Peralta to Canyon Lake Marina
On February 23, 2023 Kim and I embarked on our first walk-through hike in the Superstition Mountains. Our “support team” dropped us off at the Peralta TH about 7am when it was 45oF. It was a pretty easy hike to Fremont Saddle, which we had done before. We then dropped over the saddle and continued on the Peralta Canyon Trail past Weaver’s Needle to the Boulder Canyon Trail. It was neat to be so close to the Needle during this part of the trail. The Boulder Canyon Trail proved to be a bit challenging because the stream was fairly full of water and we had to cross it 25 times. Most crossings were pretty straight-forward, but there were several where we had to search up or downstream to find rocks close enough for both of us to cross. After our final crossing we climbed pretty steeply out of the canyon to get our first view of Canyon Lake and an awesome view back to the south of the terrain we had covered. A downhill hike to Canyon Lake Marina where our “support team” picked us up. We then went to Tortilla Flats for a beer and burger! My favorite part of this trail was seeing Weaver’s Needle from many different perspectives. All-in-all a fun trail that was 14.8 miles long and took us about 8.5 hours to complete.
Walk-Specific Map
See Superstition Wilderness Overview page for an overview map of all hikes.
Take Note
- Click on a segment to get specific information.
- Numeric labels correspond to the same labels in the elevation profile and summary information below.
- See Superstition Wilderness Overview page for description of use of controls.
Elevation Profile
Images
BLDRCN01: Typical scenery in Winter 2023
BLDRCN01: Typical scenery in Winter 2023
BLDRCN01: Typical scenery in Winter 2023
BLDRCN01: First view of Canyon Lake
BLDRCN01: One last look at Weaver’s Needle
BLDRCN02: Canyon Lake (and marina)
BLDRCN03: We made it!
BLDRCN03: Our Support Team
DTCHMN50: Looking back to Weaver’s Needle
DTCHMN50: Typical scenery in Winter 2023
DTCHMN50: Looking back to Weaver’s Needle
DTCHMN51: Sign to Bull Pass Tr
PRLTCN01: Taking off!
PRLTCN01: Looking south down Peralta Canyon
PRLTCN01: Looking north up Peralta Canyon
PRLTCN01: Sign near trailhead
PRLTCN01: Typical scenery in Spring 2022
PRLTCN01: Typical scenery in Spring 2022
PRLTCN01: Typical scenery in Spring 2022
PRLTCN01: Typical scenery in Spring 2022
PRLTCN01: Typical scenery in Spring 2022
PRLTCN01: View down Peralto Canyon
PRLTCN01: Kim and I in Peralta Canyon
PRLTCN01: Lots of water around
PRLTCN02: First sight of water for the day
PRLTCN02: Looking north down Boulder Canyon
PRLTCN02: Cairn at Peralta Tr Crosscut Tr Junction
PRLTCN02: A look back to Weaver’s Needle
PRLTCN02: Some snow still on the trail
PRLTCN03: Looking back to Weaver’s Needle
PRLTCN03: Typical scenery in Winter 2023
PRLTCN03: Kim on the trail
PRLTCN03: Looking back to Weaver’s Needle
PRLTCN03: Looking back to Weaver’s Needle
PRLTCN03: Looking back to Weaver’s Needle
GPX Download
A sanitized GPX file of our hike is here.
Summary Information
| NUM | trackID | Primary | Description | Distance | CumDist | DeltaElev |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PRLTCN01 | Peralta Canyon Tr (102) | Peralta TH to Fremont Saddle | 2.27 | 2.27 | 1361 |
| 2 | PRLTCN02 | Peralta Canyon Tr (102) | Fremont Saddle to Weaver's Needle Crosscut Tr | 1.40 | 3.66 | -546 |
| 3 | PRLTCN03 | Peralta Canyon Tr (102) | Weaver's Needle Crosscut Tr to Dutchman's Tr | 2.60 | 6.26 | -726 |
| 4 | DTCHMN50 | Dutchman's Tr (104) | Peralta Canyon Tr to Bull Pass Tr | 0.74 | 7.01 | -177 |
| 5 | DTCHMN51 | Dutchman's Tr (104) | Bull Pass Tr to Boulder Tr | 0.12 | 7.12 | -7 |
| 6 | BLDR01 | Boulder Tr (103) | Dutchman's Tr to Cavalry Tr | 2.06 | 9.18 | -238 |
| 7 | BLDR02 | Boulder Tr (103) | Cavalry Tr to Boulder Canyon Tr / Second Water Tr | 1.62 | 10.79 | -120 |
| 8 | BLDRCN01 | Boulder Canyon Tr (103) | Boulder Tr / Second Water Tr to Boulder Canyon Tr | 3.42 | 14.22 | 148 |
| 9 | BLDRCN02 | Boulder Canyon Tr (ALT) | Boulder Canyon Tr to Boulder Canyon Tr | 0.46 | 14.68 | -368 |
| 10 | BLDRCN03 | Boulder Canyon Tr (103) | Boulder Canyon Tr to Apache Tr Road (AZ 88) | 0.09 | 14.77 | -40 |