Ride the old fashioned Dolly Steamboat through the slot canyon at Canyon Lake and then hit the Apache Trail through the Sonora Desert on this tour from the Phoenix area. After your narrated cruise, visit the small town of Tortilla Flat, taking in views of the rare desert landscape along the way.

Dolly Steamboat and Apache Trail tour from Phoenix area
Take a 90-minute guided cruise through a slot canyon on an old-fashioned steamboat
Look out for wildlife like long horn sheep and eagles along the way
Ride a van through the Sonora Desert, a rare desert environment found in the American Southwest and Mexico
Lunch in the historic mining town of Tortilla Flat
Hotel pickup and drop-off included

What's Included

Fuel surcharge
Bottled water
Driver/guide
Hotel pickup and drop-off (selected hotels only)
Stretch 15 passenger vans with maximum 10 per van

Gratuities
No animals allowed in van.

Meeting And Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Start time

08:00 AM

Pickup details

We depart from hotels and resorts in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe and Mesa. Your specific hotel may not be in the pick up route on a particular day. If this happens, we will direct you to a different pick up location.

What To Expect

Apache Trail Scenic Drive

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Tortilla Flat

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

The Dolly Steamboat

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Lost Dutchman State Park

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
Children must be accompanied by an adult
Not wheelchair accessible
Children 6 years and under are required to ride in a car seat that the guest must provide
Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately

Hotel pickup and drop-off is offered for most hotels/resorts in Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Tempe, plus in Mesa at the Mesa Hilton. *Please confirm with local operator
Most travelers can participate
Across Arizona Tours, LLC is not responsible for viewing conditions at the sites visited and reserves the right to alter tour itineraries due to road or weather conditions.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

4.5

127 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 127 reviews

An unforgettable family trip

Rainbow_J, Jul 2023

We enjoyed the Dolly Steamboat tour the most. Although the temperature was very hot, we felt very refreshing to be on the water and inside an air conditioning boat. The scenery throughout the whole ride was breathtaking. Definitely something we don’t see living in a busy city. In addition, the Gold Field Ghost Town was very interesting place to visit. Our tour guide, Frank, was amazing. He’s very knowledgeable and shared with us some photography techniques. He took some great photos for our family.

A perfect day!

Eric_T, Jun 2023

It would be impossible to pick our favorite part. Our tour guide, Frank, was very knowledgeable and entertaining. Also, he was great with helping us with our groups sensitivities and allergies to a variety of foods. The steamboat ride was majestic! The restaurant in Tortilla Flat was really cool and I will be dreaming of their chicken tacos until we can get back there again. Absolutely delicious! The entire experience was worth every penny and more!

Shopping, Boat Ride, Lunch & Scenery

Diane_Z, Jun 2023

Had an amazing time with our tour guide Frank. Enjoyed his knowledge of area and plants being a photographer. He even showed us the panoramic feature on our cell phones and took a few group photos of us. We saw the cactus and mountain scenery, stopped at Old Goldsmith town, enjoyable walk around with some stores just opening for a souvenir that was needed. Then headed to boat for a nice ride on Canyon Lake. Watch the wind on upper deck of boat for a ball cap was lost, blew off head into water. Had a nice lunch at the restaurant in Tortilla Flats trying the Prickly Pear Lemonade and enjoyed walking around the town. I thought it was nice to be picked up and dropped off where we were staying. I'd do again for a future visit if it fit into our schedule and activities. We even got a glimpse at a couple bighorn sheep at the top of the canyon.

Thumbs up

niamh_f, Jun 2023

Great experience. Very relaxing. Highly recommend my favorite tour of the week in Arizona. A really great experience overall.

Interesting and informative

Nannette_T, May 2023

It was an interesting informative trip, my son and I enjoyed it.We thought Eric really knew the area .

Amazing

C_M, May 2023

Pat and Frank were amazing tours guides. Frank was very well versed on the terrain and phoenix history. Made sure we was first in line for the boat ride and secured great seat. Plus ate at an amazing restaurant. Enjoyed it 🥰

Fun excursion

Julie_M, May 2023

The tour guide Kim was informative and a lot of fun. We enjoyed the Dolly steamboat excursion very much. We were all so glad that we could eat at Tortilla Flat and that there was literally no wait to be seated. The food was very good. The stops she made were also fun.

Great tour for seniors.

Ken_G, May 2023

This was a great tour for us. In our early 70s we have given up on the theme parks and long hikes. This tour was perfect for us. Kim was entertaining and informative. The boat ride was gorgeous and relaxing. Plenty of time along the route for lunch, which was excellent, and touristy shopping. Highly recommend. And kudos to Kim for handling her “shotgun” passenger!!

Beautiful day, beautiful...

Kathy_B, May 2023

Beautiful day, beautiful scenery! Eric did a great job, thanks for all the info. The group was fun to be with.

AMAZING

martha_s, Apr 2023

I highly recommend this tour. Frank was very informative and made our trip memorable! We were shown so many points of interest and it was an awesome day!

Very informative tour

Paula_G, Apr 2023

We enjoyed Eric’s knowledge of the history of the area we visited We also enjoyed the desert walk and discovered plants we never knew about

Great experience!

Brenda_L, Apr 2023

Eric our guide was very good! And we loved the cruise! Learned lots & saw lots! Would definitely recommend this tour! And we also had a fun group!

Apache trail Van tour

Michael_S, Mar 2023

A very memorable experience. Our tour guide (Kim) was very knowledgeable and considerate of everyone in the group. Great job and well done!

Lovely day trip!!

Margaret_S, Mar 2023

Both the van driver and boat captain were very interesting narrators. The day was relaxing and the views in Canyon Lake were spectacular!

Wonderful time. Great guide

Kevin_C, Mar 2023

Wonderful time. Great guide. Nature walk was fun and interesting. Great lunch at tortilla flat. We saw bach on the steamboat ride

Dolly

Perry_H, Mar 2023

Dolly Boat trip Was informative and interesting Eric was good guide, helpful and informative. Restaurant stop was good too, cute place and good food.

Great trip

Abby_H, Mar 2023

Very knowledgeable tour guide. The trip isn't too long, and we were very comfortable the entire time. Worth it.

Apache trail tour.

Nick_V, Feb 2023

The tour was amazing despite of the rain. The Dolly boat ride was quite relaxing. Definitely I recommend this tour. Kudos to our tour guide, Han despite the weather was not cooperating we still have wonderful tour.

Our Lost Dutchman Day

Diane_C, Feb 2023

We really enjoyed our drive on the Apache Trail. The explanation about the canals and water was very interesting. Frank, our guide, did a great job with some interesting stories about the history of the area. The boat ride was fun and beautiful as well.

Great guide and tour!!

Beverly_B, Feb 2023

The guide was excellent!! He was very friendly, knowledgeable and great personality. It was a great tour we would do it again. Please let this guide know of these positive comments. Thank you!!

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