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Trail blazing Because of its federal status, the monument is less protected than a national park, though it is still primarily accessible only to hikers, trail cyclists and horseback riders. Visitors on foot, two wheels or saddle can camp for free inside the monument. But if you’re looking for a place to ride an offroad vehicle in the wilderness, you might as well go elsewhere, one Hidden Valley offroad advocate said. “Riding UTVs and ATVs out there is banned,” said Sonny Hawkins, administrator for the Hidden Valley UTV group on Facebook. “You can’t go off trail without being a recipient of a huge ticket if they catch you.” Besides the monument’s extensive desert flora and trails system, visitors find dramatic views of the Maricopa, Sand Tank and Table Top mountain ranges, as well as the Booth and White hills, all separated by wide valleys. Visits to the Sand Tank Mountains, south of Interstate 8, require a Barry M. Goldwater Range permit. The permit is free but requires the recipient to watch a 13-minute safety video. Permits are valid for one year and are only available online. Early Indigenous peoples, Spanish explorers, homesteaders and miners crossed the monument’s central corridor near Hidden Valley. The monument features three congressionally designated wilderness areas, archaeological and historic sites, and remnants of several important historic foot routes, including the Juan Baptista de Anza Trail. The Anza Trail weaves through the Sonoran Desert for 1,200 miles, from Sonora, Mexico, to San Francisco. The three wilderness areas are only accessible by foot. Arroyo Seco, or Dry Stream, an Anza Trail historic campsite, is within the monument. The Anza expedition camped there Nov. 7, 1775. On the west side of the monument, there’s an Anza Trail interpretive sign marking a trailhead along Maricopa Road. SR 238 and Maricopa Road present access to the North Maricopa Mountains and the historic Butterfield Overland Stage Route, another congressionally designated feature of the national monument that runs parallel to the Mormon Battalion and Gila Trails. Hidden in plain sight Regardless of its federal status and size, the national monument is not on most Maricopans’ radar.
not stray too far into the low brush to avoid the risk of getting stuck in a rocky arroyo or sandy, dry riverbed. The only place visitors can’t camp is in the wilderness areas. Not as serene as it seems The southern part of the monument is a known corridor for drug and human smugglers. BLM officials said monument visitors in that area should be alert for illegal activities and law enforcement operations. BLM last year drastically downsized an area open to recreational target shooting within the Sonoran Desert National Monument. The agency, after an extensive study and
More than half of 215 readers surveyed in an InMaricopa poll in January said: “I’ve never heard of it.” One-fifth of the readers said they had heard of the monument but never visited it. SR 238 leads directly into the belly of the monument with periodic roadside access to its trail system. A network of rough dirt roads weaves through the monument, which touches areas of private and state trust lands. The monument is a place to see extensive forests of the giant armed cactus that rival populations in the Saguaro National Park near Tucson. Although no permit is required to camp inside the monument, RV travelers should
InMaricopa.com | February 2025
February 2025 | InMaricopa.com
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