Mesquite Canyon/Ford Canyon Trail Loop Clockwise

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Features Commonly Backpacked · Views · Wildlife

Though Mesquite Canyon Trail is commonly used as an up and back, you can continue your hike when you intersect with Ford Canyon Trail. From there take a short hike along the Waddell Trail and back from where you started.

$7.00 daily Park Entrance fee per vehicle.
Restrooms are flush toilets at trailheads that are clean & fully stocked, ceramic fixtures, mirror, & electric blow dryer after washing.

My first real hike in the nearby White Tanks Maricopa County Park, a clockwise loop that includes approximately 1,900 feet of accumulated elevation gain and 11+ miles in length that begins and ends at the Mesquite Canyon/Waddell trailhead, at 1,542 feet elevation (N33° 35.551' W112° 30.664').

Plenty of parking at the trailhead. Restrooms are fully stocked and clean, with indoor plumbing and ceramic fixtures. Nearby gazebos provide groups with a nice place to picnic. Water fountains and spigots to fill water containers are numerous and easy to find/spot/see.

Be sure to have several liters of water and some nutrition when you begin this route as water sources on vary from sketchy to none, depending on the time of the year.

You'll have the sun at your back if you do this loop clockwise as you head west up Mesquite Canyon to the Mesquite Canyon/Ford Canyon trail intersection. You'll gain approximately 1,600 feet of elevation on 4.3 miles of trail.

The Mesquite Canyon trail is well maintained; keep your eyes open and your camera at the ready for deer in the early morning hours.

From the trailhead you'll hike a short 400 feet and then come to your first trail junction/sign. Here is where you'll leave the Waddell Trail and turn west as you begin hiking up the Mesquite Canyon Trail. Approximately 1.9 miles and 700 feet of elevation gain and you'll come to the Mesquite Canyon/Willow Canyon trail junction/sign. Continue straight ahead to stay on the Mesquite Canyon Trail.

Beautiful panoramic views will greet your every bend in the trail off to your right as you hike up Mesquite Canyon.

From the Mesquite Canyon/Willow Canyon trail junction/sign you'll gain an additional 500 feet of elevation and hike 2.4 miles to reach the Mesquite Canyon/Ford Canyon trail junction/sign. At this point, you can decide to either turn around and retrace your track or continue the loop by turning onto the Ford Canyon Trail.

You'll begin a descent of 350 feet over 0.7miles, and past several switchbacks before arriving at the Ford Canyon/Willow Canyon trail junction, at which point you can decide to start downhill along the Willow Canyon and back to the trailhead or continue along the Ford Canyon trail and up to an overlook that is 250 feet gain in elevation over 0.7 mile, from this point on you'll be mostly hiking downhill back to the trailhead.

From this overlook, begin a descent down past a series of switchback and finally reach the beginning of the Ford Canyon wash (N33° 36.280' W112° 33.179'). Keep your eyes open for trail signposts along this soft sandy wash.

From the beginning of the Ford Canyon wash, you'll see numerous & beautiful white granite rock formations for a distance of 0.9 miles before coming to what remains of a dam. This dam is a popular turnaround point for hikers that begin this loop hike in a counterclockwise direction, and this a perfect spot for a nutrition break and to take some photos of some sketchy pools of water just below the dam, pools of water you know have to skirt past as you continue down the Ford Canyon wash.

Continue down the wash, past the dam, past the pools of water in the soft sandy wash, past a 4-mile trail marker/signpost for a distance of 0.6 mile at which point you need to keep your eyes open for a trail sign, off to your right, a place where you'll hike out of the wash and onto a narrow trail that was built into a huge, high granite rock structure.

WARNING - Don't continue down the wash.

You'll do some scrambling up and down this narrow part of the trail as it parallels and is above Ford Canyon. This may be the most memorable and most photographed part of this loop hike.

Not a lot of flowers at in late November.