Location - Picture Rocks Road

1. Picture Rocks Trailhead

This location has an abundance of parking, but the trail is steep, and rough. The parking lot is located in a dip, with the terrain rising in all directions.

View of parking, looking east

Start of trail, looking north

Start of trail, looking northeast

View to the northwest, from the parking lot

View to the south, from the parking lot

2. Picture Rocks Pullout West of Trailhead

This location is a pullout on the north side of Picture Rocks Road, just west of the trailhead. It has the advantage of being on slightly higher ground, so that the view to the west isn't as obstructed.

View of parking, looking west

Looking east

Walkable terrain to the north

Saguaros further in, looking east

Elevated terrain to the west

A narrow trail heads northwest

End of the trail, looking west

End of the trail, looking east

Large saguaro at the end of the trail

3. Panther Peak Wash Trail

This location is a horse trail, further west on Picture Rocks Road. The terrain is flatter, and the trail is marked with a langth of 1.7 miles.

View of parking, looking east

Looking west, showing signage to watch for

Start of trail

Trail marker

Along the trail, looking northwest

Along the trail, looking northeast

Along the trail, looking west

The trail is narrow, and littered with horse hoofprints

4. Paved Pullout

This location has a lot of parking for a pullout, and is almost at the crest of the hill, with better views. However, there is limited accessibility to the desert.

View of parking, looking east

View of parking, looking west

Walkable terrain to the northwest

View to the north

View to the west

5. Golden Gate Road

This is a dirt road for high clearance vehicles only, and is closed from sunset to 6 a.m. However, the start of this road offers some great views to the south, compared to the previous locations.

Entrance to Golden Gate Road from Picture Rocks Road

The road continues south

View to the west, showing distant peaks on the far side of Avra Valley

View to the northeast

View to the southeast

Plenty of saguaros to the south, within an easy walk on level ground

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