El Camino del Diablo
General information for this historical trail in southern Arizona. Update Feb 2021! We finally returned to this trail and will be updated this document soon. TrailsOffroad.com has done an excellent write-up on this trail. Best of all it is easy to import into Gaia GPS with just a few clicks!
Free Permit Required: Information and the permit application can be found here, https://luke.isportsman.net/
Brief Bio – (From Wikipedia)
El Camino Del Diablo is an historic 250 miles (400 km) road which currently extends through some of the most remote and arid terrain of the Sonoran Desert in Pima County and Yuma County, Arizona. In use for at least 1,000 years, El Camino Del Diablo is believed to have started as a series of footpaths used by desert-dwelling Native Americans. From the 16th to the 19th centuries, the road was used extensively by conquistadores, explorers, missionaries, settlers, miners, and cartographers. Use of the trail declined sharply after the railroad reached Yuma in 1870. In recognition of its historic significance, El Camino Del Diablo was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Safety in numbers! Groups runs are strongly encouraged but your group needs to be limited to 4 vehicles. Larger groups required a special permit which others have said are hard to obtain.
Map Overview:
Resources:
Permit Information – Barry Goldwater Range Information
Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge – Web site
Cabeza Prieta Rules and Regulations – Web site
General Information: https://www.desertusa.com/mag02/may/diablo.html
Fortuna Mine – https://www.in-the-desert.com/fortunamine.html
Arizona Trail Book (Google Books) – Christmas Pass information
Trail Blogs/Reports:
Norcal Jeeps
Expedition Portal Forums including some AZFJ Non-members
Turtle Expedition – Cool rig and great photos
Overland Expo – 3 days on the El Camino del Diablo
Hike Arizona – (2009) ECDD Report
GPS Information:
Waypoints from FunTreks – Combined east and west route
Christmas Pass Side Spur
We Finally returned to the ECDD in 2021 and will be going back again soon. Here was our day 1 journey. For this trip we decided to run the trail west to east. Starting in the late afternoon provided great lighting along with all of the great colors the AZ desert can provide.
