Telegraph Canyon 2.5

A scenic Jeep trail up Ajax Wash, then along higher ground, then down into Telegraph Canyon passing Picketpost Mountain on the way to Superior.  It can be run in either direction but is described west to east.

This trail has had no maintenance for a long time and is becoming slow, bumpy and dangerous.  Cross-trail erosion on the western end gets worse every year and a slip on one of these could be fatal.  The center, Telegraph Canyon portion, of the trail was subject to major flooding in 2018 and is also more eroded.  The north end of the trail is strictly rock - almost all fines have eroded away over time.

Telegraph Canyon Trail is the northern/eastern part of the 1A Cottonwood - Telegraph 2.5 Access Road.  The western part of the Access Road is Cottonwood Canyon Trail.

​There is a GPS - gpx track at the bottom of the page.
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Picketpost Mountain

Begin this trail at an intersection where half a dozen roads come together.  I have heard this called Spaghetti Junction, Dysfunction Junction and other names not to be repeated here.  This trail starts by going back and forth across Ajax Wash, which is the trail called Lower Ajax 3.5.  After a couple miles this Telegraph Canyon Trail rises up on the side of  the canyon and the wash become Upper Ajax 4.5.

Telegraph Canyon crossing Lower Ajax

Upper Ajax in wash. Telegraph Canyon on left. Original road on right.

The section along Lower Ajax has a crested saguaro and views of unnamed needles.  Walk toward the the pictured saguaro to find 2 more crested ones very close to each other.  3 in one stop!

Crested saguaro

Unnamed needles

Upper Ajax Trail ends at the foundation for the old Ajax Mine.

The next couple miles has numerous spots of cross-trail erosion.  Some of these are on steep side slopes and could be very serious if you are not careful to drive them correctly.

Ajax Mill foundation

Cross-trail erosion

The trail leaves Ajax Mill and climbs out of Ajax Wash up onto higher ground with scenic views.

Hill climbing out of Ajax Wash

View along higher ground

Drop down off the higher ground and drive into the upper part of Telegraph Canyon.

The last 2 miles of the trail is almost all solid rock where the original road surface has eroded away.  Very slow and rough.

Dropping into Telegraph Canyon

Northern portion bare ledge

The very northern part of the 4WD trail crosses private land.  This section was closed to the public for a while in the summer of 2019 so the owner could explore mining possibilities in the perlite deposits.  The owner reopened the trail after exploration.

It is hard to say what will happen to public access if the owner decides to actively mine the area.

Private land

One exploration area

Updated 2019.

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