Camp Creek to Verde River

Steve Ruden

200

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 04/14/2023

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Fun ride on a mostly sandy trail. Cool ride through the canyon. Looking forward to running it at night.

Trail Review: Camp Creek to Verde River - Steve Ruden

View More Images

Bob Kisco

1000

Open

Visited: 02/10/2023

Difficulty Accuracy: Easier

This is a very fun and family friendly trail. It’s easy, not technical and not dangerous. We run it in SxS’s so it’s easier than rated here. The soft sand is a little more difficult for SUVs which could get stuck. It’s nice to run down to Needle Rock at the Verde River for a picnic lunch. You are supposed to have a Tonto Pass if parked at Needle Rock park. We always return back on the southern ridge via 2117-2121-2123 and an unnamed trail down and to the right near the end of 2123 that cuts back over to Camp Creek. There is a steep hill climb up to 2117 if you return this way that might be concerning for SUVs but is no trouble for SxS’s. The view from the ridge back into Camp Creek and distant vistas is beautiful. It’s about 3 hours round trip if you take your time.

Shawn Fewell

200

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 12/26/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Easier

Stock 2020 Tacoma TRD off-road 2WD. Nice easy trail. Not technical but fun. Ran the trail north to south. Recommend you air-down.

Jason

1200

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 12/26/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Easier

Easy and fun!! Recommend you air-down.

Thomas A Youngerman

700

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 09/29/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Nice easy trail. Not technical but fun. Ran the trail north to south which ends up at the Verde river for a nice relaxing spot.

Trail Review: Camp Creek to Verde River - Thomas A Youngerman

joshua

300

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 04/23/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Easier

Great trail, you can take it slow, do steep off shoots. Was super fun. The canyon at the end was awesome. Even had a 2wd go. Never got stuck, just air down.

Trail Review: Camp Creek to Verde River - joshua

View More Images

Dany Gonzalez

100

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 04/03/2022

Pretty easy trail, the southern half of the trail is a lot of small rock/sand while in tall canyon which is so fun to drive in. The rest is wide open and bumpy and open it up if that’s your thing. Watch out for the occasional dirt bike and and side by side.

Trail Review: Camp Creek to Verde River - Dany Gonzalez

View More Images

Chris Price

900

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 02/26/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Easier

I really enjoyed this trail for a few different reasons. This was a good change of pace for me from my normal trails. I usually do a lot of trails that are more rock crawl/hill climb trails. This was very relaxing and I was able to open it up and go pretty fast through the soft sand. The canyon walls were by far the coolest part. It was also really fun picking your own line as you make your way down the toward verde river.

Trail Review: Camp Creek to Verde River - Chris Price

Todd Harkins

Official Crew

12650

Open

Visited: 01/16/2022

Difficulty Accuracy: Easier

This is a very easy trail that starts on the North at Bartlett Lake Road and runs South to the Verde River. The entire trail is in the wash. Half way through you get good views of the canyon walls.

Carl J Poplawsky

400

Open

Rated 2/5

Visited: 10/09/2021

Difficulty Accuracy: Easier

A very easy trail, also quite boring. The wash is not scenic and river access is not remarkable. The portapotty submerged in the middle of the river did not help.

Vivian Roca

300

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 10/02/2021

Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

Great place that isn’t too far from the city. It’s great to bring atvs and also trucks. It isn’t difficult if you stay on the main trail. It’s fun because there’s many little trails you can find. Just a heads up there’s wild boars we saw but they usually get scared away. Beautiful place

Trail Review: Camp Creek to Verde River - Vivian Roca

Bobby Nelson

Official Crew

77600

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.

Bobby Nelson

Official Crew

77600

Temporary Closure

Visited: 06/23/2021

The Backbone Fire has closed the area. Extreme fire restrictions are in effect. Coconino National Forest is closed and it's expected Tonto NF will close soon. To help fire crews, please avoid the area. Backbone Fire Inciweb

Robert DiCarlo

600

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 05/22/2021

Great day trip trail for the whole family. There was virtually no traffic. The weather was perfect. Managed in 4-high even in some deep sand. From the trail head on the Carefree end to the river was about an hour. The canyons and rock formations were gorgeous and you are rewarded with a beautiful riverfront at the end. Definitely some pinstriping on the brand new pain, but we pushed the limits and took a lot of the side trails with more growth. Highly recommended!

Trail Review: Camp Creek to Verde River - Robert DiCarlo

View More Images

Todd

Official Crew

117100

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 10/03/2020

Started early in the morning and had the trail to myself. Always a nice quick diversion close to home.

Jon Sauber

1850

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 03/08/2020

One of my favorite shorter trails north east of Phoenix/Scottsdale, with So many branch of trails and hulk climbs to explore! We decided to go out this morning for a fun break in run with my new tires! Excellent condition with awesome weather!

Trail Review: Camp Creek to Verde River - Jon Sauber

View More Images

Andrea

100

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 10/27/2019

[4High, didn't really need to airdown] Nice trail, we had good fun on it. A couple of hours (with a few stops along the way) is plenty of time to reach the Verde river. There are a few possible stops with shade in the canyon and the views are awesome. There was some traffic, mostly motorbikes and quads traveling West. In some situation it can be quite dangerous, so pay special attention at blind turns or path hidden by vegetation.

Trail Review: Camp Creek to Verde River - Andrea

View More Images

mike

100

Open

Rated 4/5

Visited: 04/07/2019

I actually started this trip at the verde river and ended at cave creek. Great trail, mostly sandy which was tons of fun. Did the entire route in about an hour with no pinstriping

Trail Review: Camp Creek to Verde River - mike

Paul Conway

100

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 10/08/2018

After the rain with Rosa and the storms this past weekend the sand is pretty soft in some places. Simple to run through with 4 High and air'ed down tires. The growth from the summer monsoons will give full sized SUV's or trucks pin strips right now so beware if you are doing this in a larger vehicle. Overall very nice and simple run with a nice finish on the river.

Melvin

100

Open

Visited: 09/23/2018

This trail was really nice , sorta sandy , really good for a SUV or Jeep. The canyon appearance was REALLY nice. Love that it is trail marked. There hardly any places for Arizona pin stripping unless you so choose. Quick ,convenient , if you have restless children with you, nice short experience for just a couple hour trail ride.

James

600

Open

Rated 5/5

Visited: 07/13/2018

Camp Creek, north of Fountain Hills, AZ, is a remarkable little trail that surprisingly few people in Arizona actually know about. It's part of the Great Western Trail as well as the start of the Heart of Arizona overlanding route. A sandy wash that runs through a tight canyon to the Verde River, Camp Creek is a great Arizona off-road trail that gives you plenty of opportunities to hone your skills while still being convenient enough for a quick excursion.

Neil

200

Open

Visited: 09/03/2017

I'm a novice off-roader doing this solo, so I appreciated the very helpful guide here. I printed it out and plotted GPS coordinates to bring with me. The trail is a lot of fun. There really weren't any moments of difficulty or concern. The wash is very sandy in a few spots. The cliffs are really cool and I wish a geologist could explain them to me. Here's a 360 photo from the trip: https://kuula.co/post/7lk37

Trail Information

Highlights

Trail Difficulty and Assessment

Exclusive for our All-Access Members

Exclusive for our All-Access Members

Start your next adventure on Camp Creek to Verde River

Upgrade your Membership

Trail Navigation

Exclusive for our All-Access Members

Exclusive for our All-Access Members

Exclusive for our All-Access Members

Trail Reviews

From the Community

Exclusive for our All-Access Members

Bobby Nelson

Camp Creek to Verde River

Trail Information

Highlights

Trail Difficulty and Assessment

Exclusive for our All-Access Members

Exclusive for our All-Access Members

Start your next adventure on Camp Creek to Verde River

Upgrade your Membership

Uploading to Gaia GPS

Directions to...

Share Trail

Trail Navigation

Exclusive for our All-Access Members

Exclusive for our All-Access Members

Exclusive for our All-Access Members

Trail Reviews

From the Community

Exclusive for our All-Access Members

Bobby Nelson

Print Trail Guide

Recent Updates