Castle Creek Canyon

A decent canyon with a short, but nice section of technical granite waterfalls in fairly close proximity to the Phoenix metropolitan area - the convenience of which is made up for in how bad the access road is.

From I-17 take Exit 248 for Bumble Bee / Crown King. This soon turns to the high clearance dirt road to Crown King. From I-17 follow 4.8 miles to FR 684 on the left. 684 is a very rough 4x4 road with multiple creek crossings, large boulders and very steep sections - standard SUV type vehicles will likely not be able to make this drive - additional clearance and skid plates highly recommended. Follow this road with an appropriate vehicle until it is washed out or it gets too rough. The washed out section is about 2 miles before Castle Creek Trail. As of 1/2019 it was not wide enough for an SUV but quad or similar would pass. Hike up the Castle Creek trail to 4,000' and drop into the canyon.