Lost Dutchman State Park

Was on a rendezvous to do a totally different hike about 4 miles further east, when I started seeing the initial cliffs of the Superstition Mountains. Captivating, awe-inspiring, and simply a rugged gorgeousness made me take this exit without a second thought. Think entry was $10 and plenty of parking. I went during January and still brought a liter of water. Lasted me 4 hours, so if you are here in the summer, bring a gallon for the day. I decided upon the Treasure Loop trail which is the leads to the left most part of the cliff face. From the foliage to the rock outcroppings, this was a wonderful hike. Seeing the cliff face get closer and closer was quite the development I was looking for. The trail does go all the way up about 150 feet from the bottom of the cliff, and then continues on around. If you keep going, you can see where it's possible to start getting up above the cliffs. I didn't really see any paths that way, so it would be trekking off the path, but if you got some time, maps, GPS, big amounts of water, food, packed with equipment for over night stays, I could see a person walk well into the Superstition Wilderness and find peace of soul, aliens, or God.

What a delight. Bring a gallon of water as suggested per person / dog size was accurate. We took our goldens who hike a lot to the dry waterfall of the peak and stopped there as we watched others struggle with dogs. Please be safe if you go higher and your dog spooks you could lose yourself and your dog. Ours are well trained and we stopped. All areas below are safe for dogs just stay on the path to avoid cactus. We loved the hike!

Do come for the beautiful Mountain View’s and hiking opportunities. Don’t expect well spaced campsites as that wasn’t our experience. We were all crammed in pretty tightly. Also when you arrive it’s helpful to the staff to know your site number. The gentleman who checked us in, Steve, curtly informed us of this. It’s a pretty sleepy area so staying more than a day or two might not be for everyone.

The state park is gorgeous and scenic. You need to of course pay a day pass or be a campground user to access the park. The gates close at ten at night so if you’re camping you need to make sure you’re back before they close the gate or there is no re entry until six am. There are multiple hikes and walking paths throughout the park. Some are challenging and many are moderate or even easy. There’s a lot of wildlife here. I saw quails for sure and lizards. Saw a dead rattle snake. Heard coyotes and saw some rabbits. It gets hot with no shade options for the most part. You want to come prepared for all of this in mind. Good footware, skin protection and a sun hat. They have a neat little gift shop with some magnets and stickers. The park is well maintained with great trails. Clean. Day use area seems to close at eight pm per the signage at the parking lots. I stayed here many nights in the campground and it was great. Note for campground: Sites are paved and nicely levelled to begin with. Electric and water sites. The dump station has two spots which is also nice. Showers and washrooms are very clean and nice to use. Some sites are spaced out really nice and offer great views- others are backed into one another and kind of annoying with no privacy. Staff is super friendly and accommodating. One of the campground washroom/shower houses was closed for renovations so they only had one for all the campground users. They close between 1-2 for cleaning.

This is a very nice state park with a nice campground. We stayed for 2 weeks and visited the surrounding area. The sites are nice. They have electricity and water. There’s a dump station by the entrance. Bathrooms were under renovation.