Gillespie Bridge and dam plus Sundad Ghost Town

Agua Caliente Road GP

Loop the Gila Bend Mountains while visiting the Gillespie Dam and Bridge plus Sundad Ghost Town.

Start this run in Gila Bend then go north up the Gila River Valley on historic US Route 80, which originally ran from Tybee Island, Georgia to San Diego, California.

Visit Gillespie Bridge and Dam on the Gila then make a big loop around the Gila Bend Mountains to see Sundad Ghost Town.

End your trip on I-8 about 30 miles west of Gila Bend.

There is a GPS - gpx track file at the bottom of the page.

Sundad Ghost Town on Google Earth

The Gillespie Dam Bridge opened in 1927 and has been in use since that time. It was restored by Maricopa County in 2012 and was made part of Historic US 80 in 2018.

In 1993, a violent flood on the Gila River destroyed the Gillespie Dam. The surge of water also caused minor damage to the bridge by causing some of its support piers to settle. However, due to its strong steel truss design and the fact the concrete support piers were sunk into the bedrock, the bridge didn't collapse.

The Gillespie Dam was constructed during the 1920s for primarily irrigation purposes. A portion of the dam failed unexpectedly in 1993 during unusually heavy rains.

Gillespie Bridge

Gillespie Bridge and Dam

Spend a short time along the Gila then turn west into sparsely vegetated Sonoran Desert. Saddle Mountain is aptly named.

Gila River Valley cropland

Saddle Mountain

There is a long stretch of open desert as the well graded road stays mostly north of the Gila Bend Mountains. The eastern part is well north of the mountains while the western part traverses a lower portion of them.

Flatter roads in the eastern portion

Hillier roads in the western part

There's not much information on Sundad available on the internet, but it was established as a tuberculosis sanitarium in the 1920s. With TB being highly contagious, the distance from Phoenix kept healthy folks safe, while it was felt the dry, warm, air would be beneficial to the patients. The sanitarium did not last long. In more recent decades, it has been a party spot for off roaders.

That is not as bad as it sounds, and is actually quite cool, as they have turned the rocks and many bottles into interesting rock art designs. (Just look at the opening Google Earth view!) "Sundad" is spelled out several times, and there are circles, diamonds, wheels, flowers, sunrises, arrows, and many other designs. Pretty cool!

NOTE: The spur into Sundad is rated 2.0, not GP.

Welcome to Sundad

A heart, star and some circles

This is certainly not between Phoenix and Flagstaff, but there was no other place to put it.

Page updated 2019.

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