So when does a road stop being a road? Curious about Cicero Peak, we decided to take a drive. We expected a well-maintained gravel road, similar to the one that takes you to Mt. Coolidge Lookout. Our first clue that the Cicero Peak Rd would be different came the moment we turned onto the road. Large ruts dominated. Hmm, time to switch to high clearance.
Those dirt ruts quickly turned to rocky ruts with sharp rocks everywhere. Harold was keeping an eye out for tire sidewall hazards. I was busy trying to plot our path through the ruts. We rocketed along at about a 3 - 4 mph pace. I remembered why I'm not crazy about off-roading. The bouncing around just gets old. I was quite grateful for the air-conditioned ride and comfortable seats of the Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Cicero Peak used to be a fire tower lookout. The lookout has been long gone. A radio tower is in its place. We enjoyed the views and did not see a single person on the road. That was good. I didn't relish the idea of meeting a side-by-side zooming along, especially on some of the limited sight distance turns.
The photos below are not the greatest and do not reflect the mostly rocky nature of the road. A side-by-side or ATV would be better suited. However, Harold says he would call it a road. I'm not so sure a sign recommending high clearance isn't warranted. The road is closed to any vehicular traffic December to May.
The road was not what we expected. Yet, perhaps because of that, it will probably be one of our more memorable adventures of the summer.
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| Type of dirt road expected |
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| What we got |
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| Made it to the top |
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| Amazing views |
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| Beecher Rock |
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