ATV Trip Down Red Creek - Tonto National Forest

Red Creek is in Yavapi County (next county north of Maricopa County where we live) in Tonto National Forest and the start of the trail is about 45 miles or so north of our home.  We trailer the quads to the beginning of Forest Road 24 and unload and ride the quads on the dirt/gravel roads.  There are still ranches out there and there is still some cattle ranching but it is dying out.  We've seen cowboys on horses tending cattle complete with chaps, guns and a dog.  The trail we take is mostly down the creek bed which flows water year around to the Verde River.   Part of the trail is along side of the creek bed.  Over the years, the creek has carved a canyon out of the granite rock which is a reddish granite and the sand in the creek is reddish colored--hence the name Red Creek.  We usually go down this trail once a year and it is a favorite as it is very scenic and moderately difficult climbing over the rocks.

The photos are more or less in order of our progress down the creek.  You can see the Verde River at the end and the next photos are of a dirt small airplane landing strip that is on top of a mesa right next to the creek.  Some small aircraft owners land there and it is set up with picnic tables, firewood and even a horseshoe pit.  It has been there for years and there is rakes, shovels and wheelbarrows that are used to maintain the landing strip.  The last photo is taken from the edge of the mesa looking towards the Verde River which you can see in the background.  This photo will give you an idea of this wilderness area.  We were gone about 8 hours and we saw a total of 2 jeeps and one pickup truck all day---with no cell signals, that is why we never go into this area alone.

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