Driving north from Phoenix on I-17, after passing Cortes Junction and the turn-off for Prescott, the next exit is signed as ‘Dugas’ (exit #268). Another sign for this exit warns ‘No Services Available’. For a seeker of desert or wilderness solitude this is an excellent sign. The trail head for Pine Mountain Wilderness lies about 18 miles east of I-17. The drive out Dugas Rd. is a beautiful one with wide open vistas of desert grass land, piñon/juniper dotted slopes and rangelands. The enclave of Dugas straddles a stream that flows across the roadway that might deter a low-slung vehicle, but otherwise the road is passable. Salt Flat Campground is the parking area for the wilderness trail head and there are plenty of grand shade trees there. Hike Arizona has a couple of good descriptions for this hiking spot.
The first several kilometers of the trail to the Verde Rim pass though a spring-fed woodland dominated by Arizona Sycamores, Arizona Walnut, Ponderosa Pine, Arizona Alder, Gambel's Oak and a wide variety of other riparian shrubs and small trees. Nelson Place, a retired ranch site, is about a kilometer from the trailhead. There are willow, apple and catalpa trees formerly under cultivation by the owners. The catalpa trees appear to be reproducing on their own now and may become permanently established in the canyon. Elevation climbs gradually from 1586 m to 1602 m.
If your goal is to reach the excellent view at the Verde Rim or Pine Mountain summit, take trail #12 at about 4km. This trail leaves the sycamore dominated woodland and enters woodlands dominated alternately by ponderosa pine, junipers and oaks.
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An Arizona Sycamore, Platanus wrightii, growing along Sycamore Creek in the Pine Mountain Wilderness, Yavapai Co., Arizona. The tree directly behind with reddish-brown bark is a Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa) and further back is a black-barked Arizona Alder (Alnus oblongifolia.
Map of Dugas and Pine Mtn. Wilderness
View Dugas Road and Pine Mountain in a larger map.
