Photo by Mare Czinar Haunted Canyon

Haunted Canyon
Tony’s Cabin is still standing, as it has for decades, at the edge of a sycamore-lined creek in Haunted Canyon. Abandoned long ago, it now serves as a shrine to a camaraderie of anonymous hikers. The weathered log building is lovingly maintained and stocked with survival essentials, like canned food, matches and beer, by outdoors enthusiasts just passing through. Undulating across a variety of terrain, the Haunted Canyon Trail starts out as an easy-to-follow stroll, but quickly demands more of your quads and route-finding skills.
However, views from the high ridgelines into the woodlands and valleys are worth the effort. Dense communities of tawny oaks, scarlet bigtooth maples and soaring sycamores surround the cabin and shower the pebbly creek bed and warm meadows with gem-toned leaf litter. Except for some tortured-looking cottonwoods and the calls of fugitive owls, the trail doesn’t seem haunted. Native Americans slapped the moniker on the canyon as a determent to outsiders. However, slag heaps and tailings ponds along the drive to the trailhead are ample evidence that phantoms are no match for the lure of copper.
Length: 16 miles roundtrip
Rating: moderate–difficult
Elevation: 3,200–4,900 feet
Getting there: From Phoenix, go east on Highway 60 to Pinto Valley Road (about 13 miles past the town of Superior between mileposts 239 and 240). Follow Pinto Valley Road for 3 miles to the entrance to the Pinto Valley Mine. From there, turn left and continue on Forest Road 287 for 4 miles to the Haunted Canyon No. 203 Trailhead.
Information: Call the Globe Ranger District, 928-402-6200, or visit fs.fed.us/r3/tonto.