Vineyard Mountain 3458, AZ

Overview
Vineyard Mountain, at an elevation of 3,458 feet, is a great scenic hike south of Theodore Roosevelt Lake and is near the small town of Roosevelt. Much of the hike to Vineyard Mountain follows the Arizona Trail. There are great views of the lake for the first mile or more. The final 1/4 mile of the hike is an open country walk up to the high point.


Hike
To get to the AZ Trail / Vineyard Trail from the parking area, you need to cross the road and walk to the left behind the guard rail. Then, you will see a sign up ahead.The trail starts climbing up, and for the first 1/4 mile, you will have excellent views of the Roosevelt Lake bridge and the lake. The views of the lake will continue for roughly the first mile of the trail.

The trail was maintained very well the entire way; however, it was quite rocky in many places. For the first 1/2 mile, there were a few switchbacks. After this, the trail continues up and goes around a place called Inspiration Point. Once you get around Inspiration Point, you will climb a steep trail and arrive at a small saddle. From the saddle, Inspiration Point will block part of the view of the lake. It is possible to climb to the top of Inspiration Point, but that is not necessary, as the views are incredible from many locations.

After the saddle, the trail continues up the ridgeline. Up ahead, there was a huge structure that looked like some kind of antenna. The top was a square grid of white panels, maybe 20 feet by 20 feet, and the panels were maybe 30 feet off the ground.

From the tall structure, it's about another 0.25 mile of trail to get to the point where you should go off-trail to summit Vineyard Mountain. Then, once off-trail, it's another 0.25-mile open country hike to the high point. There are some rocks and a small amount of brush to go around, but it's easy enough to walk almost directly to the high point. At the high point, you should find a registry.

You could walk a few hundred feet from the high point, slightly down toward the Salt River, to get some nice photos. Take the same route back down to the parking area.

2025-10-21 Mike_W