8am on June 25, 2021, closures will be implemented on state-owned and managed lands in all 15 counties. All state-owned and managed lands are closed to entry for recreational purposes, including hunting, camping, and off-road vehicle use. Target shooting and fireworks are prohibited year-round. AZ State Land Closures Notice

There is currently a large forest fire burning in the area. The Telegraph Fire has consumed 41,000 acres as of 6/07/2021. It is burning the area around Telegraph Mountain and approaching the town of Superior. Hwy. 60 and 177 have been closed, so this route will be closed for some time. Link to incident report https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7512/

Beautiful trail along the backside of Picket Post Mountain. Ran the trail with a small group of newbie Jeepers on 3 Feb. With some spotting and guidance, the entire group made it with no problems ... one owner was driving an OEM 2 door JK Sahara. Came back with my wife (she missed the first run) and another experienced off road driver to run the trail today. Loved the vistas and the views. Ran one of the side trail loops to add a little difficulty.

Scenic trail leading into Ajax Mine, we ran into a few groups out there who were also enjoying the scenery and having a blast. Ajax Mine is a cool short stop to check out as well. Overall fun trail expect to be out there about 3-5 hours depending on which route you take out.

Ran Telegraph Canyon in late March with two other FJ's. Trail is in great shape. There are some boulders that have been uncovered from plenty of water from rains in the past. Trail is still pretty easy and can be done with stock vehicle with good ground clearance. Only ran into a few side by sides on the trail, mostly because we ran it on a Friday to avoid the weekend crowds. Weather really cooperated for us on this late day in March. The mine was in decent shape still, but vandals are always contributing to it's decaying nature. Be sure and hit this trail with all of it's great scenery and awesome views from October through April, as it gets really hot during the rest of the year upon this desert trail.

Trailsoffroad hosted an event through Meetup.com to run from Florence to Superior, all off road. It was a large group but mother nature and the terrain cooperated, making for another great time on this beautiful trail. The recent rains helped add some greenery to the desert and provided some water crossing starting way back at Box Canyon. There were a couple wash outs along the route but the worst one at waypoint 5 has been recently repaired and marked with posts. This area is wonderful because it has very little traffic compared to others in the Phoenix area.

It was a beautiful day to hit the trails in the Arizona desert near Superior, Arizona. Telegraph Canyon Road, or FS 4 has largely remained unchanged since the original write up in January of 2016. At 10.5 miles long, the trail offers a brilliant escape to get out for some adventure. Not a terribly difficult trail, Telegraph Canyon Road can be completed with a good high clearance 4x4 and an adventurous spirit. Recent trail repair work has been done by the [Tonto Recreation Alliance](http://www.tontorecreationalliance.org/) at waypoint 5 to fill in a worsening washed out section of the trail. Being a popular trail, Telegraph Canyon Road is enjoyed by many other OHV enthusiasts so please be respectful and [Tread Lightly](https://www.treadlightly.org/).