There are mild elevation changes, to be sure, but except for the initial descent, nothing I'd call a climb.

The well-graded dirt road is thoroughly signed and should get you near the trailhead without any problem. As you get deeper, the road is less gravel and more dirt/clay (the red stuff that stains). I can imagine that after heavy rain periods, it can get "deeply" rutted by tire tracks. 2WD can make it, but I'd recommend high clearance.

The problem is finding the "exact location" of the trailhead. All the book descriptions I've read say that the trailhead is at the end of the road. Almost. Amazingly, another couple pulled up as we were getting our rigs out. Well, we burned up to an hour finding the trailhead (with a friggin' backpack). We ended up splitting up from the other couple before "finally" stumbling across it.

Here's the tip: As you near the end, keep an eye open on the right-side for a tiny 3"x 8" wood sign on a post that simply says "TRAIL". Make sure you are near the end, as there are other trailheads preceeding the Dogie. It is on a gravelly turn off (jeep trail). You probably want to park there unless you have a jeep you don't care a whole lot for. If you drive to the literal end of the road, double back about 50 yards and look for the jeep trail. This will save you untold grief. Walk the seemingly desolate jeep trail until it parallels a fence. You'll go through a gated sign-in station, and your spectacular hike will begin as you descend into the canyon.

You could day hike it, if you got a real early start. But after the drive and all, an overnight will be less stressful if you intend to reach the bottom. I wouldn't want to be caught on that trail out of water, out of food, and no shelter: Don't expect much company on the trail. The most recent sign-in before ours was from over a week before.

The difficulty level is super-easy. No discernable elevation change. Good for bad-kneed people!

The canyon setting is gorgeous, and at night, the moonlight reflects about the canyon walls enough to read a newspaper by.

The West roadway is dirt/paved and in decent shape, but it degrades greatly on the final approach to the parking area (world class ruts). There's room enough for two cars at the "landing" - that's where we parked our 2WD light PU. There were passenger cars at the top! But we talked to some guys heading out, and they said they saw one passenger car with a blown tire.

Due to the length of the drive, I'd recommend an overnight. We backpacked it in, and as such we wore our boots for support. Gore-Tex or other waterproofing is useless, as you will go in over the cuff. If you're day hiking, wear light sneakers (something that won't get waterlogged). What we may do next time is set up a campsite early, then throw on the Tevas or sneakers and explore.

We have a filter, but we packed all the water we used. We saw a guy fishing with his portable rig, and says the little trouts he caught had little spots/sores on 'em. Hmmmm.

When you start your hike, memorize the landmarks as best you can. The signs are small, so don't rely on them on the return leg.

As of this writing, AZ has gone through a rough El Nino period, and this likely affected the water levels. Definitely a good idea to check conditions before blocking out any vacation days.