Homestead Approach

I am planning a trip to central/southern AZ later this week. What is the status with the approach to the homestead. I have heard everything from passable with a 2wd car to axel destroying 5 ft. ruts that require a unimog. I have a Quigley 4x4 van (relatively long wheel base with poor turning radius) that I will be taking on the trip and was hoping to bounce back there and camp for a few days. How bad is the road and can a big ol' van survive the approach?

I went a few times a couple of years ago, and tried to drive in twice. In my opinion you did need a 4wd back then. The crux of the road was short, but involved 3 distinct rocky steps, which I tried to negotiate with a 2wd high clearance Tacoma, and a cityfied 4wd SUV (Huyndai something or another). Each time I made it through the first two steps (barely), and then got hung up on the third. I then backed down, camped, and hiked in. The hike is about 2 miles, but not too bad. I would suggest try it with your Van, and if you can't make it there is decent camping right before the rough section. You can then hike or hitchhike in.

I have no idea how the road compares these days, but I did hear that the fall rains were not kind to it.

mountainproject.com/v/homes…

This is video of the approach taken in the last couple of weeks. Hopefully you can determine if your vehicle will be able to handle it. The worst rut is in the middle of a sharp left turn so the long wheel base may hurt your efforts a bit.

youtube.com/watch?v=rE20DTV…

If you have a facebook account there is now a community page named "Homestead Rockclimbing". You should be able to find useful info there.

Good luck! I hope you make it in. It is well worth the effort.

Thanks for all the advice fellas. Ben, I found a you tube video by a Nate Young that shows a built jeep driving up no problem. It appears the road has been improved since the pictures that Scott linked to above were taken in October. Is the 'rut' you speak of around the left turn at the end of the video? My rig is a standard (regular body) ford van with 4-5" of lift and 33" tires with low gear. Just offroad capable enough to get into trouble as it weighs 8000lbs. loaded for fun. Are there people climbing up there regularly this time of year mid week. Nice weather coming up. I would hate to roll my van and clog up the road.

Ed L wrote: I would hate to roll my van and clog up the road.

I haven't seen the road, but we had hoped to drive in as well with our lifted van. Watching those videos and talking to some folks we could "probably" have made the difficult sections, but apparently there is a side-hill section that wouldn't be kind to top-heavy 4x4's. Just my $.02. Never hurts to scope it out then walk I suppose! Good luck.

I would at least go out and walk the crux section of the road to determine how comfortable you are trying it. It is in the first quarter mile off the highway. If it is too hairy you can always bail and go back 45 min to Queen Creek for the day. Or hike in (kind of a pain in the ass). If you are lucky, someone may come along and let you hitch a ride but that is a hit or miss proposition during the week. The ideal situation would be to go with someone else your first time so you know you can get in and you can scope the road condition for your vehicle for future visits.

I was there a couple of weeks ago and would not do that road in a top heavy vehicle. I have a 4x4 Tacoma and had to use my rear locker to get up the road. I have pretty good 4x4 driving skills too. Yes, I could have done it without the locker, but it would have been much harder and I would have had to gas the upper section. Going down the road is where the top heavy issue would come into play IMHO. I don't know how the recent rain has changed things, but if it is any worse than a couple of weeks ago I would definitely stay away. The road is pretty hairy even with the "fix."

I appreciate all the advice. I have been sitting in subzero snowy weather fantasizing about tufa pulling for some time now so staying away is not an option. I do however expect to march in and out and if all looks reasonable maybe bounce up in 'la tortuga' on day 2. We may check out Queen Creek as well and overall am really excited to climb down in the mild temperatures of southern Arizona. No definite plans except to enjoy some sun. Thanks again for the helpful responses. We are rolling south here in a couple of hours for the long drive south. Over and out.

Post an update!

Have a blast out there.