Hike Central Plomosa Mountains Plomosa Mountains BLM, AZ

Mar 8, 2026 — The central Plomosa Mountains hold an unnamed peak with over 1,000 feet of prominence, and its proximity to the excellent Haystack Peak made us think the summit might be worth the trip. Maybe consider doing this when it’s not 95° so you have a better experience. This part of the range is more easily reached from the ATV roads to the north, but the quick access from I-10 to the south was too tempting to pass up. A crossover SUV can make it to where we parked, though the last mile gets rough.

We parked at a junction where right leads to the mouth of the canyon holding Lazarus Tanks, and left climbs a rocky drainage toward a north-running ridgeline. We chose to go up the left and loop back down through the canyon. In hindsight, I’d recommend the opposite (up Lazarus Tanks, down the drainage) or honestly, just find your own route, because neither direction was much fun.

After a short walk along the road, we headed north up the rocky drainage, with some Class 2/2+ near its head. A steep slope brought us onto the ridge crest, which had a few undulations. There was a lot of cactus and generally bad terrain, though maybe the heat was just making us fussy.

As we approached the saddle where we’d later drop into the canyon, a small cliff stopped us, forcing a wrap to the left. From there a steep slope dropped us into a cholla forest. Once through the cactus minefield, we reached the base of Peak 2860. Its long southern face looked too steep to scramble, so we wrapped left until we found a more reasonable line up (Class 2/2+). The summit has two contenders for the high point, so we tagged both. Each offered a fun bit of Class 2/3, and the dropoff to the north was pretty cool.

We backtracked through the cholla and picked up an animal trail leading down into the descent canyon. The geology here was colorful and interesting at times, but the canyon was more hassle than it was worth. A couple of dryfalls needed bypassing, and a final massive dryfall demanded an annoying workaround on the west side via a very brushy Class 3 gully. The prickly plants kept up their assault, but eventually we reached Lazarus Tanks. These human-made water containers had piping running down from them, and we followed the pipes down some Class 2/3 cliffs to a dirt road, which led us back to the cars.