Cottonwood Canyon Road

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.

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

So my wife and I actually took the Mineral Road Trail from the 60 down to this trails eastern end. We intended on taking it to the 79 but immediately hit a large washout at the trail entrance where Mineral Mountain Road/Trail and this trail meet. It looked very similar to the conditions you'd expect at Cleghorn with severe off camber and two/three wheeling, locker definitely needed. We had to back down the trail and go back the way we came.

Power Wagon Approved 🇺🇸

Our group used Cottonwood Canyon Road today to get to Woodpecker, one of the most popular trails in the area. As expected, there was frequent traffic as this is a very popular area. One thing that was noticed was that there are new carsonite signs on Mineral Mountain Road which direct traffic in the direction of US 60, one of the local interstates. Otherwise, the trail has remained unchanged.

Used this trail as a shortcut from the head of Box Canyon for two reasons:

Had a commitment to get to so this provided a quick access back to 79.

Was curious how the new bypass affected the entire "Cottonwood Rd Experience".

I was not disappointed. I ran opposite the waypoint counts in the trail write up, starting at Waypoint 5 and continuing out to 79. I found the road rocky, steep and bumpy between waypoints 4-5. Between Waypoints 3 & 4, there are a lot of blind corners that I almost collided with some fast movers (Side by sides) who were not concerned about anyone coming the other way. There are new signs marking the way to AZ 79 marked at strategic spots on the trail. (most agreeably on the 5 way intersection) with AZ60 on the reverse side. These signs have been placed there in the last month or so. They were helpful. Once past Waypoint the road flattened out and you could progress at high speed. There is a large staging area to the west, right at the intersection with AZ79 that had about 2 dozen trailers / trucks parked in it. Aired up here (Partially, because I ran out of CO2) but it's a great spot to either rally, or air back up.

I travelled west on Cottonwood Canyon Rd after leaving Reymert Mine site, and attempting to reach AZ79 near the Military Camp north of Florence. About a half mile west of the Petroglyph site, there is a Private Property/No Trespassing sign, and another quarter mile on there is a substantial and new-looking padlocked gate. Could not determine if there is a detour around this. **** Reply **** The section of the trail that you speak of was the "old," Cottonwood Canyon Rd before it was re-routed around the ranchers property. The detour is further to the south and outlined in the Cottonwood Canyon Rd guide. Thank you.