*Please check the ADOT and Tonto National Forest Websites for official information about road closures* As of today, SR-88 route to Canyon Lake and Tortilla Flats is closed due to wildfires.
It sure looks like the boulders are gone, can you say if it is open all the way through to tortilla flats now from Roosevelt dam, I would like to finally be able to do it again.
Unofficially, the trail is slated to be opened this week for 4x4 vehicles only. Unfortunately, I also heard there are current restrictions for the route to Tortilla Flats due to wildfire. Please check the ADOT website and Tonto National Forest website for official updates! :)
Thanks for the reply; if ADOT will fill in the "holes" next to the rock "walls" and level that out by putting a rock or gravel "base" then level it off with a road grader; the width of the trail will be expanded; before the floods and fires hit back in 2019; I pulled a 20' boat over Fish Creek Hill ( 2014) and I had no problems at all with a 2WD pickup; the road surface was "hard enough" to get good traction; maybe ADOT can pave section between Fish Creek Hill and Apache Marina in next 5 years. In the meantime they can place "concrete barriers" on the edge of the road ( cliff side) to keep vehicles from going over.
This was a small, interim project with the goal of getting the trail opened. There is still a two-mile stretch that is rough and unpaved between the end of the current pavement and the start of this project. For now, I believe this trail will still be considered "high-risk/at-your-own-risk" and only 4x4 vehicles will recommended or permitted for this route. No trailers. The proposed final project is in the design phase with a much larger budget. I believe it will be aimed at widening and paving this trail, similar to the trail that stems from the Roosevelt dam. Although I work for Nesbitt, as a disclaimer, this information is unofficial and I am only providing what information I know. :) For official and up-to-date information, you will need to refer to the ADOT website
The boulders have been removed and the roadway is being rehabilitated as we speak! We crushed the material to be reused as aggregate (mixed with slurry) for slope backfill and other repairs along the roadway! The roadway will be opened to 4x4 vehicles only in the coming weeks (unofficially). **Check the ADOT website for official updates.**
I love the Apache Trail. The problem is that there are people who think they should test their driving ability and car by going way too fast. They race through the turns and then tailgate people. Idiots. It ruins the amazing drive and beauty for everybody else.
