We drove one morning east from Phoenix towards the Superstition Mountains, an appropriately named mountain range creating the picturesque southwestern scenery. We drove down Peralta Road and parked at the Peralta Trailhead. You can take many different paths from Peralta Trail, but ours was to Fremont Saddle. Fremont Saddle provided majestic views of the Superstitions Weaver’s Needle, a 1,000-foot high jagged skyscraper of a formation.
The Journey Up to Fremont Saddle
Every online resource on the hike had a different distance, but around five miles roundtrip seems to be the average. The hike is dog-friendly and seems to be people don’t really know trail etiquette with their pup here. Many dogs off leash or owners not cleaning up after their business. Unfortunately, a trail bad pet owners aren’t taking care of, so just be mindful. Start Peralta Trail left and head slow and steady up the canyon.
The hike craves up the canyon, so don’t forget to look back! The hike up provides trails through cacti, jagged needles, and tabletop mesas, all formed from volcanic eruptions millions of years ago. Miles of hoodoos rim the sides as you hike up the valley. At the top, we were rewarded with a view of Weaver’s Needle. After taking in the view from Froment’s Saddle, we decided to go a bit further.
To the right (North) of Fremont Saddle is a lone tree that you can hike to. We followed the trail around, scrambled up some rocks, and had an up-close view of Weaver’s Needle. Perfect place to sit down and have lunch. We explored around for a bit and then followed the same trail back down to the trail registry.
