Apache Trail Attractions

Exciting news to all followers of the Apache Trail and Superstition Mountains! Please read and share!

The love and lore of this area not only follows the locals, but also anchors itself to folks from all across the globe who have come to experience its grandeur. One can not dismiss the area as one of the most incredibly scenic terrains in the entire United States as it boasts of rugged mountain peaks, chiseled colorful canyons, and stunning sparkling desert lakes.
This natural beauty combined with the intriguing history, legend, and lore is undeniably an irresistible enticement beckoning visitors to pay a visit and immerse themselves in it all, while the forboding terrain almost dares them not to.

Even more powerful than a week or two experience into this venturesome territory, is to actually live within it.
Such is the story of Ryan Schuster, the grandson of Jack and Nancy Schuster - the original family who built the Apache Lake Marina and Resort in the 1970s, and who had lived on the property during the past 50+ years.
This book is Ryan’s story about life at the Lake, the family and friend bonds which were established over the years, and how life can change profusely in only a moment.
Now available in paperback on Amazon!

Follow the Noise: A Saga of Fire and Flood in the Arizona Desert and the Scars Left Behind
by Ryan Schuster (Author) Format: Paperback
#1 New Release
in Western U.S. Biographies
“The wretched sound grew louder, louder, louder. It sounded as if the entire canyon above us was being dredged up, everything brought down. The gushing, crunching, and sloshing echoed throughout the cove like a desert avalanche.”

In 1903, the Apache Trail was carved through the Superstition Mountains as a supply road for Roosevelt Dam - the first dam on the Salt River. By 1905, it became a stagecoach route, drawing the first tourists into the heart of the Arizona desert.

A series of dams were built on the Salt River, creating four reservoirs to sustain the burgeoning city of Phoenix. Pavement eventually smothered the sections of the Apache Trail used to reach three of the lakes, but the paved road ended in a rattle before reaching the deepest recesses of the mountains. Tucked away in isolation, Apache Lake became a hidden sanctuary where a rugged resort eventually took root.

As desert was converted to domain, nature responded. In 2019, a massive wildfire scorched the Superstitions, followed by historic storms that triggered catastrophic flash floods and rockslides. These disasters, followed by a second wildfire across Four Peaks in 2020, severed access to the region for months.

When the resort finally reopened, a group of lifelong friends returned to the water they grew up on together. But as a monsoon gathered in the mountains high above their cove, the picturesque day turned into a fight for their lives.

Follow the Noise is a personal journey flowing through the legends of those who try to conquer the wilderness, only to confront the raw, violent power of the natural world.