Lost Dutchman State Park

Head to the western gateway of the Superstition Mountains for epic hiking and camping trips.

Named after a gold mine that may or may not exist, Lost Dutchman State Park is a natural wonderland with a Wild West reputation just 40 miles southeast of Phoenix. Some prospectors spent decades searching for gold in the Superstitions based on the story of one miner, Jacob Waltz, who emerged from the mountains with a satchel full of gold more than 100 years ago. While the gold rush is long gone, visitors today come to experience the spectacular hiking and biking trails or to simply enjoy the wide-open skies over serene campsites.

Hiking Trails

The pristine setting of the Superstition Mountains changes seasonally when spring wildflowers blanket the foothills and winter storms occasionally dust the mountains with snow. Visitors access six trails from this section of the Supes that lead into rugged terrain. The 2.4-mile Treasure Loop Trail leads into the foothills to a viewpoint of the surrounding valleys and Phoenix skyline. Siphon Draw Trail is a much more challenging 4-mile roundtrip with 1,000-foot elevation gain to the basin where it connects with Flatiron Trail — the most popular advanced hike in the Supes. For mountain bikers, 4 miles of singletrack weave through the fast and flowy foothills in Lost Dutchman State Park.

Stay the Night

Choose from 135 camping and RV sites plus five solar cabins that make the perfect home base for multiple days of hiking through this amazing terrain. Each climate-controlled cabin sleeps up to six people, has two covered porches to take in the views all day long and are steps away from a washhouse. This section of the park also offers three hike- or bike-in camping sites for more secluded options, but anywhere visitors stay in the park they can expect to hear coyotes yipping at night.

Visit Historic Mining Towns

This close to the Supes, visitors find remnants of the area’s mining heritage. The Superstition Mountain Museum is across the street from Goldfield Ghost Town, where visitors discover a mining town that dates to the late 1800s when this area boomed with the promise of gold. Today the town operates as a family attraction with a train ride, zipline, horse rides and gold panning. Nearby Tortilla Flat takes on a more adult vibe with a historic saloon anchoring a small boardwalk in the last surviving stagecoach stop on the Apache Trail. Today, the strip rumbles with the sounds of motorcycles and live jam bands.