CROWN KING TRAIL
The Crown King Trail is approximatly 35mi. long. It runs from Lake Pleasant Az, through the mountains, to the small town of Crown King. From there you can return several ways, but any way you go the round trip is at least 75mi. The trail climbs to 6000ft and has several challenging areas, as you are about to see.
The first several miles of the trail are real easy, just a dirt road actually. But once you reach the turn off, the terrain changes dramatically.
This is my buddy Bill
The trail is full of moderate challenges like these to keep it interesting. About half way, there is a good area to stop for lunch and do a little playing around. This is were the jump shot on the opening page was taken.
Here's a little hill climbing video 654KB
There are also several good challenges along the way.
This is the worst section on the trail. It's very rough and getting worse all the time. You have to pick your line carefully to avoid damage. 95% of the people use the bypass trail.
Here's a couple of videos Rough Stuff I 694KB and Rough Stuff II 733KB
There are more photos of this section in the hot shots page.
Yes that's me
On this trip we got caught in a traffic jamb. It was caused by four wheelers getting hung-up on a large rock step up. There are several more vehicles around the corner. This caused a delay of about 2hrs. I didn't think this section was such a big deal but it sure reeks havok with the trucks.
This is Debbie and Mark from Buckeye, Az. I met them while they were waiting in line. This was their first trip on this trail, but due to the extended delay they were forced to turn around and head back. I hope they have better luck next time. I would like to thank them for sending in this group of photos.
I don't mean to sound to harsh or anything, but I really wish that people would keep there factory 4x4s were they belong, on the street.
This is where the trail really begins to climb. It's not to extreme, but has lots of loose rock. That rock step-up is on the lower trail in the center of the picture. I will Try to get a good pic next time around, if the line isn't to bad.
This is why I really think people come to Crown King
Here we are camped at an old mine site on the way down from Crown King.
Ah there's nothing better than cold steak for breakfast.
This photo gives a perspective to where we were at. Notice the vehicles in the bottom of the shot.
From here it's a couple of miles back the to Bumble Bee Highway. Which is the main road into Crown King and is actually a well maintained dirt highway. Then about 20 miles down to the freeway home.