Sycamore Creek Loop

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.

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.

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!

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.

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

We did the trail with https://valleygladiators.com on 1/29/23. We had 2 4 door JK's with 33s and no lockers as well as 3 Jeep Gladiators with 37/38 tires with a 3.5 + inch lifts. The hardest section which is not listed here is about a third of the way between WPT 9 and WPT 10. It’s a steep hill that makes Quartz Hill look like an ant hill in comparison. Very rutted with a tall 3 feet or so ledge. Four Door JK’s without lockers did fine with careful spotting. Gladiators made it through with both front and rear lockers engaged. To clear the hill, the right line requires proximity to a rock wall. As a result, four of our Jeeps sustained minor scratches to the passenger side of our rear fenders. There is a more difficult line on the left side which we did not try due to a much higher ledge. Taking that line would avoid body damage to the passenger side. This spot here would definitely put the trail in the “Difficult” category with everything else in between being intermediate and medium as stated. A bypass is available for the hill mentioned. Follow #4007 from the creek, it will eventually turn into #1876 then turn right to #4062. This will put you right on the other side of the difficult hill climb and right on track to continue with the rest of the trail.

Ran this trail with 5 others and it didn't disappoint. Good challenges, nice scenery. Scraped the skid plates a few times. Wrapped it up with a few runs up the Widow Maker. What a blast!

Ran this today with my family. Great fun trail. Let my boys each drive the middle portion which has severs steep climes, steep descents, and technical areas due to large ruts. It’s a good trail to teach wheel placement to beginners. Trail was pretty dry despite the recent monsoons. The scenery is gorgeous and very green from the recent rains.

Great four wheeling, A little more challenging than the video appears, but lots of fun. Beginning and ending sections are basically dirt roads, with a few technical hill climbs in the middle section. several different intersecting forest service markers, so just make sure you read your map accurately. Bad news is that people are turds and this is why we can have nice things. Maricopa county's population has exploded over the past several years and it shows. People leaving trash, shooting targets, car parts, etc, strewn about everywhere, and more turds that have "tagged" rock faces with graffiti spray paint. its sad that city people are spreading to everywhere else.

Great test of stock vehicle (Jeep Wrangler Willys). Rear LSD and 4LO got a good workout. Trail starts easy and offers great opportunities to see wildlife. We spotted javalinas and cardinals. The challenges/ obstacle come as you climb out of wash and make your way through loop. Overall great trail after you get past the first couple miles ( a lot of people shooting and leaving trash). 2 burnt and abandoned RVs and countless trash people

Would have given this 5 stars except the amount of TRASH!! Awesome trail just despicable trash everywhere!! Really who does that??? Just unbelievable!!

Ran this trail today and so sad to see how Arizonans treat their natural resources. Shooters leave trash everywhere, but the worst was what is pictured at squeeze rock. Apparently this graffiti happened this past weekend. Just a matter of time till all these trails will be closed due to this behavior.

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.

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.

A small group of us tool the Sycamore Loop Saturday. It had been a long time since I'd been out this way. We actually ran it backwards than the guide is written starting at sugarloaf. There were very few people out there actually. I was very surprised but we saw more people after passing the quartz mine. Sadly, there is lots of garbage around the area as well as some graffiti. Otherwise, then trail was fun and everyone had a good time.

The #TontoNF will be terminating the Bush Post Fire Flooding Public Safety Closure Order effective Friday, Feb. 5, 2021, at 8 a.m. In mid-June of last year, the Bush Fire scorched almost 200,000 acres on the Mesa and Tonto Basin Ranger Districts in the Four Peaks Area. Following the fire, a Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) team conducted assessments to identify impacts and recommend actions for mitigating risk in and around the burned area.

The Bush Fire is burning around and through the Four Peaks region. The trail will remain closed for a while. I have attached a link to the Bush Fire Incident Site that has more details about the fire. https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/article/6773/51960/

I took my stock Porsche Cayenne out here. I didn't do the whole trail but accidentally went up the Widowmaker. Fortunately, I was able to make it up and down without any problems despite being on the factory, low profile tires (295/21/35). Tons of variety and endless exploring. I highly recommend!

A little more challenging than we expected. The stock Tacoma trucks had more difficult than the jeeps do to articulation restrictions. In the picture one of our guys nearly tipped.

We went out to see the water flowing after all the winter weather up on the rim. There wasn't much left but the trail was fun. Watch out for traffic out there. There are a bunch of sxs's and dirt bikes all over.