Hey friends, welcome back to Grand Adventure! I'm your host Marc Guido, and
today we're camped right at the foot of the Superstition Mountains east of
Phoenix at Lost Dutchman State Park, so stay tuned.
Lost Dutchman is one of Arizona's most popular state parks, and it's easy to see
why. All 138 campsites have stunning views of the nearby Superstition
Mountains. Sixty-eight of those sites have water and 50, 30 and 20-amp electrical service
for RVs. Every site has a picnic table and a fire pit with adjustable grill
grate. There are no size restrictions on RVs and many sites like ours are
pull-through, with a substantial amount of privacy space between sites. The park
is named for the fabled Lost Dutchman's gold mine, which according to legend is a
rich gold mine hidden in the Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix.
There have been many stories about how to find the mine, and since at least 1892
people have searched for the mine. Some have even died on the search. The mine is
named after German immigrant Jacob Waltz, who purportedly discovered it in the
19th century and kept its location a secret. At the time, the term "Dutch" was
used for people from the Netherlands and Germans alike. The park is actually
located in a part of Apache Junction known as Goldfield, which itself has a
rich gold mining history.
The Siphon Draw Trail departs right from the campground and crosses into
Tonto National Forest within the Superstition Wilderness. It gains 2,500
feet of elevation in only three miles to reach the top of Flatiron, for commanding
views of the San Tan Valley below. Friends Arnie and Kay are also visiting
Lost Dutchman, and departed early for Flatiron while I was still working. I'm
heading up Siphon Draw in the hope of catching them on the way back down.
Yep, that's the trail!
Found 'em!
Lost Dutchman State Park is situated on the lower Apache Trail, an historic 46
mile-long state highway through the Superstition Mountains built in the
1920s that is now part of the National Forest Scenic Byway system. Its full
route winds up past Canyon Lake and through Tortilla Flat, largely following
the Salt River to Theodore Roosevelt Lake. Remnants of a hurricane in
September 2019, however, swept down burn scars left by a wildfire three months
earlier, washing out portions of the Apache Trail and causing extensive
damage that has prompted the state to close seven miles of the road indefinitely.
The Apache Trail, which is paved from the west for all but the last couple of
miles, nevertheless provides incredibly scenic access into the heart of the
Superstition Mountains.
Wimp!
So we truly hope that you've enjoyed coming with us to Lost Dutchman State
Park. If you're not yet a Grand Adventurer, now's the time -- go smash that little red
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