Length: 12 miles roundtrip

Difficulty: Moderate

Wilderness Area: Superstition Wilderness

Journal: "A Night at Reavis Ranch"

From junction of US 60 and SR 79 go E 2 miles to Queen Valley Road. Go N to FR 357 and then N on 357 to FR 172. Follow FR 172 to its end (9 miles).

Trail Description:

From the scenic meadow trailhead, the Reavis Ranch Trail #109 follows along Rogers canyon. This trail has been rerouted several times and, in order to redirect traffic, the trail designers send you steeply up 100 feet just to have you steeply descend the same hundred feet a quarter mile later. This happens several times during the first mile and a half of this hike.

At 1.6 miles there is a junction with the Rogers Canyon Trail #110. Stay right on the Reavis Ranch Trail and follow it as it meanders up Grave Canyon. The trail is quite rocky but easy enough to follow. About .6 miles from the trail junction, you will cross a small drainage before beginning to climb out of Grave Canyon. Near this drainage, you will find a small cairn and a spur trail that will take you several hundred feet to a small pile of rocks that marks Elisha Reavis' grave. I was unimpressed.

Returning to the main trail, you will begin the ascent to Reavis saddle. The trail is in quite good condition and begins with long mellow switchbacks. The trail slowly works its way to the saddle and does not get rocky until you approach the saddle 3.0 miles from the trailhead. There are good views most of the way.

The view from the saddle is nice and there are several shady spots to rest. As you continue down the trail, the going gets real easy. After some initial rockiness, the trail smoothes out and it is a gentle downhill to Reavis Ranch. This was my favorite section of the trail.

In one section the trail disappears into very tall grasses. It was fun trying to follow it as it wound amongst waist hall yellow straw. 5 miles from the trail head you will come to the largest Juniper you have ever seen.

At 5.5 miles you will reach the junction with the Fire line trail. It was near this point that we first saw water in Reavis creek. At 6.0 miles you will reach a large meadow that was Reavis Ranch. There were quite a few back packers here when we arrived, but the meadow is so large we never really had to interact with any one.

Return the way you came.