Our Hiking Mystery: Broadway Cave

Here's a hike to do if you're in the mood for a rocky trail with lots of scrambling through bushes primitive-style. The view is amazing from the top, and you will satisfy your burning desire to know, "What's that hole up there on the side of the mountain?" It's actually a cave with an old mineshaft in the back of it. The cave is visible from various locations in Apache Junction, and when traveling east on US 60. The cave itself has obviously been used for parties and general bathrooming, and there's a lot of graffiti and bees swarming around, but once up there, you can say you've been there. The trail is a little tricky. You start out at the Broadway Trailhead which is a block wall fence with parking for about 6 vehicles near a subdivision of pricey homes. The Broadway Trailhead can be accessed from metro Phoenix by going east on US 60 and turning left (north) on Mountain View Road. Carry on down Mountain View and turn right (east) on Broadway Road until the end. The trailhead and parking will be on the left side of the road. The first half-mile of the trail is along the Jacob's Crosscut Trail. Make sure you stay on the Jacob's Crosscut Trail at the intersection of Jacob's Crosscut and Lost Goldmine (you will bear to the left.) Here's a picture of this junction:

The next major landmark you are looking for is a sign that simply says, "Trail" as shown here:

If you look behind the sign and to the right of it, there is a small red path . . . that is the trail that you follow to get to the cave. You are leaving the Jacob's Crosscut Trail at this point.

The next landmark you are looking for is a small pile of red rocks. "Ha," you say! Yes, there are many piles of red rocks, but here's a picture of the particular pile that you're looking for:

I marked with a black arrow the way you want to go. You want to bear to the right. Above the arrow is the pile of rocks. If you miss this pile of rocks and accidentally go straight, you will actually have made a cool side trip to an old rock ruin that we believe to be an old fireplace of some sort. I haven't been able to find any information about it so if you know something then please let me know. Here's the fireplace and how you will know that you went too far. Make sure you turn around and go back the way you came after checking out the fireplace and don't forget to look for the pile of rocks this time (which will now be on your left!)