Hey guys.....took the quads to Bulldog Canyon yesterday with some friends.
This is an absolutely PERFECT place for FJ Cruisers.
****You need a permit (FREE)**** from the Forest Service and you can get one by stopping by the Mesa Ranger office.
Here's info from their website:
THE MESA RANGER DISTRICT
The Mesa Ranger District is located north and east of the town of Apache Junction, and consists of approximately 430,000 acres (approximately 170,000 hectares) of Desert, Semi-desert Grassland, Chaparral, Pinyon-Juniper types of vegetation as well as a small area of Ponderosa Pine. The very popular Lower Salt River, Saguaro Lake and Canyon Lake are located on this district.
The Mesa Ranger Station is in northeast Mesa . Drive east on US Highway 60 (Superstition Freeway) to the Higley Road Exit. Drive north for approximately 4 miles to Ingram Street on the left. The Mesa Ranger Station is approximately 0.1 mile on the north side of Ingram Street.
OR
From Country Club Drive (Highway 87), drive east on McKellips Road for approximately 6 miles. Turn south on Higley Road for approximately 0.3 miles to Ingram Street on the right. The Mesa Ranger Station is approximately 0.1 miles on the north side of Ingram Street.
Address:
5140 E. Ingram St.
Mesa, Arizona 85205
Phone: (480) 610-3300
Fax: (480) 610-3346
Bring your driver's license and the names of any of your friends that may want to accompany you.....you can add up to 5 people. Also, if your significant other wants to drive, they need to be listed on the permit or get their own.
As for difficulty....a stock FJC should have no problems. No rear locker is even needed.
Maps of the area are provided by the Ranger office. You can enter at three different points....the two I visited were the one at Blue Point off the Bush Hwy and one off of Ellsworth road just past Usery pass. The third entrance dumps out near McKellips but is hard to find b/c it's not directly on McKellips.
My recommendation would be to come in off of Ellsworth and then either head to Blue Point just for the short, scenic drive and then back track and leave the area via the McKellips exit. Obviously, the Ellsworth trail T's into an area between Blue Point and McKellips.
The area is VERY scenic and the trail is just challenging enough for people new to the sport to allow them to learn in a damage free environment. There are a few hill climbs in the area to keep things interesting for those who are more advanced, but the scenery alone makes this trail a must do for anyone here in the East Valley.
Here's a link to a PDF file from the Tonto Nat'l Forest site that will give you a map and more information....just click on the link on the page for Bulldog Canyon.
Tonto National Forest - Recreational Activities
I didn't take pics of the area yesterday as I was riding and didn't have room to carry stuff.
Here's some pics from other people who've been:
More pics to follow.
Sean
