Photos of the drive on Elephant Butte Road to Whitlow Tank
in the Superstition Mountain Wilderness
elephant_butte_2 elephant_butte_2a img_0001 img_0002 img_0003 img_0004 img_0005
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
img_0006 img_5966 img_0008 img_0009 img_0010 img_0011 img_0072
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
img_0071 img_5961 img_0013 img_0014 img_1693 img_0018 img_5947
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
img_6100 img_5949 img_5954 img_0009_1 img_0019 img_0069 img_0020
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
img_0021 img_0022 img_0023 img_0026 img_0027 img_0028 img_0029
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
img_0030 img_0050 img_5948 img_5937 img_5939 img_5940 img_5941_copy
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
img_5944 img_5943
43
44
Elephant Butte Road in the Superstition Wilderness is an extreme-4WD road that starts at the SE corner of the golf course in Queen Valley. Round trip driving time from the intersection of Loop 101 and US 60 in Tempe was 5 hours for 100 miles. It provides easy access to Whitlow Tank, Randolph Canyon, Coffee Flat Canyon, and the southeastern end of the Red Tanks Trail.

This road can tear up the undercarriage of your vehicle, get you stuck in mud, or in a creekbed. The northern section has brush and trees growing into the road that will scratch your vehicle and can break off antennas and mirrors. Current conditions may be worse than the photographs. Heavy rains rearrange the boulders in the creekbed. Recent rain can turn the early sections into deep mud and increase the depth and flow of the unbridged crossings. Travel with a minimum of two vehicles is recommended--it's a long hike out after a breakdown.

Travel on Elephant Butte Road requires an Arizona State Land Recreation Permit which costs $50 per adult or $75 for a family (defined by law as: "2 adults and children under 14 years of age".)

Click a thumbnail to see the full size image. Then use the Previous and Next thumbnails to
directly move among the full size images without having to return to this page each time.