The views from Lone tree make the hike worth it, but you can also see the hike you have to take back. The parking lot is currently closed at the lake due to them draining it starting on September 18, 2026, and it being filled with boats in the parking lot and campground. So this is a hike that will have to wait until the parking lot is open again. This is a viewtiful hike with a good amount of elevation gain, but I don’t think it’s anything major until the route back.

First you start up a nice decent hill/climb before you get to go down, realizing what you have to come back up. Coming through Boulder Canyon we’ll pass under the side of Battleship Mountain, which I was pretty sure I wouldn’t have been able to get a permit due to the danger on it. But like Flatiron and the Superstition Ridgeline, it’s one of my top favorites. Then we hit some connecting trails where we’ll pass along the side of Weavers Needle where we’ll take that to Freemont saddle to the over look to view the Needle, then we’ll find a spot to set up camp for the night. Come morning we’ll eat breakfast and once everyone is finished and ready and packed up, we’ll begin our 12 mile hike back to the vehicles.

This hike will start at the Canyon lake parking lot. If you head in with the lake to your left, turn left after you cross the 2nd bridge, and park along the fence closer to the road. Also searching, Boulder Canyon trailhead at Canyon lake, pulls it up too.