- Arizona County HP: #8
- Difficulty: ⭐️ (on a scale of 4)
- Summit Elevation: 7,981 feet
- Mountain Range: Bradshaw Mountains
- Ancestral Lands: Yavapai
PLANNING DETAILS
Location: Mt. Union is located in the Prescott National Forest, approximately 100 miles southwest of Flagstaff, AZ. The closest town with amenities is Prescott, AZ.
When to Visit: Spring through fall. All routes leading to Mt. Union use unmaintained single-lane dirt forest roads. Driving these roads in the winter months can be dangerous due to snow, ice, and mud. Road signs caution visitors to have 4WD or snow chains during winter and early spring.
Fees/Permits Required: None
Getting There: Visitors can drive within 2/3 of a mile of Mt. Union’s summit using forest roads on the mountain’s north side.
Directions from Phoenix: Follow I-17 north for 63 miles. Take exit 262 for AZ-69 toward Prescott. Follow AZ-69 north for 30 miles. Turn left on S. Walker Road toward Lynx Lake Recreation Area. The road is paved for the first 7.8 miles until you reach the narrow bridge. Cross over the bridge, and turn left to continue on S. Walker Road (which is now a dirt road) and drive west 1.8 miles. At the junction for the Potato Patch community, turn right and continue west on S. Walker Road for 2.1 miles, driving past Hassayampa Lake, until you reach the stop sign. Continue straight through the stop sign and merge onto S. Senator Highway and follow it uphill for 3 miles. Shortly after Kamp Kiva, you will encounter a parking area near a sign for Big Bug Mesa and Mt Union Lookout. The remainder of the route is on foot using FR-261A.
Directions from Flagstaff: Follow I-40 west for 50 miles. Take exit 145 for AZ-89 toward Prescott. Follow AZ-89 south for 48 miles. Turn left on Prescott Lake Parkway toward AZ-69/Phoenix, and follow the road for 1.8 miles until it meets AZ-69. Then turn left on AZ-69 south and drive 1 mile before turning right on S. Walker Road toward Lynx Lake Recreation Area. The road is paved for the first 7.8 miles until you reach the narrow bridge. Cross over the bridge, and turn left to continue on S. Walker Road (which is now a dirt road) and drive west 1.8 miles. At the junction for the Potato Patch community, turn right and continue west on S. Walker Road for 2.1 miles, driving past Hassayampa Lake, until you reach the stop sign. Continue straight through the stop sign and merge onto S. Senator Highway and follow it uphill for 3 miles. Shortly after Kamp Kiva, you will encounter a parking area near a sign for Big Bug Mesa and Mt Union Lookout. The remainder of the route is on foot using FR-261A.
Parking: There is no official parking for this high point. However, there is a small parking area/vehicle turnaround, big enough for 4-6 cars, shortly after Kamp Kiva. This area sits immediately before the road junction for FR-261A. There are no amenities (trash, vault toilets, water) near this high point.
Pets Allowed: Yes.
Kid Friendly: Yes.
The Summit: In 1933, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built a 30-foot fire lookout tower atop Mount Union, and the lookout is still actively used during fire season. There is also a survey benchmark embedded in the rocks under the tower.
TRIP SUMMARY
Date Visited: April 21, 2026
Route Used: Forest Road 261A from the junction on S. Senator Road – 1.3 miles round trip
I originally planned to visit Mt. Union in Spring 2024, but my peakbaging plans were over before they even began. Southern California and Arizona got a major snow dump in mid-February, and it was a high-snow year all around. There was zero chance I was going to get up this high point’s curvy dirt roads in those abysmal road conditions. So I was forced to go home without tackling this high point.
Fast forward a few years, and I was visiting Arizona in April 2026 under opposite conditions. It was a very low-snow year, and there wasn’t a hint of snow near Prescott or virtually anywhere else in Arizona (except Humphreys Peak). And so, I knew my chances of making up this high point were very, very good this spring.
After flying into Phoenix on a morning flight and waiting what seemed like forever in the rental car line, I had an AWD hybrid SUV and was ready to begin my 8-day trip around Arizona to see how many of my remaining Arizona CoHPs I could check off my bucket list.
There are multiple ways to get out to Mt. Union, but most of them start in Prescott or Prescott Valley. I’d been there once before, and I knew the locals pronounced the name of this town differently from the surname Prescott. (It’s pronounced as “press-cut,” not “press-scot“).
Since I was coming from Phoenix on this visit, I opted to approach using the “South Walker” route past the Lynx Lake Recreation Area.
The drive to Mt. Union was wholly uneventful. Once I passed Lynx Lake, I continued to follow S. Walker Road past a bunch of log cabins and summer homes until I got to a small one-lane bridge where the road transitioned from pavement to dirt.
After crossing the bridge, my GPS directed me left to remain on S. Walker Road. The dirt road remained in fairly good condition, but it definitely felt slow as it curved through the forest and hills.
Road signs warned me that the route was not maintained in winter and recommended 4WD and snow chains. But the most serious obstacle I came across during my visit was two brief sections of road that were flooded, requiring me to drive through giant puddles. Even this “off-roading” was doable in a Subaru (or my rental Kia Niro, as the case would be today).
About 2 miles after the bridge, I reached the signs announcing that I’d reached the community of Potato Patch. If only I’d had more time today. I would have absolutely parked in this vicinity to hike the Dandrea Trail (#285) up to Mt. Union. Unfortunately, I still needed to drive out to the dueling Gila County high points after I finished this summit, so hiking the trail would have to wait until another visit.
After turning right at Potato Patch, I continued west on S. Walker Road to the narrowest part of the drive along some rock formations above Hassayampa Lake. The small lake shimmered below me in the sunshine, and I noted the lucky few who had homes perched on this lake fed by the small Hassayampa River.
Soon thereafter, I reached a stop sign. This sign seemed unnecessary on a bunch of dirt roads where you can see and hear cars coming without any effort. From my vantage point, I just needed to go straight and drive onto the road directly ahead of me.
But then I realized the reason why the stop sign was there. In reality, I wasn’t crossing a road as much as merging onto S. Senator Highway, another dirt road that was parallel to me, but just a little lower in elevation. I’d need to remember this tricky spot on my return trip to make certain I took the higher road (S. Walker) back out, not the lower one (S. Senator).
Once I merged onto S. Senator Highway, the dirt road began climbing in earnest as it wound its way through the Bradshaw Mountains for the final 3 miles to the parking area. The road kept climbing until I passed Kamp Kiva, a 40-acre mountain camp originally established by the Mormons, and later purchased by the Laestadian Lutheran Church.
The seasonal camp was like a ghost town in late April. It was just me and the dirt road out here. I hadn’t even seen another car or truck this weekday afternoon, let alone any campers.
I finally reached my “trailhead” six miles after crossing the bridge and starting down this dirt route. A square sign was nailed to a tree with one arrow pointing to the right toward Big Bug Mesa, while another arrow beneath it pointed left toward the Mt. Union Lookout.
The arrow on the sign pointed me uphill toward a gravel-and-dirt road that would have been drivable, except for the locked gate blocking access to cars. The rest of the journey would need to be on foot.
Immediately before I spotted this sign, I’d passed a moderately-sized turnaround, which was clearly where cars were expected to park for the final 0.65-mile hike to the top of Mt. Union. It wasn’t a trailhead per se, but it would have to do.
There were a number of nice-looking off-grid houses built along the remote road, plus an amusing sign about border collies that was nailed to one of the trees. But perhaps the most unexpected sight was two vintage Airstream trailers, which had been hauled up to a flat area presumably to be converted into a scenic retreat in the mountains.
I got my first views of the top of Mt. Union as I hiked up the well-graded ascent. The mountain top was covered with ugly radio towers. But amid all the garish antennas, I could see the light-green cab of the fire lookout.
This historical lookout tower was built in 1933 by the Civilian Conservation Corps (which employed 41,000 people in Arizona during the Great Depression), and placed here because of the high point’s panoramic views of the Bradshaw Mountains and Yavapai County.
The fire lookout is still active today and offers views of up to 100 miles across the landscape on a clear day. The seasonal caretaker only mans the tower during fire season, so there wasn’t anyone up in the cab today when I arrived. It was just me and the sunshine.
As the road wound its way around the top, I noted that the west side of the light-green cab had a wooden sign. Just below the windows, a wooden sign identified it as the Mt. Union Lookout and listed the peak’s elevation. But it was incredibly difficult to get a good photo of the sign from my angle, 30 feet below it.
Signs indicated that the summit was closed to public use, and there was a bevy of security cameras on the towers and nearby outbuildings. But I decided to gamble and head up to the tower anyway. I was the only person out here, and I didn’t intend to disrupt anything. I just wanted to get some better photos and search for the survey benchmark that I was pretty certain was on the county high point.
As I peered overhead, I could see that the lookout’s cab was padlocked to keep vandals and troublemakers out. I was undeterred by this, though, and I decided to climb roughly 20 feet up the tower on this breezy afternoon to get a better look at my surroundings.
Once I was done taking my photos, I quickly returned to the car. I had a long drive ahead of me yet, and I hoped to get to the Mogollon Rim Visitor Center (130 miles due east) before darkness descended so I could line myself up on my next county high point on my bucket list.
Arizona’s refusal to follow Daylight Saving Time means that sunset would be about an hour earlier than normal this time of year. And I didn’t want to set up camp for my next CoHP in the dark, if it could be avoided.
BONUS MATERIAL
Public camping nearby:
- Lynx Campground is located on Lynx Lake, just 6 miles east of Prescott. This USFS campground is open seasonally (Apr. 1 to Oct. 31) and offers 35 campsites, 4 double campsites, 2 flush toilets, 4 vault toilets, potable water, trash, picnic tables, fire rings, a lake with a boat launch, fishing, and trails. Reservations are strongly recommended due to the campground’s popularity. Cost: $18/night (single campsites), $36/night (double campsites), $5 per extra vehicle.
- White Spar Campground is located 3 miles south of Prescott on AZ-89. This USFS campground is open year-round and offers 52 campsites, 4 double sites, vault toilets, trash, picnic tables, and fire rings. Potable water is only available during the peak season (Apr. 1 to Oct. 31). Reservations are available online at Recreation.gov. Cost: $10-14/night (single campsites; $20-28/night (double campsites).
Alternate Route:
- Dandrea-Yankee Doodle Trails. Visitors who want to hike to the summit can use the Dandrea/Yankee Doodle Route. Near the Potato Patch community, hikers will find the trailhead for the Dandrea Trail (#285). This trail parallels the Hassayampa River for 1.7 miles before joining the Yankee Doodle Trail (#284) for the final 0.7 mile to the summit. The round-trip distance for this route is 4.8 miles
Resources:
- Overview of Mount Union (Summit Post)
- Mount Union Lookout (National Historic Lookout Register)
- Mount Union Lookout Photos (Trip Advisor)
