Cottonwood Creek Trail

Best Time to Hike

There is no water between the rim and Horseshoe Mesa. Cottonwood Creek's southern spring is reliable in cooler months but can run dry in hot weather; its northern spring is unreliable at best — plan around cooler-season timing if water matters to your route.

Trail Tips

• Camping in the Cottonwood use area is at-large rather than in designated sites, and a backcountry permit is required for overnight stays.
• An established route follows the Cottonwood Creek bed up to the top of the Tapeats Formation, where backpackers can continue on the Tonto Trail toward the South Kaibab Trail.
• This is remote, waterless-most-of-the-year terrain used almost exclusively by backpackers already committed to a multi-day Horseshoe Mesa or Tonto Trail route.

Getting to Cottonwood Creek

Descend via the Grandview Trail to Horseshoe Mesa, then take the west-side connector down to the Tonto Trail junction, and continue about 1.5 miles west to the creek. This is a multi-stage approach, not a direct trailhead-to-destination hike.

What to Expect on Cottonwood Creek Trail

Cottonwood Creek sits in the inner canyon below Horseshoe Mesa, reached via the Tonto Trail after a descent on one of the Grandview Trail's mesa-to-Tonto connector routes. From the Tonto Trail junction near Horseshoe Mesa, it's about 1.5 miles west along the Tonto to Cottonwood Creek — a rugged, exposed stretch of the Tonto Platform with essentially no shade. The route down the west side of Horseshoe Mesa to reach this stretch is the most demanding of the mesa's three descent options, badly washed out where it drops through the Tonto Group above the creek bed.