Pyeatt Draw Trail - Payson, AZ (With Video)

The Pyeatt Draw trail is located within the Tonto National Forest just north of Payson Arizona. A few miles below the Mogollon Rim, the trail traverses through a wash where years of water carved through layers of sandstone, and sedimentary rock, creating an array of unique and beautiful rock formations. The wash is surrounded by lush Chaparral, Pinyon-Juniper, and Ponderosa Pine.

Most of the trail requires a 4x4 with good ground clearance and aggressive tires. There are bypasses, but they can be challenging as well. A large portion of the trail consists of slick sandstone stair steps with parts containing sharp rock edges. 33-inch tires with thick sidewalls as well as locking differentials are suggested. Since the entire route follows a wash, flash floods are possible and escape to higher ground is impossible in some places.

If you chose to take the entire trail, winching over an extremely steep ledge is required. This is a very scary and a potentially deadly situation as you are just a few feet from a 15-foot vertical drop into pool of water.

Before the end of the trail, there is an access road I recommend stopping at and walking to the end to ensure you are comfortable with continuing. Once you drive over the 4-foot ledge, you have reached what I call “The point of no return”.

The entire off road portion of the trail took us about 4 hours to complete. Our caravan consisted of Jeep's Tacoma's and even a full size Chevy pickup. Due to ground clearance issues the Jeeps were the only 4x4's to reach the end of the trail.

Damion took most of the video footage on the trail, thank you. The videos are split into two segments. Pay particualar attention to the second video. THe camera does not capture the depth of how scary the last part of Pyeatt really is.

This trail was found using the 'Guide to Arizona Backroads & 4-Wheel Drive Trails' book. Discover this and many more trails in Arizona by purchasing your own copy today! With maps, turn-by-turn directions and GPS coordinates remove the guesswork and enjoy the beauty of the Arizona outdoors! If you’re planning a 4x4 trip, this guide is an invaluable resource. Click here for a full description and a where to buy!