Superstitions
Battleship Mountain is the best damn hike in all of the Superstition wilderness. See I can say that, I have really great credibility. It is about 13 miles round trip. The trailhead parking lot is full of cars of people who hike about a mile in and then leave. My first time hiking, I didn’t make it because I got lost and didn’t have all the trails at the time. It is quite fun, you can see canyon lake from the top, the last 1.5 miles of the summit push is just a scramble up and the most difficult for sure. Took me just over 5 hours to complete. Don’t worry about the word scramble. You will be fine. Just be smart, look at all options, and choose the one you are most comfortable with.
Palomino mountain, the view from the top sucks, so instead, follow the trail that walks next to the summit and enjoy your ‘summit meal’ next to a series of small waterfalls and maybe fall asleep to the beautiful natural sound of rushing water. It is a longer hike, you go up a super steep hill that actually put you at a higher elevation than the mountain itself so a lot of the hike after the first 2 miles is downhill which means uphill after a summit push. Also in the Superstitions, most people will leave after the first 2 miles because they aren’t hungry enough for an actual wilderness experience.
Dome Mountain is a good, low-key spot where you will see maybe 1 person all day. It is not a terrible summit view, but you can still see some cities, so it is not quite in the wilderness, but it depends on who you ask. It is a good hike, and it ranks high for me because it is just in the middle of a flat iron and has four peaks. There are cool items at the summit, like jars of notes, sometimes dolls, or other various items.
Geronimo Head is worth it if you are desperate for something new. It has the same view vibes as both Palomino and Battleship, but it is way shorter and easier, more remote, and fairly direct. It is also taller than both Palomino and Battleship, so there is that at least; however, the trailhead is a few hundred feet higher up.
Weaver’s needle is like the face picture of the superstitions, and it is well deserved because it is a view like no other. I theorized that it would be just one massive geode, that the weaver’s needle skyrockets from the ground, and that it could make a great climbing day; the hike isn’t specifically hard. It’s the fact when you get to the base of the needle, you are upset because you don’t want to solo climb that thing. It is doable to climb the thing and get to the top, go with someone with some experience with climbing, this isn’t one to get started with when climbing I feel.
Flatiron peak, good ol flatiron. This hike is for anyone wanting a challenge; I give props to the submitters and will just brag about it. For most, that is the hardest they will go, and I understand it is a hard hike. I struggle every time just because of how steep it actually is. The tourists stop at Flat Iron and enjoy that great view, but the real adventures will keep going past it and summit Superstition Peak, both equally hard hikes.
Backpacking the Peralta trail, which is 24 miles from point to point, is a great option. You can also take the Reavis Ranch Pass, which passes most of the best views through the superstitions without actually summiting much. The trail starts at the Peralta trailhead and ends at the Canyon Lake area. There are areas to fill up water. I would recommend camping near these areas for convenience, however. Sometimes, camping near water means you wake up with a semi-humid tent.
Kayaking Apache Lake is a hell of a drive to get down to the docking area. It is very remote and off-road. I don’t think I would ever want to own a boat on this lake. There is no wake most of the time. Kayaking was fun on a non-windy day; however, any wind coming back at all makes it a huge pain and a very wet day.
Salome jug Canyon, I went canyoneering in March. I will admit it was cold, but you get used to it quickly as well. I had never been canyoneering before this trip, and I feel like this was the perfect warmup to it: one big rappel, several natural water slides, and a couple of spots to jump into pools. Remember that you walk down in the canyon first, so when leaving, you walk up the canyon wet and may or may not walk up 2,000 feet in water socks because you forgot your shoes.
