Bulldog Canyon Trail, Arizona

Last week, we took the family on the Bulldog Canyon Trail located just North of Apache Junction, Arizona. The kids have been working hard at their online school work and we all really needed a break. We decided to social distance ourselves on a local trail.

We left early for the trail to beat any others that were feeling the same way we were. Getting out in the Jeep is such a stress reliever and allows us to forget all that is going on in the world for just a few hours. As of writing this, enjoying the outdoors is recommended for mental health reasons and still allowed in Arizona.

You can access the Bulldog Canyon Trail from a few different locations within the Tonto National Forest. Since we are located in Queen Creek, AZ, we like to start at the Wolverine trailhead and travel North following the signs for Road 10.

Bulldog Canyon Trailhead Information

Here are the other entrance points to the trail:

Blue Point, known as access point 1, is located on the south side of Bush Highway, just west of the bridge that crosses the Salt River (This is where we exited the trail.)

Usery, aka access point 2, is located just north of Usery Mountain Regional Park. You will see the parking area and gate on the east side of the road.

Wolverine, or access point 3, starts in Apache Junction. You will wind through some back roads and end up on Cactus Road. Follow the road to the access gate.

Hackamore, also known as an access point 4, can also be accessed from Apache Junction. Follow Apache Trail then travel north for 1.5 miles on Hackamore Road to the find gated entrance.

Dutchman, or access point 5, is on the west side of the Apache Trail (State Route 88). You will find the trailhead just 1.1 miles north of Lost Dutchman State Park.

Willow, or access point 6, is located just 1.8 miles north of Lost Dutchman State Park off State Route 88. You will see the gate located on the west side of the road.

Where to Find More Information:

If you visit the Tonto National Forest information page, you will see a link to download information and maps of the trail. You can also apply for a permit for the trail. The gates to the trail are locked. In order to run the trails in this area, you need to apply for a permit and are granted the gate codes.

We have recently heard that they are now charging for the permits. As of this moment, the link to apply online is currently invalid. I will add a link as soon as it is back up and running. You can contact the Mesa Ranger District for more information, or visit the Tonto National Forest link above.

Bulldog Canyon Trail Video

Here is a video from our trip on the Bulldog Canyon Trail. We condensed it and sped up the video so you can get an idea of the terrain of the whole trail.

Nextbase 522GW

This video was filmed with the Nextbase 522GW Dashcam. So far we are loving this dashcam. The quality is amazing (It does decline in our video when we speed up the footage but has it nothing to do with the actual filming.)