Martinez Canyon is an ATV driver's dream come true. Located in Pinal County, Arizona, Martinez Canyon is one of 17 or more ghost towns within the county. However, the immediate area is so rugged it takes someone with much ATV handling skill and daring to negotiate the countryside. The terrain is rocky with loose boulders and wash deposits, and it only grows more challenging as one travels deeper into the desert. This is not for the faint of heart.
Martinez Canyon is south of US 60 and more than 20 miles from the main highway. The trip from the highway to Martinez becomes rougher by the yard. It would be a wise choice to make the run with several other seasoned ATV people, and carrying some type of GPS unit is advisable. This is a veritable moonscape of an ATV run. 4WD vehicles have fallen over steep embankments as a matter of course in this area of Arizona.
There are other interesting things to do and see in this county, such as, fishing the Picacho Peak Reservoir, or hiking part of the Superstition Mountains, or maybe, sky diving, or taking a sunset steamboat cruise. It is not advisable to take the whole family on a run if they are not seasoned ATVers.
All that said, the ride is an incomparable ATV experience that most ATV drivers only wish they could find in their back yards. Any ATV driver who makes this run will earn the bragging rights to be talking about it around the campfire for the rest of their lives.
