A wild off-road adventure and an extraordinary canyoning trip to a wild garden of paradise
When it comes to wild and rugged beauty, from the bottom floor of the desert to the mountain tops, the state of Arizona tops them all! Famous for its extremely hot temperatures, only in Arizona can you escape the heat on a summer day and explore one of its many remote and wild canyons only accessible by 4WD and enjoy a “non-technical” canyoning; Rock jumping, wading, and swimming through cool and refreshing natural pools, making for an extraordinary and adventurous day’s retreat that is simply second to none.
West Clear Creek is described by the United States Forest Service as “one of the most rugged and remote canyons in northern Arizona.” An incredibly beautiful wild canyon, West Clear Creek offers many deep natural pools surrounded by colorful, narrow rock faces that are sure to cool you off on a hot summer’s day. Most exciting of all though, known only to locals for many years, and rewarding your day’s canyoning adventure through the West Clear Creek pools, you will be amazed to discover Arizona’s Garden of Paradise! , the Hanging Gardens!
So if you’re looking for a haven and a great way to escape the heat, and you’re ready for a wild off-road adventure and a challenging, yet truly extraordinary, trip to Arizona’s hidden garden paradise, then I highly recommend visiting Hanging Gardens. Hike, in the beautiful wilderness of West Clear Creek, Strawberry, Arizona.
Starting early one weekend morning in early August, I drove to a meeting place in the far northeast of Phoenix, where I joined members and friends of the TLC Hiking Club, a local hiking and outdoor adventure club run by Eric Kinneman. After everyone had arrived and in preparation for the long day and arduous journey ahead of us, we received a briefing that included safety and last minute warnings, then we enthusiastically climbed into our vehicles and were ready to embark on the adventure. that we had all been to. anticipating much, the Hanging Gardens of West Clear Creek!
Heading north on Highway 87, we reached the town of Payson at approximately 7 am, then continued north on 87 out of Payson until we reached 2.5 miles past the Highway 260 intersection. quickly to regroup all of our members, we returned to our vehicles again and with Eric Kinneman leading the way, we turned right onto Forest Road 144, and prepared for what had been advertised as a very 4-wheel drive adventure! tough and wild! And that it was too!
After turning right all the way down the dirt road, FR 144, and stopping once more to regroup, we slowly started heading east. Upon reaching the end of FR 144, we continue to turn left onto FR 149, left again onto FR142, and then right onto FR 142A. One by one, we made our way very slowly and carefully along this extremely rugged road and wild terrain, winding around trees and forest thickets, and climbing over large rocks and boulders. Please note that all of these dirt forest roads are extremely rough and bumpy and require having a good 4 wheel drive vehicle, not just an AVC due to recent rain storms that had passed through the area, along the way we encountered a few very deep muddy pools and completely gutted! Fortunately, they all turned out fine without their vehicles jamming, but what an amazing off-road adventure it had been so far!
Once we made the last turn on FR 142J, it was about 9.9 miles and 1 hour 20 minutes later that we had all reached the end of the road safely, and we were relieved to have reached the trailhead. Having finally reached West Clear Creek, and our destination at 9am, we parked, got out our backpacks and gear, and then gathered along the edge of the cliff to wait for the rest of the group members. There, at the top and on the edge of West Clear Creek Canyon, I stopped for a few brief moments to look around and take some photos of the incredible and beautiful wild landscape that surrounded me. How incredibly remote, rugged and pristine this area seemed to be and how lucky we all feel to be able to experience this. This was going to be an amazing day and an incredible adventure and we were all very eager and excited to get started!
After gathering everyone together for some group photos, it was time for our canyoning adventure to begin! Starting from the trailhead at the top of the cliff and with Eric Kinneman leading the way, one by one, we each started our way down into the beautiful canyon below. The journey to the bottom of West Clear Creek Canyon began immediately with a steep descent, straight down about 867 feet, along a narrow but well-marked use trail. With lots of loose rocks and gravel it was a grueling hike to the finish that many chose to do by hitting the ground and sliding it, rather than risking a slippery and dangerous fall.
Having successfully reached the bottom of West Clear Creek, I looked towards the canyon we were heading to and realized how beautiful this place really was when the rays of the sun illuminated the high amber rock walls. It was just amazing! I took a few quick photos and then quickly met up with the others. From here, at the deep, cool bottom of the canyon, our canyoning began quickly with jumps of large boulders and boulders down short paths until we reached our first pools. Only knee-deep at most, we jumped into the water and jumped, waded, and splashed our way through our first few pools of pools.
By this time, almost everyone had made it to at least the first few pools and were now heading deeper into this beautiful canyon with deeper and longer pools closely surrounded by tall, beautifully contoured and narrow rock walls, an area that is commonly known like the “White Box” of West Clear Creek. With all of our gear packed securely in dry bags and along with our flotation devices, we swam slowly from one cool, refreshing pool to the next, through the beautiful straits of the canyon and while still taking as many photos as I could, the scenery. it looked absolutely amazing and impressive!
After a short stop for a fun and exciting ‘jump rope’, the incredible canyoning adventure through the beautiful White Box and the straits of West Clear Creek continued as we carefully walked over the wet and slippery rocks and boulders, while We enjoyed the beautiful scenery as we swam from one refreshing pool to the next, which to our amazement inside these pools there were many good sized crayfish as well. Arriving in the middle of the morning at around this time and with the heat of the summer day coming upon us, our canyoning trip continued as we crawled through one deep pool to the next.
It was noon and after about 12 pools and about 3 hours of intense canyoning, I was beginning to feel exhausted and a little tired. Thinking that I could not cross another pond, we rounded the final curve and, seeing how green the riparian vegetation had become, we got out of the water and looked up; We had finally reached the remote and hidden Hanging Gardens! Wow, it was indescribable! We entered this very lush, green, garden-like area, first passing a beautiful waterfall that springs from the high cliff above, then moving forward and directly to your left, there it was, the Hanging Gardens, a beautiful waterfall that elegantly dripped over ferns and thick maiden hair vines, and wow, what an amazing and jaw-dropping sight! I could not believe what I was watching. What a unique, remote and truly special place, a true “garden of paradise” and a remote and wild “oasis” literally of epic proportions! This place, the Hanging Gardens, was simply extraordinary and so much more than I had ever imagined!
Now that most of our group and friends are back together, we take a break, have lunch, jump rope more, and really enjoy spending time together taking lots of photos and videos, trying to capture every moment we could of this amazing place. However, it was around 12:30 and with the afternoon heat of the day now well upon us, one by one we began to make the long and strenuous hike back through the many deep pools and straits of White Box. from West Clear Creek, where towering rock faces now glistening in the afternoon sun rays, made the adventurous trip back to the ravine even more beautiful and spectacular every moment of the way.
It was now arriving in the late afternoon and having made it through the last pool, and then back up 867 feet to the top and edge of the cliffs, we were completely hot and completely exhausted. But boy, what an amazing adventure it had been! It was around 3pm when almost all of us had finally reached the top and the trailhead again where we were parked completing the day’s canyoning adventure according to our GPS was 4.70 miles round trip that we completed in about 6.0 hours.
From here we once again got back to our 4 wheel drive and prepared for the rough and wild ride back. Miraculously, with just one broken tire for the whole group, and around 4:30 pm, we finally made it safely to the main road again, having completed the off-road adventure according to our stats, it was 19.9 miles round trip. on what was absolutely some of the roughest, toughest and most wild dirt roads that we as a group had been on before! Wow, what an amazing adventure!
All in all, it was a truly unforgettable day and an epic and incredible adventure in the wild, which was well researched, planned and coordinated by Eric Kinneman of the TLC Hiking Club. So, if you’re up for a rough, wild off-road adventure and a strenuous, challenging, but truly extraordinary canyoning trip to a wild oasis that is truly a garden of paradise, be sure to visit Hanging Gardens Hike, in the beautiful desert of West Clear Creek, Strawberry, Arizona.