West Clear Creek Trail | Bullpen Road

As we were working our way north through Arizona we found an area for free dispersed camping near Camp Verde. At first glance (and being completely new to the area), we thought Camp Verde was just a calm little town in the less visited area of Arizona. Little did we know that if we followed the dirt road a few miles further we would find the absolutely beautiful West Clear Creek Trail!

This trail provides access into the incredible, narrow and rugged canyon of West Clear Creek Wilderness. This wilderness area follows a clean, rushing creek through a canyon of luscious cottonwoods and gorgeous red rocks. There are numerous perfect swimming holes, rock hopping opportunities, and stunning scenery that will make you wish you had prepared for an overnight trip instead of a hike!

There are many different ways to enjoy this amazing area – from little to no hiking, a day hike, all day adventure, and backpacking opportunities! At the end of the West Clear Creek Trail info and description, we’ll cover some of these other options for exploring the area. But we’re sure you’ll agree that on a hot day, West Clear Creek is the place to be! But maybe shoot for visiting on a weekday…

Camping Options

There are numerous great spots for dispersed camping along Bullpen Road. Many of these spots are large enough to accommodate RVs/trailers and are among pretty desert scenery. There is no camping at the Bullpen Day Use area or the West Clear Creek Trailhead area. A sign has been posted along the dirt road indicating no camping permitted past this point.

Similarly, camping is also allowed along West Clear Creek Trail. But don’t set up camp along the trail until you see the sign indicating camping permitted beyond this sign. Turning this adventure into a backpacking trip seems like a great option!

Quick Info West Clear Creek Trail

Directions: Click here to get directions to West Clear Creek Parking Area.

Difficulty: Moderate; river crossings and rocky sections

Distance: 4.5 miles one way with opportunities for further exploration. We totaled about 6 miles one way.

Our Experience Hiking West Clear Creek Trail

From our dispersed campspot along Bullpen Road we headed to the West Clear Creek Trail parking area. We specifically planned this adventure for a weekday (Monday) because this area gets full on the weekends! So we were relieved to see only 4 other vehicles. If you intend on hiking West Clear Creek Trail, be sure to continue past the first parking area, Bullpen Day Use Area. When we first attempted this hike, we turned off too soon and ended up having a completely different adventure. We’ll cover that later in the article.

At the West Clear Creek Trailhead there is a large parking area and a vault toilet (closed during our visit). Head through the gate and pick up the trail! The trail is very well defined and starts out shaded but quickly becomes exposed.

After about a quarter mile you’ll notice a turn off on the right. This will take you about another eighth of a mile to a beautiful swimming hole with cool cliff jumping opportunities! Choose from 8-20+ foot jumps! Stay straight here to continue on West Clear Creek Trail.

The trail passes an old stone building and is pretty exposed.

After about 1.25 miles, you’ll reach the first of three river crossings. There is a way to rock hop across without getting wet but if it’s a scorcher like when we were here I welcomed the opportunity to get my feet wet! Just past this river crossing is the sign that states camping is now permitted.

Quickly, we reached the second river crossing which can also be done without getting wet. From here the trail starts to pass by the beautiful red rock canyon walls. The vivid warm red orange contrasting with the green trees and crystal clear water was absolutely gorgeous.

Explore this Later – Pin it Now!

The third river crossing along West Clear Creek Trail requires getting wet. The water is so clean and refreshing that we hung for a bit while we ate a snack.

After this river crossing, the trail is mostly exposed with lots of short elevation gains and losses. It got super hot along this section but the surrounding scenery was very beautiful.

There are towering walls covered in green with a few different colors of rocks in them. As we were walking we could hear the water rushing down below, way down below.

Finally, we made the final descent that brought us back to the refreshing water! Immediately we spotted cool red rock formations that we decided would be the perfect spot for lunch. So we crossed the river again and hung out for a bit.

After lunch we swam around this spot. There was a relatively deep area but not much in the way of cliff jumping. Since we were in no hurry to leave the river for even five minutes, we decided to walk further up river. And we had no idea, but this is where the real adventure started for us.

Trail Ends – Adventure Begins!

At first we attempted to rock hop but there weren’t enough rocks to rely on that. So we did a mix of rock hopping and wading through the West Clear Creek. After a bit, we reached more vibrant red rocks and just couldn’t wait to see what else we would find along the way.

We went about 1.5 miles further than where the main West Clear Creek Trail brought us to. And during those 1.5 miles we had a blast. With a mix of rock hopping, river wading, jumping off the red rocks into the deep water holes, some high rock walls for cliff jumping and so much more breathtaking red rock river scenery. It was just perfect. We definitely thought it would be cool to have prepared for a backpacking trip so that we could keep following the river further and further! Each twist and turn revealed even more beauty.

After 1.5 miles we headed back to our stuff, had another snack then hit the trail back to West Clear Creek Trailhead.

What an Amazing Adventure!

Oh, and I didn’t mention another surprising perk… after the second river crossing on our way in, we didn’t see another human the whole time until we got back to the parking area!! We couldn’t believe our luck. From what we’ve read, the parking area fills up on weekends. Though it sounds like a lot of people just go to that first swimming hole about a half mile from the trailhead. We noticed that there was some trash at the trailhead and a little bit along the way to the turn off for the swimming hole. But after that, the trail was super clean and pristine.

We absolutely loved our adventure on West Clear Creek Trail! Next time we would love to plan an overnight trip to see more of this beautiful wilderness.

Short Hike to the Popular Swimming Hole on West Clear Creek Trail

On a hot day you can follow West Clear Creek Trail for just a half mile to a popular but gorgeous swimming hole. This spot gets really busy on a hot day and even more crowded on weekends. Follow the trail for a quarter mile and then follow the trail as it branches to the right towards the cliff wall. After another eighth of a mile you’ll find water as well as a cool spot to cliff jump between 8-20 feet high. It’s a beautiful spot to cool off and get in an exhilarating high jump but don’t expect solitude!

Bullpen Day Use Area Adventure

Rewind to the first time that we attempted this hike. On our first trip to the area we turned into the Bullpen Day Use Area. Just a short walk from the parking area there is river access. We had our backpack packed and we headed off on what we thought was West Clear Creek Trail! The trail started out past a gate and followed an old dirt road that led to a restroom. From there, the trail was less defined and led us to the river. We thought this was the first river crossing of the three mentioned on the actual trail. So we crossed here and the water was waist deep.

After that, the “trail” was undefined because come to find out it wasn’t actually the trail haha. But we kept following the river. And after less than a mile we found a gorgeous swimming hole with deep water and a cliff to jump off!

We had it all to ourselves. Even though there wasn’t a trail we continued to follow the river to see what else we could find. The “trail” conditions were extremely rocky!

We found a good spot to stop for lunch. While we were eating we heard something in the bushes… Then all of a sudden we saw a huge black and orange foot and a half long…dinosaur?! It was unreal! We watched him walk around and just stared in disbelief. It was so cool!! Later we looked it up and realized that we saw a Gila Monster! It was an amazing experience, definitely something we won’t forget.

As you can see, you really can’t go wrong checking out the West Clear Creek area. There is river access from both parking areas, short hikes to awesome swimming holes and opportunities to adventure further in either direction!

Thanks for Reading about Our West Clear Creek Adventures

If you’d like to read about more adventures, check out the link below:

• Oasis Hike in Black Canyon
• Hiking to Unique Volcanism From Warner Valley Trailhead
• Explore the Geological Playground at Valley of Fire State Park

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