Flat Iron Trail is located off N. Apache Trail in Apache Junction, AZ at the Lost Dutchman State Park. There is a seven dollar fee to park. The seven dollars is well worth the money to see the sight at the peak. This fee helps maintain trails and keep the park clean. The parking lot was large and had several parking options next to the trail heads. Being an outdoors person, I look for three things to make up a good trail: incline or steepness of the trail, how challenging the terrain is and the exercise involved.
Joining me on this adventure is my girlfriend, Beth. She had never been on a very strenuous hike before. She didn't know what she was getting herself into. While I was online researching this trail, I found out it was 4.5 out of a 5 hardness scale and was completed in an average of three to five hours, 6.4 miles round trip. Knowing the time constraint of this hike, we started off early in the morning around nine a.m. From the parking lot there is several trail heads. Only a three trail heads actually lead to the Flat Iron Trail. The trails that lead up to the Flat Iron Trail are for beginner hikers. You could walk your 70 year old grandma on these trails with no issues. After walking about a mile to the trail head, the incline started gradually increasing. The cliffs started rising higher and higher as we approached the canyon. Now the slope of the terrain increased that of a staircase. The steps gradually became more of a lunge to get on top of the rocks. At some points in the trail, we were required to rock climb in order to get to the next portion of the trail. This made our hands dry from hanging onto the rocks and caused cuts on my girlfriend's palms of her hands. I suggest wearing gloves to new climbers. Once you get about thirty feet from the top of Flat Iron Trail, you are challenged with a twelve foot rock wall. There are only two ways to get up this wall at this point. A coarse tree branch protruding out of the sharp rock wall could be used to pull yourself to the top using your upper body strength. Another possibility is to climb up a slanted rock and then step across a four foot gap to get up the wall. You need to be strong enough to hoist yourself over the obstacle in order to complete the trail. When we reached the top of the trail, there was a mouth dropping view of Apache Junction and Bulldog Canyon. The view was outstanding! Looking around, I could see for hundreds of miles of desert and a portion of Canyon Lake.
We completed the hike within four hours. While on the hike, we passed many hikers on the trail. The age groups we mostly observed were in their teens to twenties and some forty plus people. Everyone we saw was in physically good shape. If you were not in good shape, you would be struggling throughout the trail. The trail was strenuous exercise but it was relatively easy for my girlfriend and me. Climbing the rocks felt like a giant stair master working out the legs and thighs. I enjoyed the challenge of this trail. I kept looking for trail markers and actively thought about what direction to go next. As well as exerting energy to reach the final destination, the trail was also steeper than most of the trails I have previously hiked. The trail started out flat and finished straight up. The trail never had areas of flat land. It kept rising in altitude with every step we took. In my opinion, this trail was excellent. It reached all of my expectations of a good trail. It had the incline of a mountain, not a nature hike. It had a challenging aspect of a rock wall and it involved exercise. I would recommend this trail to anyone I know capable of completing it. read more