Today we explore a relatively new National Monument, the Agua Fria National Monument, created in 2000. We have passed the Badger Springs exit from I-17 a lot of times, we have stopped and explored the area close to the first sign near the exit a few times and tried a foray past it only to be stopped by the condition of the road and the number of RVs. We even visited the Agua Fria canyon from the other side but somehow never made it to the trailhead and the Badger Springs trail and this is what we intend to correct today. There aren’t many official trails in the Monument with the Badger Springs Trail being the only one we are aware about. It is however quite nicely marked and easily accessed from the interstate so after parking in the huge parking lot it is time to explore.
It is certainly well marked with multiple signs at the start including one of the few markers for the National Monument we have seen in the area. It is an overflow of signs really, it would be great if they would expand and create a few more trails instead of triplicating the signs here.
The trail is relatively short, about one mile, and follows the Badger Springs Wash down to Agua Fria River. There is no one else around this weekend and the weather is great which makes for good hiking. The small canyon walls are full of prickly pear and saguaro which could potentially make this a great hike in spring when the cacti are blooming. The river at the bottom is flowing through a more impresssive canyon that can be explored both upstream and downstream.
We do just that for a short while, after having lunch near the river, exploring the area and enjoying the beautiful and calm river. With no one else around we have the area fully to ourselves.
As we explore we also find the petroglyph panels, there are quite a few and extensive. We decide to explore them closely as we always enjoy seeing petroglyphs that seem to represent aliens and any other weird ones we can find.
There aren’t any really weird ones here but we still enjoy the many deer, it seems they were hunted here quite often. And then drawn on the rocks?
We spend a bit more time exploring the beautiful area even finding a print someone marked as mountain lion. But then it is time to return to the car and back to Phoenix after a beautiful day outdoors.
