With so much scenic beauty, you may have a difficult time deciding which trails and areas you want to hike, bike, or see from the back of your horse. Kelly Schwartz, President of the Back Country Horsemen of Central Arizona, has provided the following helpful guide for riders to get the most out of their visit.
Groom Creek & Spruce Mountain
This is a favorite to escape the heat and enjoy the cool pines of the mountains. Take Mount Vernon Road south to Senator Highway, following it to the Spruce Mountain Trailhead. There’s pull-through parking along the trailhead road, which parallels Senator Highway, with room for approximately 10 truck and trailer rigs. You can take the 8-mile trail (#307) to the top of Spruce Mountain where there are hitching posts for your horses and several picnic tables. Or you can cross Senator Highway towards the Groom Creek Horse Camp for a 7-mile loop ride, taking trail #383 (the horse camp loop) to Trail #384 (the Wolf Creek Trail) and picnic on the banks of the Hassayampa River.
Two popular detours take you on forest roads to Kendall Camp, an old homestead marked by old foundations and some gnarly old fruit trees. It also serves as a great lunch spot. Or you can follow the well marked loop, crossing the Hassayampa River, to Payoff Springs.
The Groom Creek Horse Camp is excellent for overnight camping with your horse, and has water available through the camp, though not at each camp site. If you want lunch in town after your ride, the Streets of New York restaurant (located in the Albertson’s Plaza off of Sheldon St.) has ample parking for several rigs.
Thumb Butte
Follow Gurley Street past the Thumb Butte picnic area and about a mile beyond where the pavement ends is a large dirt lot at the corner of Thumb Butte Road and Girl Scout Camp Rd. Park here and you can either cross Thumb Butte road—picking a trail that heads to the left to intersect with marked trails—or you can cross Girl Scout Camp Rd. and find another trail that intersects with additional trails and little-used forest roads. If you’re not familiar with the area, a GPS is recommend as the trails are not yet well marked. However, there are enough trails in the area to give you whatever length ride you want. Afterwards, you can stop at Casa Sanchez on Gurley Street and find plenty of parking for numerous horse trailer rigs.
Granite Basin, Cayuse Equestrian Trailhead
Follow Iron Springs Road out of town, turning right onto Granite Basin Lake (FR 374). You will see a sign for the Cayuse Equestrian Day Use area on your right and there’s ample room for 10 or more rigs and water for horses. There is a slight charge to park, and maps of the area trails are available at the kiosk. There are several nice trail loops from Cayuse. You can take the Balancing Rock Trail (#349) and try to figure out which of the thousands of rocks and 
boulders is the actual “balancing rock,” and return to have lunch at the trailhead. Head out again on the Willow Trail (#347), taking the Willow Connector #346 to #349and back to the trailhead.
Williamson Valley Trailhead
This can be reached by taking Iron Springs Road to Williamson Valley Road for 6 miles to the trailhead on your left. From here you can take the trail #308 to ride in Granite Mountain Wilderness. Watch for the petrogyphs on your right as you descend towards Mint Wash. The trail loop though the Wilderness is approximately 12 miles in length, with some slight steep uphill sections. Or you can leave the trailhead taking the trail to your left and connect to the Mint Wash trail or the lower section of the Willow Trail. Trail #352 enables you to ride a 9-mile loop back to the trailhead, or you can proceed to Cayuse, where there is water for the horses. From there you can take trail #351 to the lake and Trail #347 Mint Wash back to the Williamson Valley Trailhead.
Links
Back Country Horsemen of Arizona
