Sycamore Creek Loop

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4.1/5 (20 reviews)
Fountain Hills, Arizona (Maricopa County)
Last Updated: 07/07/2021

Trail Information

Highlights

This route is a wonderful get away from the Phoenix congestion and is a VERY popular place for the locals. The area is comprised of many different trails connecting for an incredibly beautiful, yet challenging tour of the desert. The large Sycamore Wash has the challenging Widowmaker hill climb as well as sweeping panoramas of the Four Peaks Region in Tonto National Forest. The Sycamore Creek and Four Peaks region combined, create an incredible place to play at any time of the year. The region has many double and single track trails to explore for days. The trails in the area wind through sandy wash canyons, up steep hill climbs and over rock strewn mountain tops, all while being within an hours drive of the Phoenix valley. The entire area has limitless free camping, but please try to reduce your impact by using an existing campsite area. The area is popular for target shooting and can become crowded on holiday weekends. Please be very cautious when traveling the trails, all trails are TWO WAY and collisions do occur, resulting in deaths, please slow down!

Trail Difficulty and Assessment

Trail Navigation

Trail Reviews

4.1/5 (20)
Open
Visited: 11/17/2023
Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

We rode this trail with Desert Dog Offroad Adventures. I perceived (though I may be wrong) that we started on the north end and rode waypoints 19 to 2, then ventured off on FR1847 and MT1848 before returning to waypoint 19. The group did not spend any time on widowmaker hill or the rock obstacle. This was our first experience in SxSs and we had a great time. I saw very little litter/mess except at two spots where target shooters had left garbage behind. Since we had a little humidity and an overnight rain the day before we rode, the dust was a little tamer than expected. The primary purpose of our trip besides enjoying the beautiful desert scenery, was to try out the CFmoto Zforce 800 trail buggies that Desert Dog uses. Based on our experience, I'll probably pick up a Zforce 950 trail sometime in the next few months. I didn't take trail video, but I'll add handful of photos... I have to admit I was curious about venturing in here with my RAM 3500 diesel dually 4x4 ... I'm glad I didn't, lol...too long, too heavy, too wide. The only "wildlife" we saw on our ride was a handful of cattle near the trail.
Trail Review: Sycamore Creek Loop - STEVE KAROLEK
Trail Review: Sycamore Creek Loop - STEVE KAROLEK
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1500
Open
Rated 4/5
Visited: 11/09/2023
Difficulty Accuracy: Harder

My review covers from WP10 (Quartz Hill) to WP16 (FR1855 Begin) because the rest of the trail sections - with exception to Widowmaker (which we did not do) - are just sandy wash driving or picking your way through fields of medium-sized river rock. Easy stuff. My 2017 JKU has a 1.5" lift riding on BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A K02 LT285/70R17; nothing fancy. Airing down to 18psi, releasing the front swaybar, the standard BLS (Brake Limited Slip), along with 4-Lo got the job done on all ascents like a mountain goat! Quartz Hill (left line) is nothing like depicted in the photos. There is deep water rutting running right down the middle of the ascent and the right-hand turn at the top was intimidating with the deep rutting and off-camber turn. I just kept on the gas and we went right up and over with zero slipping. Other hill climbs along this section were also deeply rutted, but again, just keeping on the gas got us up and over with no problems. Decent were equally challenging with rutting and off-camber turns, but I attribute that to still getting familiar with the feel of my Jeep at angles over 10º. I'm not new to driving off-road, but this vehicle is fairly new to me and this route challenged me. We got through safe and sound by scouting our line and taking our time. I'd agree with a previous review that the difficulty is harder. The section between WP10 (Quartz Hill) and WP16 (FR1855 Begin) definitely earn a 6 or 7 rating in my opinion.
Open
Rated 5/5
Visited: 10/01/2023
Difficulty Accuracy: Harder

Sycamore creek loop quickly became one of my favorite trails I’ve done in the Pheonix area. The variety of the trail keeps you engaged the entire time. It has sandy washes, steep hill climbs and descents and a rock obstacle. The landscape starts flat then you go into the mountains with lots of beautiful cacti. I do this this trail is harder than a 3/3. I would rate it a 4/7. Quartz hill is an example of a 7. My buddy and I tried multiple time to go up the right side but just couldn’t with our 35 inch tires. You’d need 37’s for sure. There were a lot of spots that will test your flex. Nothing crazy but very fun!
Trail Review: Sycamore Creek Loop - Chris Price
Trail Review: Sycamore Creek Loop - Chris Price
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2350
Open
Rated 2/5
Visited: 05/06/2023
Difficulty Accuracy: Harder

Going to be completely honest in this review. This was definitely not one of my favorite trails. We started at the south entrance and did the trail clockwise. Everything up to waypoint 9 is fairly boring and just covered in trash. People go out there to shoot and do other things and obviously don't know how to clean up after themselves. Once you get to waypoint 9, you start climbing up and away from the creek and things get a lot better. Starting at Quartz Hill (Waypoint 10) things get a bit tricky if you don't have lockers. The trail is very loose and there's not much traction to be had. I struggled at times in my Pathfinder but my brother's Bronco Sport Badlands seemed to have no issues because it has a rear locker. Because of this I am rating the difficulty a bit higher than a 3. You go up and down several hills and then around waypoint 15 it gets boring again. I do not see myself going out there for another attempt, there are other trails in the area that are more exciting.
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Open
Rated 4/5
Visited: 04/16/2023
Difficulty Accuracy: Spot On

This trail is really beautiful when it's not covered in trash! We opted out of the rock obstacle. A spotter is a complete necessity as the bottom of this obstacle is completely rutted out. I would rate that obstacle in it's current state much higher than the rest of the trail. High clearance is a must at one particular part

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