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In this ride, follow a mostly rocky and sometimes steep trail to the Tule Creek Riparian Management Area. Here find what remains of the Tule Creek Homestead. Expand your day by taking many difficult side trips. This trail offers a good overlook of nearby Lake Pleasant.
Due to park officials cracking down on OHV use, the staging area near Castle Hot Springs Rd. and Cow Creek Rd. is now closed. Staging for this trip is now 1 mile up the road. There is also a small strip just north of this one (0.45 miles up the road). Bear right at 1.5 miles. If you want more of a challenge, continue straight up steep hill which will connect with the trail just ahead. Staying left, you will continue to follow the Backway to Crown King Trail. At 2 miles, turn left. Stay to the right at 2.5 miles. Consider going to the left on your way back. Going left will take you on a more difficult way back to Cow Creek Rd. Stay to the right at 2.7 miles. Optional left will dead end at Humbug Creek near the China Dam. The rocky trail continues on and descends toward the crossing at Humbug Creek. At 3.8 you can go either way. Straight is the more difficult and challenging trail and to the right is the easier way. Once at the bottom, follow the sandy trail as it crosses the normally dry Humbug Creek at 4 miles. Stay right at 4.05 miles. Left leads to the China Dam. The trail is only 0.35 miles long but is very narrow and has several steep and tippy sections. The side trail ends just after the China Dam, an engineering feat at its time. The China Dam even had a primitive bypass for the water. At 4.5 miles, stay straight. To the right is the exit to an optional loop on the way back. When we were here in June of 2010, the following part of the trail had a large amount of cow poop on it. You may need to navigate around it as a courtesy of the person following you. The trail comes to a ‘Y’ at 5.55 miles. Stay to the right. Stay straight at 6.2 miles where trail goes and is an optional route back. Make an important right at about 6.4 miles. From here on out, the trail get significantly rockier. There are several places where you must slowly crawl up long rocky hills. The trail crosses several washes and then at 7.45 miles reaches a heavily eroded, rocky hill. Proceed with caution up this hill and then turn left at the ‘T’ at 7.6 miles. Right is an optional and difficult side trip to a mine. To get to the mine, follow the trail and stay right. Trail crosses wash and then ends at mine. The trail ends at the permanently closed gate at the Tule Creek Riparian Management Area at 8.05 miles. Enter by going through a small entrance to the right of the main gate. Take some time to explore this neat area. Be sure to leave things how you found them. Once you have all the pictures you want. Follow the trail back the way you came or take some of the optional side trips.
This trail, while it is only 16 miles round trip, will take about 3-4 hours. Allow at least an hour for side trips. The trail is mostly rocky desert type terrain and is very fun, but be careful on the difficult sections. This trail also has a lot of wildlife along it so use caution when you pass by wildlife. Other riders are seldom along this trail so it is best to go with someone.