Photo Spot: Needle Vista Viewpoint on the Apache Trail in the Tonto National Forest outside of Phoenix, Arizona.

By Patty Hankins & Bill Lawrence

According to the travel guides, this viewpoint is the place to see the 4,535 foot pinnacle of rocks that looks like a needle. Yes – you can see the pinnacle from the viewpoint. What the travel guides don’t tell you – is that the parking lot is a fantastic spot for sunrise and sunset photography. You are surrounded on all sides by mountains, rocks, boulders, cliffs, etc.

On our recent trip to Arizona – we spent two sunrises and two sunsets in the parking lot. For the sunrises, we had color covering half the sky each morning at various times. And then we had about 45 minutes where the rocks glowed in the early morning light. In the afternoons – the rock faces that hadn’t been lit in the morning – turned golden in the late afternoon light. And then there’d be beautiful colors along the ridgelines as the sun set.

Bill and I each got some spectacular photos by just setting our tripods up in the parking lot and rotating the camera to the next spectacular view. The other secret to this photo spot – is th

at the view of the Needle Vista is actually better from the parking lot than from the official “photo spot” at the end of the sidewalk. We also figured out the easiest way to spot the most scenic view in any area along the Apache Trail – it’s the view with the most power lines running through it.

We’ve put some of our images from Needle Vista Viewpoint on the web-based version of this article, available here. Please stop by and take a look.

Directions to the Needle Vista Viewpoint: From Phoenix – Take Highway 60 east from the city. Take the Idaho Street/Apache Trail/US 88 exit into Apache Junction. Follow the signs in town to the Apache Trail/US 88. The Needle Vista Viewpoint is about 5 miles outside of town on the right, not far beyond the entrance to the Lost Dutchman State Park. For more information about the Apache Trail – check out the information on the American Southwest website at http://www.americansouthwest.net/arizona/apache_trail/

**************************************************************************************************************************************

Here are a few shots taken from the Needle Vista Viewpoint.  All were taken within a short walk of the parking lot, most were taken from the parking lot.

The view below is actually what the viewpoint is for.  Taken at sunrise from the parking lot, although you will need a long lens for this shot (it was taken at a 35mm equivalent of a 640mm lens, and cropped to about 2/3 of the frame.

                                                                            Copyright © 2004, William Lawrence

There is a large butte a short distance away from parking lot, taken from the parking lot at sunrise, below.

                                                                                Copyright © 2004, Patty Hankins

The two photos below were taken shortly after sunrise, when we were getting a nice golden light on the rocks.  The first one is taken from the parking lot, the second is taken across the Apache trail, to get the phone lines out of the photo.

                                                                                    Copyright © 2004, Patty Hankins

                                                                                    Copyright © 2004, William Lawrence

The following shot was also taken from the parking lot, of a ridge with the sun setting behind it.

                                                                                           Copyright © 2004, William Lawrence

Please use your browser's "Back" button to return to previous page,

Or use the navigation bar at the top of the page.