Gold Canyon is located on the eastern rim of the Phoenix Metropolitan area, near the foot of the majestic and scenic Superstition Mountains . It is adjacent to thousands of acres of State Trust Lund and National Forest. The community is easily accessible by the Superstition Highway (I-60). Its climate and proximity to outstanding recreational and historical areas draws thousands of winter visitors annually.

Gold Canyon is a planned, family-oriented community established in the 1970´s. The Gold Canyon Golf Resort was one of the first buildings in the area.
There is only one place in the Southwest where you can play championship golf on two courses set against the magnificent backdrop of the legendary Superstition Mountains - Gold Canyon Golf Resort! Two fantastic golf courses are on property, both designed by Ken Kavanaugh. Dinosaur Mountain is ranked as one of the top three public courses in the state and the new Sidewinder Course leads golfers through desert arroyos and native desert washes of the Sonoran Desert .

Gold Canyon Golf Resort is located 35 minutes from metropolitan Phoenix, close to shopping and entertainment, but far enough away to offer peace, solitude and the unmatched beauty of the High Sonoran Desert. The unique mountainside-casitas offer elegant amenities including wet bars, fireplaces, spas and private patios.

POPULATION: 6,026
HIGHWAYS: U.S. 60 - Superstition Highway
COUNTY: Pinal
DISTANCE TO PHOENIX: 34 miles
INCORPORATED: No
ELEVATION: 1,800 to 1,900 ? Highest peak 2,218 feet
DISTANCE TO TUCSON: 102 miles

Scenic Attractions: Hiking

Hieroglyphic Canyon will take you through a very picturesque area of the Superstition Mountains and reward you with one of the most extensive unspoiled petroglyph assemblages in central Arizona.

This is an easy well-defined trail. Elevation change is 560´. The trail is 2.8 miles, about a 2 hour hike round trip.

Peralta Trail to Fremont Saddle ? a spectacular view! 7 miles round trip. Elevation gain 1,400 feet.

Sonoran Desert

The Sonoran Desert of Southern Arizona and Northwestern Mexico is well known for its beauty and many spectacular and grand cacti. The abundant cacti and other succulents simply defy the harsh climate with exuberant biodiversity

A very unique feature of the Sonoran Desert is that the rain arrives during two wet seasons, one generally December through March, the other July through Sept. The lack of hard freezes and moisture distributed through the year has promoted the abundance of succulents that can store water for later use.

WILDFLOWERS OF THE SONORAN DESERT :

Rain brings greenery and color to the Sonoran Desert. The spring of 2001 was spectacular! Cacti, ironwood, paper flower, acacias and datura (also called thorn apple) covered the mountains around Gold Canyon.

A Mountain of Superstition:

Long ago, gold was used for decoration by Native-Americans living in the area. It had no other value to them and they naively gave it to Spaniards. Word spread and more and more people came looking for the gold. But to the Indians, Crooked Top Mountain was the home of their Thunder God. What we now call Weaver´s Needle was the point where the soul of an Indian would ascent into the afterlife.

In the mid 1800´s the Peralta family had been mining gold in the Superstitions. Although many people have tried to locate the mine, no one has found it. In the 1870´s there was a man who claimed he had found the old mine and its rich treasure. He is perhaps the most well known of all who have succumbed to the lure of the hidden gold. Jacob Waltz is the man most associated with the treasure of the Superstition Mountains. Many people believing Waltz was a Hollander, called him a Dutchman; the legend now carries his name as The Lost Dutchman Mine. If Jacob Waltz had a mine, it must have been located in or near the mysterious Superstition Mountains which dominate the horizon north of Gold Canyon.