Apache Junction, AZ: Superstition Mountains, the Lost Dutchman and Goldfield

Apache Junction is the East Valley city at the foot of the Superstition Mountains, about 33 miles east of downtown Phoenix. It takes its name from the spot where the Apache Trail meets the old highway to Globe, and it is the jumping-off point for Lost Dutchman State Park, Goldfield Ghost Town and the Arizona Renaissance Festival.

I'm Terry Day with DeLex Realty. Superstition Mountain rises right at the east edge of town, and it's what first-time visitors talk about. But the town has a good story of its own that most newcomers never hear.

A Town Built at a Crossroads

Before there was a town, there was a road. Construction on what was then called the Tonto Wagon Road began in August 1903. It was the supply route from the Mesa railhead to the Roosevelt Dam site, and it was finished in September 1905. The Southern Pacific railroad later marketed the route to tourists under a catchier name: the Apache Trail.

According to local historian Tom Kollenborn, writing for the Apache Junction Public Library, the place where the Apache Trail met the highway to Globe was first known as Youngsberg Junction, after a former Phoenix mayor, George U. Young. A road realignment finished in May 1922 set the junction where it sits today. That August, a traveling salesman from Logan, Utah named George Cleveland Curtis started a business there. His family lived in a tent at first and sold water and sandwiches to people passing through. Curtis pushed to rename the crossroads Apache Junction, and the name stuck.

The town grew slowly. It first showed up on the U.S. Census in 1970, and it incorporated as a city on November 24, 1978. Most of the city is in Pinal County, with a small piece in Maricopa County.

The Legend That Gives the Town Its Motto

Apache Junction's motto is "Surrounded by Legends," and the biggest legend is the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine. Arizona State Parks tells the story this way: a Mexican family, the Peraltas, was said to have worked gold mines in the Superstitions in the 1840s. In the 1870s, Jacob Waltz, known as "the Dutchman" even though he was born in Germany, supposedly found the mine with help from a Peralta descendant. Waltz later moved to Phoenix and died in 1891, and the story goes that he described the mine's location to a neighbor who cared for him. Most versions place the gold somewhere near Weaver's Needle, the tall rock spire deep in the range.

Nobody has proven the mine exists, but people have searched for well over a century. In 1938, Curtis helped put up a monument to Waltz and the Lost Dutchman Mine, which was rededicated in 1988.

Goldfield: The Boom Town That Came Back

There was real gold here too. Kollenborn writes that the richest strike came on April 14, 1893, and the Mammoth Mine turned out more than three million dollars in gold bullion between 1893 and 1897. Goldfield boomed and faded within about five years.

The town you can visit today is a rebuilt version. Bob Schoose, who had moved to Mesa in 1970, bought the old Goldfield mill site and spent years reconstructing an Old West town there. Goldfield Ghost Town sits just off the Apache Trail northeast of Apache Junction, and it offers underground mine tours, a short train ride around town, gold panning, a museum and shops.

Hiking at Lost Dutchman State Park

Lost Dutchman State Park sits at the base of the Superstitions, about 40 miles east of Phoenix by the park's count. Trails lead from the park into the Superstition Wilderness and the Tonto National Forest. The Native Plant Trail is an easy stroll, and the Siphon Draw Trail climbs to the top of the Flatiron, one of the toughest day hikes in the area. The park also has a campground with 134 sites and a four-mile mountain bike loop. Day-use trails are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Fall through spring is the best time to go. If you're new to desert hiking, my post on fall hiking season in Phoenix covers when it cools off and how to hike safely.

Movie Sets, the Museum and the Apache Trail Drive

Apacheland, an 1,800-acre movie set, opened near here in 1960 and was hit by fire in 1969. Pieces of it, including the Audie Murphy Barn, were moved to the grounds of the Superstition Mountain Museum, where you can also see a 19th-century windmill.

From town, State Route 88 follows the Apache Trail past Goldfield, Canyon Lake and Tortilla Flat. Past Tortilla Flat the road turns to narrow dirt toward Roosevelt Dam. A stretch damaged by fire and floods in 2019 was closed for years and reopened in September 2024. It's not a road for big RVs, so check conditions before you go.

The Renaissance Festival Season

Every winter, a few miles east of town, the Arizona Renaissance Festival opens in Gold Canyon on US 60. The festival's official site lists the 39th annual season as Saturdays and Sundays from February 6 through April 4, 2027, plus Presidents' Day Monday, February 15, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. If you live in Apache Junction or Gold Canyon, you're about as close as anyone in the Valley.

Living in Apache Junction

Apache Junction sits at about 1,700 feet, and US 60 connects it west to Mesa and the rest of the Valley. The city annexed about ten square miles to the south in 2021. My Moving to Apache Junction guide covers the area in more detail, and you can see what's on the market now on the Apache Junction homes for sale page. If you're weighing it against a bigger East Valley city, my Moving to Mesa guide is a good comparison.

Questions people ask

How did Apache Junction get its name?
The name comes from the junction of the Apache Trail and the old highway to Globe. A local businessman, George Cleveland Curtis, who opened a business at the crossroads in 1922, campaigned to replace the earlier name, Youngsberg Junction.

Is the Lost Dutchman Mine real?
No one has ever proven it. The legend centers on Jacob Waltz, who died in Phoenix in 1891 and was said to know the location of a rich gold mine in the Superstition Mountains.

What county is Apache Junction in?
Apache Junction is mostly in Pinal County, with a small area in Maricopa County.