Pine Creek Loop Trail

Call me loopy, but the Pine Creek Loop Trail is one of the most enjoyable hikes around.

Sorry for the bad pun, but the trail offered just about everything a hiker would want.

It’s close to home, for one (which is helpful for those paying a babysitter by the hour), and it offers an eyeful of the Sonoran desert.

From the corner of the Beeline and Shea, the Pine Creek Loop Trail is roughly 24 miles east. The dirt parking lot is off the Beeline just past mile marker 210.

The trailhead leads directly to the loop. For those looking for more of a climb, take the loop counterclockwise (head right at the trailhead).

That route takes hikers up a steep hill right away. It starts at around 2,300 feet and peaks at around 2,800. Not exactly Mt. Everest, but it does get the legs pumping.

Saguaro cacti dominate the scenery, standing all around the hillsides.

The only distraction is traffic noise from the highway, but that fades with each step up the hill.

At its highest point, the trail follows the mountain ridge. To the right is a spectacular view of boulder fields below and a dry creek bed.

To the left is Pine Creek (also dry at the time).

The trail gently descends until it reaches a fork. Those wanting a little more adventure can follow the path straight onto the Ballantine Trail.

The Ballantine is a lengthy trail (about 10 miles one way) and doesn’t loop back to the start.

Historian and author Bob Mason of Rio Verde said he has followed the Ballantine Trail about a half-mile before turning around.

“This extension of the loop takes you into the area called The Boulders,” he stated. “The trail gets rockier and you’re surrounded with boulders that will remind you of Carefree and the formations around el Pedregal and the Boulders golf club.”

At the fork, the left turn leads back to the parking lot.

Saguaros dominated the scenery during the first half of the loop trail, but Century plants steal the show on the last half.

Dozens of century plant stalks reach for the sky along the hillside.

The trek back is a gentle decline leading back to the parking lot.

Total distance is listed as three miles, but that’s a stretch. Hiking time at a reasonable clip is a little more than an hour. The Pine Creek Loop Trail is likely closer to two miles.

This hike was first featured February 2002 and revised February 2007.