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  On this trail, take a fun and mostly easy mountain road from the Bradshaw Mountains down into Black Canyon City. The trail begins at the intersection of Crown King Rd. and Maggie Mine Rd. In just a few miles, you will be treated to great views of Black Canyon. Just a few miles later, you find yourself driving on a paved road until you end at I-17 in Black Canyon City. If you are taking Crown King Trail, consider riding this trail in reverse as it will take you directly to Crown King Rd. (at about the 1.5 mile mark).

  To begin this journey, you’ll want to head north up the I-17 past Black Canyon City. Take exit 248 (Crown King Rd) and follow it for about a mile and half until you come to a ‘T’. The trail starts here and continues to the left on the dirt road. Staging is suitable around this intersection or somewhere up along the paved road you just drove down.

  When you are ready, begin by heading south, uphill on the mostly easy dirt trail. After about 0.4 miles, you’ll pass near the natural gas pipeline which has been on your left since the beginning of the trail. The road over it is slightly rougher because of the pipeline. The trail curves to the right at 0.8 miles, just after a small creek crosses the road. After continuing on some more, the trail crosses another washout and then curves sharply right at 1.5 miles. Stay straight at 1.9 miles where a lesser road leads off to the right. This turn off makes for a great side trip and offers old mines and old buildings (see the next paragraph for details). The road begins to curve to the left as it descends towards a creek crossing. At about 2.5 miles, stay straight after crossing the previously mentioned creek. At 2.7 miles, make a sharp left as the road heads across the natural gas line again. Just after 3.1 miles, you begin to get some great views of Black Canyon City below. A small pull off at 3.15 miles makes for a nice photo-op. The trail gets significantly windier as it twists and turns down into Black Canyon City, giving you both good views of the canyon as well as the nearby I-17. A cattle guard at 4.1 miles marks the beginning of the Yavapai County Maintenance on the road. Just after crossing the cattle guard, there are some residential houses off to the left; make sure to slow down and be respectful. There are some old dump trucks on the right as well as what looks like some old buildings and what’s left of Maggie Mine off to the left (both are on private property however). At 4.8 miles, you will cross the underground pipeline again and at 5.2 miles you reach the paved portion of Maggie Mine Rd. You can turn around at this point if you wish or you can follow the road which continues for another 1.4 miles until it ends at a dirt pull off just before the I-17 (at the Old Black Canyon Highway). If you do continue to follow it, make sure to observe all posted signs (including the 25 m.p.h. speed limit) as well as be sure your OHV is street legal. At 6.4 miles you’ll pass the old racetrack which is off to the left. At 6.6 miles, you’ll reach the end of the trail. If you took an OHV you’ll have to ride back up to your staging spot but if you have a jeep or truck, you are able to just hop on the I-17.

  Now before we explain why this trail is rated the way it is, we’re going to step back for a moment to tell you about the side trip you passed at the 1.9 mile mark of the trail. If you have the time, we definitely recommend take this short but challenging side trip. Begin following the smaller and lesser traveled road. After traveling on it for about a quarter of a mile, stay to the left where another road goes right to the Black Canyon River. After 0.7 miles of the shelf road, you reach a ridge. If the trail has already has been challenging, we advise you turn around now because the trail gets much rougher. The narrow, shelf road continues down while giving you great views of the Black Canyon River below. You’ll pass through an open gate and continue to wind down into the canyon. At 1 ¼ mile, you’ll reach the bottom of the canyon. Consider parking here and observing the many old pieces of wood and other ruins. We’re not really sure what was here but we think it was probably associated with the mine that sits just south of here. When you are done here, turn left onto the trail and at about 1.4 miles cross the usually shallow Black Canyon River. The trail on the other side of the river is short however it climbs a lot to get to the mines. The side trip ends at 1.7 miles at a small clearing. From this clearing, you are able to walk along many old mining trails on the hill here as well as take in some great scenery. We observed 1 open shaft, 1 filled in shaft and lots of ore. When you are done, head back the way you came to the trail. This side trip is rated about a 6 so use caution on it.

  The total trail length (not including the side trip to the mine) is 13.2 miles. It’ll take probably 1-2 hours. Add another 1-2 hours for the side trip and other stops on the trip. The trail is mostly easy, even maintained in some portions; however certain parts are a bit rocky. The curving mountain grade (as indicated by a sign on the way back up the trail) requires some caution and a few other washouts along the trail give this trail its rating of a 2.5. Overall, this is a fun trip that is pretty close to Phoenix, and doesn’t take a long time.