Ford Canyon Loop Trail

Date: 11.26.2022

Location: Surprise AZ (White Tank Mountain Regional Park)

Distance: 10.5 miles

Hiking Partners: Colin and Uncle J

Every year we try to find new training hikes around the valley. I did some research last week and found some new trails in the White Tank Regional Park. Ford Canyon Loop Trail is one trail I picked out to test the waters of the White Tank Regional Park.

The hike begins inside White Tank Regional Park. There's a 7 dollar cover to get in but you get to drive through most of the park to get to this trailhead. On the way to the trailhead you can see tons of people camping and lots of other trailheads along the way. The park reminded me of North Mountain Park, how it weaves through the ramadas and large parking areas to reveal trailheads so it was a welcome site. Once you get through most of the park the trailhead starts at a small parking lot with a bathroom and a nice little bench to wait for your hiking partners. The trail itself starts across from the parking lot with a well marked sign. 

The first couple miles are a nice warm up on flat, rocky ground. I forgot my poles in the truck but honestly you don't need them for this hike. Once you get to the next section of the hike the real fun begins...scrambling! While I'm a HUGE fan of scrambling up the rocks my others partners are not so much. I can tell you that they enjoyed the hike as much as I did, which means the scrambling is not that bad at all. The trail follows a dry creek bed that eventually sends you up the side of the mountain and then back down into the creek bed. All of the scrambling is on the first half of the trail if you go counter clockwise. There are some pools of water to watch out for but no running water.

Once you reach the halfway point after scrambling and a little trail finding you'll find yourself at the base of a mountain. You'll gradually climb up about 1500 feet of elevation with a few switch backs here and there. Once to the saddle, there's a nice grouping of rocks to sit down and have a snack. 

The next portion of the trail is all downhill. In this section you'll be hiking high up above the creek bed. There are some great views of the surrounding areas and as you hike around the mountains the city views also open up.

Something to keep in mind if you are doing this trail solo. Many reviews of this trail say there's tons of people but we only saw four people going counter clockwise. Once we got to the other side of the trail, past all the scrambling, then we started seeing tons of people. The way down was easy and we went at a fast pace.

All Trails, a map or a GPS is beneficial on this hike. Looking at the topo map and reading that this is a loop trail you'd think one would be on the same trail the whole time. This is not correct. The loop trail consists of many different trails. The confusing part, if your not paying attention, you could end up back on the Ford Canyon Loop trail towards the end of the hike which will lead you in the wrong direction and take you on a longer loop!

Always be vigilant on the trail. Hikers can get lost even on a well marked trail. If you know your milage and you know its a loop and you start heading away from your destination, check your map and make sure you are on the right path. 

Once we made it down and off the mountain there was only 1 mile to go back to the truck. All in all, this was one of my favorite in town hikes of the year. We will be back!

Unit Next Time!