We want to remind you to practice the LEAVE NO TRACE principles while hiking Weaver’s Needle via Peralta Trail. Please remember to stay on trail, pack out all trash, and explore prepared. Don’t carve into any rocks. It is illegal! Check out our hiking tips here.
February 8th, 2020
Length: 6.7 miles out and back. Here is the link to AllTrails. This hike is considered moderate to hard depending on your hiking level
Elevation Gain: 1,647 ft
Dog Friendly: Yes
Fee: No
Restrooms at trailhead: Yes, vault toilets
How To Get There
From the valley you need to get on the US-60 going East. After leaving Mesa, you’ll enter Apache Junction and Gold Canyon city limits. Take a left on Peralta Road heading north. Take the soon to be dirt road all the way to end where you’ll meet the parking lot and trail head. On the way you’ll pass the Wave Cave parking lot on the left hand side. Before you reach the trailhead parking lot, you’ll pass the trailer parking and overflow lot. The walk from there to the trailhead is not long at all and where most hikers end up parking.
The Hike
The hike to Weaver’s Needle is a pretty steady incline, but it is not too challenging. Based off of our All Trails app we gained 407 feet during mile one, 604 feet during mile two, and 325 feet during mile three. The scenery of this hike is breathtaking. You will see incredible rock formations and views. But be sure to watch your stop! The trail is pretty rocky and you can easily trip over the rocks if you aren’t paying attention.
The trail was pretty crowded even though we tried to start it early. We would suggest to try to get there as early as possible! We hiked in February and had beautiful weather. It was 65 and no clouds in the sky. It took us about 2.5 miles to get to the lookout point. This is where you have a clear view of Weaver’s Needle. A lot of people stopped here for pictures and then headed back down, but if you look to the left there is a trail that will take you down towards the needle. We stopped at the lookout point ate our snacks and took some photos. And then we headed down the trail towards Weaver’s Needle.
We headed down this way for about 1 mile and decided to turn back. Going into this hike we were unsure of how long it would take us to get to the lookout point to see the needle. We didn’t realize there was a trail that led all the way down to the needle. We definitely want to come back to hike this and go all the way down to the base of the needle. Overall, this hike is moderate depending on your hiking level.
