Tortilla Flat

Tortilla Flat has been a stopping point along the Apache Trail since 1904, when it served as a freight and stagecoach stop during the construction of Roosevelt Dam. It is the last surviving stagecoach stop on the trail — a distinction that holds even now — and the place operates under a special-use permit from Tonto National Forest. The road beyond town transitions from pavement to unpaved dirt, which makes this the natural turnaround for most bikes and gives the stop a genuine end-of-the-line feel.

The Superstition Saloon and Restaurant is the heart of it. The bar stools are real saddles, and the walls are papered floor-to-ceiling with signed dollar bills left by visitors from around the world — you can add your own. The kitchen runs burgers, chili, and a southwest-style menu daily, with prickly pear lemonade and a house-made root beer among the drinks that riders tend to come back for. Next door, the Country Store carries prickly pear gelato. There's also a mercantile gift shop and a small schoolhouse museum covering the history of the Superstition Mountains, the Apache Trail, and the dam projects that shaped the Phoenix Valley.