Prescott National Forest, Camp Verde
Chasing winter waterfalls is sort of an unofficial rite of passage for Arizona hikers.
With a few blaring exceptions (hello, Havasupai) most of our state’s waterfalls don’t flow continually. Experienced hikers know that dark-stained cliffs and jumbled drainages visible along trails hold the potential for spectacular waterworks following episodes of rain and snow melt. Some trekkers even adjust their agendas to sync with the rhythm of the rains. Timing is key to catch the transient desert founts at their best. Pick a day after a storm but pay attention to weather reports and road closures as torrential downpours come with a real threat of potentially deadly flooding. The fugitive waterworks aren’t hard to find. A few famous ones like Encinoso Falls in Sedona’s Oak Creek Canyon, Massacre Falls in the Superstition Wilderness, Grand Falls north of Flagstaff, Bridal Wreath Falls in Tucson and the miles of cascades in Barnhardt Canyon flow reliably along established trails during peak conditions. Others though, reside where you’d least expect them. One such cascade is the crux of Copper Falls Trail 504.
Trail 504 explores above and within a bowl-like depression of an ancient lake bed where limestone and siltstone deposits disrupted by faults and other geological events have eroded into oddly-sculpted buttes, ridges and gullies. The 4.1-mile, moderate hike loops through classic high desert vegetation to a drainage area where a slim footpath heads into a secluded, stonewalled gorge that hides Copper Falls. The 0.2-mile one-way path follows an ephemeral creek cluttered with sycamores, willows, log jams and boulders. Some minor route-finding and scrambling are needed to work your way through to the head of the dead-end canyon where tiered cascades tumble over blocky shelves into shallow drop pools.
- LENGTH: 4.1-mile loop
- RATING: moderate
- ELEVATION: 3,190 – 3,533 feet
GETTING THERE:
From Interstate 17 in Camp Verde, take the State Route 260 exit 287. Go 1.6 miles east (toward Payson) on SR 260 to Oasis Drive, turn right (south) and continue 0.3-mile to Forest Road 136, turn right again and go 0.8-mile to the trailhead on the right. FR 136 is washboard-rough dirt but is passable by passenger vehicles.
- FACILITIES: picnic ramadas with grills and a restroom.
- HOURS: dawn to dusk for day-use only.
- FEE: none
