Pathfinder Scouting Hikes - Palm Creek Hiking Club 2019-2023: January 18, 2023

Website map for Peralta Regional Park Trails

Link to Google Sheets for Schedule and links to Google Maps, etc. for each hike.

This is a new park filled with short trails. We added many trails together in order to get a 6 mile and a seven-mile hike.
Jerry, John and Nancy started in the Main parking area which is the first left after coming into the gate. There is a washroom here.

The black line is the parking area and where we hiked. Starting in the parking lot and hiking through the trail connector up to Oro Vista Trail. After walking a short distance, we keep to the right to go up Wanderer Trail. Wanderer trail takes up to a nice vista, then after going down for a short distance, we turned right onto Oro Vista, We hiked until we came to another trail connector which took us to Saguaro Loop. We turned left onto Saguaro Loop hiked the far side until it turned into Desperado Trail (there is no sign that told us we were on Desperado). We passed three right turns that lead into campsites, then took a left onto North Star Trail. We went out an back on North Star then turned left onto Desperado Trail and followed it around the park boundary. We passed four right hand turns onto campsites before coming to site number five. We crossed at this campsite and across the road trail and short trail connector to Serenity trail. Serenity trail took us to the Interpretive Trail. Then we went back on Serenity Trail to the parking area.

All Trails link to Peralta Regional Park Trails If you follow the bottom elevation line with your mouse, you can see where we are on the trail and the direction we hiked.

This is a beautiful hike in the Superstition mountains with views of areas we have previously hiked. The trails are well defined with small rock surface. A map of the area is needed in order to know what trail we are on. All Trails does not identify trails because the park is so new. There are saguaro, palo verde, barrel cactus, brittlebush and ocotillo. Because of the recent rains there are a few creeks we can cross. There in an interpretive hike near the parking area that is worthwhile to the various signs about history and wildlife in the area.

Picture of the "Wedding Cake" taken from the parking lot

Parking lot with restroom facilites.

We walked up the road from the parking lot to the Trail Connector to Oro Vista.

We walked up Oro Vista for a short while to Wanderer, a steep trail that runs up the middle of the Oro Vista loop. This picture is the top of Wanderer, just before we turn back onto Oro Vista.

This is the beginning of the Connector trail that will lead us to Saguaro Trail .

The beginning of Saguaro Trail we turn left on this trail to hike up to the tip then we turn down the far side.

On the far side of Saguaro

Far side of Saguaro

An arch on the far side of Saguaro

Saguaro Trail turns into Desperado trail, but it doesn't have a sign.

This trail leads into a campsite, Lazy Daisy Connector, we don't take it.

This is the Lazy Daisy Connector going to a campsite.

This is a backpack stand in a backpack camping site

off of Desperado Trail.

Same backpack site #7.

Because of the recent rains there is lots of water in the streams

A stream at North Star

This is the trail to North Star, it's easy to miss. Going to North Star is straight, but keeping on Desperato is a turn to the right.

Jerry and John going up North Star Trail

We had lunch 1/2 way up North Star trail. We got a late start in the hike.

The view from close to the top of North Star

A view from North Star

End of the Trail. Scenic point. There are two Crested saguaro here. The arms are crested.

View from the top. Green Ocotillo and a glimpse of the Crested saguaro. Not a good picture.

From North Star turn left to Desparato. Pretty scenery on this trail.

Desporato Trail

A restroom on Desporato trail

The trail has four campsite trails off to the right that we don't go down.

This part of the trail had a wash that could be confused with the trail.

We came to a corner that had site number 5. This is marked on the map from the park. This is where we crossed the road in a tiny connector trail to Serenity Trail.