How Much Does an Apache Trail Tour Cost?

A guided Apache Trail day tour from Phoenix or Scottsdale costs from $169 to $455 per person, and most full days with a guide and hotel pickup sit between $169 and $215. Lunch at Tortilla Flat and the guide’s tip are extra on all of them. Below is what changes as the price goes up, what each ticket leaves out, and which tours still include a boat ride while Canyon Lake is closed for dam work.

The Tour We’d Compare First

Arizona Scenic Tours’ day costs a little more than the shared van tours, and it is the only one still running a boat ride this fall. Its cruise is on Saguaro Lake, which is outside the Canyon Lake closure. Its GetYourGuide listing is rated 4.9/5 from 27 reviews, the longest review record of the Apache Trail tours on that site.

The day runs about nine hours: pickup from hotels across the Phoenix area, about an hour and a half in the Superstition Mountains, the cruise, a lunch stop at a local restaurant and an hour in Goldfield Ghost Town. Groups are capped at five, so a party of four shares the van with one other person at most.

Two things to know before you book. The listing needs at least two adults, so a solo traveller can’t book it alone. The cruise ticket is bought separately after you book and isn’t refundable. Desert Belle, which runs the Saguaro Lake cruise, sells its narrated cruise from about $34, which brings the day to about $249 per person.

Other Options, by Situation

If you’re travelling from late January

Detours of Arizona’s small-group Apache Trail day tour costs from $174 per person on Viator, with children 3 to 12 at $110. It includes hotel pickup, a guide and a 1.5-hour nature cruise on Canyon Lake. Its Viator calendar runs on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays from January 20, 2027, and it is rated 4.7/5 from more than 270 reviews. Groups go up to 13 in a van. Food and the tip are extra.

The same operator sells the day on GetYourGuide as the Apache Trail w/Dolly Steamboat Day Tour, from $183. That listing is rated 4.9/5, but from only 17 reviews, and it asks you to call the operator at least 72 hours before the tour to confirm.

If you want Goldfield’s train and mine tour included

Across Arizona Tours’ Apache Trail Histories and Mysteries van tour is the lowest-priced day, from $169. Admissions are included: the narrow-gauge train and the mine tour at Goldfield, the Goldfield Museum and the Superstition Mountain Museum. There’s no lake on the itinerary, so the closure doesn’t affect it. It runs on Tuesdays and Wednesdays only, leaving between 7:15 and 8:15 AM and getting back between 3:30 and 4:30 PM, for up to 10 people. It is new and has no reviews yet, so you’d be relying on the listing alone.

If there are four or more of you

My Arizona Guide’s private Apache Trail half-day tour costs $299 each for two people ($598 in total), $195 each for four and $155 each for six. On your own it is $595. You get four to six hours with stops of about half an hour at Goldfield and Tortilla Flat, a short look at Canyon Lake and an overlook, plus water and snacks. It is rated 4.9/5, but from only 10 reviews, and the listing doesn’t mention hotel pickup, so ask before you book.

When You Travel Changes Which Tours Have a Boat Ride

Canyon Lake is closed to the public while it is lowered for dam inspections and maintenance. The Dolly Steamboat suspended its cruises on August 30, 2026, and expects to restart “at the beginning of January 2027”. The Forest Service’s closure for the lake runs to February 28, 2027, so if you are booking a January date, check that the boat is running before you pay. Our Canyon Lake visitor guide has the full timeline.

That splits the tours by date:

• Until the Dolly restarts: Arizona Scenic Tours’ Saguaro Lake cruise is the only boat ride on any of these days. The Across Arizona Tours day has no lake in it, so it runs as normal.
• From late January: the Detours of Arizona day on Viator adds a Canyon Lake cruise for less money, and Wandering Heart Adventures’ Apache Trail day tour gets its 90-minute steamboat ride back.

The Wandering Heart listing still describes the cruise and still costs $200. It doesn’t say what replaces the boat during the closure, so ask the operator before you book a fall date. Our guide to the Wandering Heart day covers it in detail.

If you have another day around Phoenix, the Salt River below Saguaro Lake stays open for kayaking through the closure, and Jeep tours run into the Tonto National Forest from Scottsdale and Mesa.

Apache Trail Tour Prices Compared

Prices checked October 6, 2026. Operators change prices with the date and the size of your party, so check the booking page for the current price. Every tour below is linked, with its rating and number of reviews; a low count is a warning, not a verdict. We earn a commission if you book through these links.

Off-road sunset tours and kayak trips also turn up when you search for the Apache Trail. They don’t drive the trail itself, so they aren’t in this table; our off-road and Jeep tour guide compares them.

What You Get as You Spend More

Mostly a smaller group. The stops change much less than the price does.

Around $169 to $200: shared van days. Hotel pickup, a guide and a full day with Goldfield and Tortilla Flat, for up to 10 to 13 people. Inside this range you are choosing an itinerary and an operator more than a level of comfort: the cheapest day swaps the lake for Goldfield’s train, mine tour and two museums, and the others add a Canyon Lake cruise once it reopens. The Detours of Arizona day has by far the longest review record.

Around $215 to $250: a group of five or fewer. Arizona Scenic Tours is the one example, a nine-hour day with a lake cruise and a lunch stop at a local restaurant. With the cruise ticket it costs about $249, roughly $75 more than the Detours day once that is running again, and the smaller van is the main reason to pay it.

From $299: private tours and scenic drives. The private half-day gives your party its own guide but shorter stops. The scenic-drive listings at $365 and $455 offer photo stops and no admissions.

What Every Ticket Leaves Out

Lunch is extra on every one of these tours, and several stop at Tortilla Flat to eat. Plan on a tip for the guide as well.

At Goldfield, entry is free, but the narrow-gauge train and the mine tour cost $12 each for adults. Of these tours, only the Across Arizona Tours day lists them as included. On the Wandering Heart, Detours and Arizona Scenic Tours days, bring a card if you want to ride the train. Our Arizona ghost town guide lists the other attractions and their prices.

The Arizona Scenic Tours day is the only one where the cruise is extra. With the Desert Belle ticket added, the true price is about $249 per adult. Once the Dolly runs again, the Detours and Wandering Heart days include the Canyon Lake cruise in the price; bought on its own, it costs $35 per adult.

Tours That Offer Less for the Price

The Apache Trail scenic tour from Scottsdale and the scenic tour from Phoenix cost $455 per person, more than anything else here. The two listings share the same operator, the same wording and the same inclusions, and differ only in the pickup city. They offer six and a half hours of photo stops along the trail, with no cruise, no museum or Goldfield admissions and no reviews yet. The Superstition Mountains and Tonto tour, from the same operator at $365, spends most of its time in the Tonto National Forest and also has no reviews. Arizona Scenic Tours gives you a smaller group, a cruise and a longer day for about $200 less.

Should You Pay More?

Pay more for the Arizona Scenic Tours day if a small group matters to you, or if you are travelling this fall and want to be on the water. If you are travelling from late January and don’t mind sharing the van, the Detours of Arizona day costs less and includes the Canyon Lake cruise. Above about $250, the extra money gets you a private guide or a scenic drive, without more to see.

For heat, monsoon storms and which months are most comfortable on the trail, see our best time to visit the Apache Trail guide.

Frequently Asked Questions