Billy Goat Trail

BILLY GOAT TRAIL

View of the Mogollon Rim and Monument Peak

The Town of Payson has long been an exceptional hiking destination.

Billy Goat Trail

Its location at the base of the Mogollon Rim where the Tonto and Coconino National Forests merge and offer a variety of hiking environments from high-desert to tall pines which makes it perfect for year-round outdoor recreation. 

New signs in the Boulders Area Trail System

Payson is also an Arizona National Scenic Trail Gateway Community, solidifying its status as a hike epicenter. While the old standards around town—the Highline National Recreation Trail, Houston Loop, Horton Creek, and the Payson Area Trails System (PATS) are perennial Rim Country favorites, new trail development and maintenance had stagnated over the past few years.

Antelope Sage blooms July - October

That’s all changing now as the Payson-Pine-Strawberry corridor is about to explode with exciting new non-motorized routes. 

Boulder passages throught the hike

The big push includes 15 miles of new and improved trails in the Granite Dells area, a 15-mile Pine-to-Payson connector, a 20-mile expansion on Houston Mesa as well as other plans still in the works. Additionally, the Town of Payson and Tonto National Forest, Payson Ranger District will address issues of limited neighborhood access and parking quagmires with two new trailheads off Granite Dells Road. 

Cypress trees and manzanita line the trail

A few trails in this ambitious multi-year project have already rolled out starting with the adoption of two former social trails in the Granite Dells (aka, the Boulders) area south of downtown Payson. 

Granite Dells from Billy Goat Trail

Boulders Area Trail System (BATS) is taking shape with the official legalization of  the old “200” and “300” social trails and 6 miles of new non-motorized trails underway. 

Monsoon over the Rim

Now dubbed “Billy Goat” and “Bootleg” respectively, the user-created tracks in Tonto National Forest have been buffed up, trimmed and outfitted with signs at all junctions and folded into the Payson Area Trail System (PATS).

A footbridge spans a drainage on Billy Goat

Picking this low hanging fruit was a no-brainer because, well, trying to eradicate social trails is rather like bringing a butter knife to a gunfight and also, the trails are amazing. 

Foxtail dalea bloom June - October 

Hiking or riding the re-worked Billy Goat Trail is a great way to get a sense of what’s to come. 

A tight squeeze on the Billy Goat Trail

Beginning with a short walk on the legacy Cypress Trail, Billy Goat spirals off heading uphill over vast slabs of granite. 

Mogollon Rim and Monument Peak

Forests of cypress, oaks, firs and pines soar over tangles of manzanita yucca and agaves as the trail works it way to high-point vistas with never-ending view of the Mogollon Rim, Monument Peak and the surrounding dells.

Epic vistas all around

At the Bootleg junction, the trail begins its downhill sweep, jogging among gigantic boulders and slick rock passages. It’s truly a gem that’s earned its legal status. 

Trailhead kiosk

“Adventure Where We Live” is Payson’s slogan, and while that’s always been an apt descriptor, the town’s next chapter is a super-charged venture that ties into legacy routes, builds connectivity for long distance treks and adds inviting new paths for outdoor enthusiasts of all ilks and abilities. 

trailhead

LENGTH: 3.1-miles 

RATING: moderate

ELEVATION: 4,722-5,001 feet

GETTING THERE:

CYPRESS TRAILHEAD:

From State Route 87 in Payson, go 2 miles east (right at the intersection) on East Phoenix Street to where the road ends at a turnaround.  Park on the curbs and observe all no parking areas. Hike begins at Phoenix Street Trail Access sign. 

KEEP UP WITH THE PROGRESS:

https://adventurepayson.com/

Boot Lake

BOOT LAKE

Boot Lake

The churning winds on Anderson Mesa smack you in the face, hitting with a force somewhere between a snap-out-of-it whack and a full on bitch slap.

Anderson Draw

But if getting your attention this way while on the sprawling grasslands of Northern Arizona is something you require; it’s time to reexamine your priorities. 

Woolly Paintbrush blooms March - August

Sure, at first glance, the high elevation flatlands of Coconino National Forest don’t look like there’s much to see.

San Francisco Peaks over Boot Lake

Largely treeless and without any obvious redeeming features, it would be easy to write the place off as a hiking destination not worthy of snapping into. That would be a mistake. 

Entry gate at Boot Lake

Located 25 miles southeast of Flagstaff, Anderson Mesa is a 25-mile-long landmass that’s dotted with coniferous forests, pinyon-juniper woodlands and large swaths of grasslands. 

Geyer's onion bloom June - August

The mesa is also home to the Plateau Lakes Region—a smattering of ephemeral ponds and wetlands east of Mormon Lake. 

Storms build quickly over Anderson Mesa

The dozens of shallow sinkholes fill with water during snowmelt season and periods of precipitation, but mostly, they are soggy wetlands and riparian habitats suitable for hiking and wildlife viewing.

Gate on FR 9485E

And the more remote, off-the-main-drag they are, the more interesting they become—-especially for those willing to wake up and experience the subtle beauty hiding in plain sight. Boot Lake, a Plateau Lake that exhales a sense of discovery, allure and solitude is a perfect destination to learn to appreciate the stark appeal of Anderson Mesa.

White Prairie Aster blooms August - October

Sitting between Ashurst and Kinnikinick Lakes, which almost always have water deep enough for recreational fishing and boating, Boot Lake measures its moisture in inches at best. 

FR 9485E meets Boot Lake

But even without water, a hike to Boot Lake is a remarkable trip through the region.  The hike follows Forest Road 9485E, a dirt two track that winds through the Anderson Mesa Wildlife Protection Area. 

Approach to Anderson Draw

The road is usually open to motorized travel but is closed to all but foot travel between April 15 and June 26 annually for wildlife habitat protection. 

Pinyon pine along the road

From the trailhead on FR 125, the road dives into a shadeless expanse of grassland with pops of wildflower color.  The silhouettes of the San Francisco Peaks, Mormon Mountain and nearby Pine Hill line the horizons. 

A small wetland along the road

Fraught with mountain-borne winds and open to the sky, the road meets a rustic gate at the 0.7-mile point. Beyond the gate (close all gates behind you), stands of junipers and pinyon pines start to populate the flatlands. 

Wheeler Thistle blooms June - October

At the 1-mile point, FR 9116Q (unsigned) veers off to the left. The short road leads to Dry Lake Tank—-dry as advertised. The hike continues north on FR 9485E, soon dipping into the forested course of Anderson Draw where vegetation thrives in residual waters settled into the shallow, rock-lined gorge.

Forest Road 9485E on Anderson Mesa

Late summer brings a plethora of water-loving plants to the draw. Look for Geyer’s onion, White Prairie Aster, Poison Milkweed and Redroot Buckwheat growing in the rich soil.

Just beyond the draw, Forest Road 9484F spins off to the right for an optional mile-long side trip to Unit East Tank—another hit-or-miss water hole. 

Redroot Buckwheat blooms June - October

As FR9485E bends northwest, it passes an unnamed wetland enveloped in the most shade found on the hike. Pinyon pines, junipers and the occasional Ponderosa pine provide moments of welcome cover. But not for long. At 2.7-miles, the road meets the margins of Boot Lake.

Pine Mountain on the horizon

Enclosed in barbed wire for wildlife habitat protection, the elongated depression is banked by walls of volcanic boulders and tree-encrusted ridges. It’s a gorgeous place. 

Broom Snakeweed blooms June - December

Quiet, and only lightly visited by hunters in season, the green riparian site attracts all sorts of native birds, elk, deer and the mesa’s iconic hoofed herbivores—-pronghorn.

Poison Milkweed blooms May - September

Mormon Mountain in distance

A chain of earthen berms at the lake’s west end collectively known as Boot Lake Tank, warrant an exploratory side trip before doubling back in time to avoid the summer afternoon storms that come in on the wind in break neck speed over the mesa’s exposed terrain.

Trailhead on Forest Road 125

 

LENGTH: 6.4 miles roundtrip

RATING: easy

ELEVATION: 7,075 - 7,128 feet

GETTING THERE:

From Flagstaff, go 24.2 miles south on Lake Mary Road (County Road 3) to Forest Road 125 on the left  past milepost 320.  Follow FR 125 for 6 miles to Forest Road 9485E located on the left at a cattle guard and fence line. The signs for FR9485E are down and faded. Park in the dirt turnouts. Access roads are maintained dirt suitable for most vehicles.  Forest roads on Anderson Mesa close in winter---check before going. 

Walker Lake Rim

WALKER LAKE RIM

View from the rim of Walker Lake cinder cone

Maybe it’s a lingering mood in the ether that hints at an acrid, nose-tingling whiff of molten earth or the smattering of solidified lava blobs that surround its rim that makes hiking Walker Lake such a visceral experience.

Walker Lake on August 5, 2026

Sitting near the core of the San Francisco Volcanic field, the extinct cinder cone volcano is referred to as Walker Lake because of the ephemeral water that collects within its crater.

Kendrick Mountain seen from Walker Lake

The San Francisco Volcanic Field is spread over an 1,800 square mile slice of the Colorado Plateau centered around the city of Flagstaff. 

Parry Bellflower blooms June - September

It has been a geologically active area for millions of years and has produced over 600 volcanic features over the landscape.

View from the east rim

Basically, every observable mountain and hill around Flagstaff is of volcanic origins.

Overlooking a volcanic landscape

The last volcanic event that happened about 900 years ago formed Sunset Crater and its adjacent lava flows.

The rim loop trail

Walker Lake isn’t the biggest or most spectacular volcano in the mix, but what catapults it from a one-in-600 minor lump on the landscape to one-in-a-million hiking destination is its serendipitous location. Imagined or not, the scorched-earth visceral feel of the short trail that circles Walker Lake captivates the imagination and drives the narrative of walking on the eroded rim of a cinder cone. 

Aspen sunflowers bloom July - October

The trail is an excellent platform for viewing several types of geological features that rise out of the sprawling plateau highlands of Northern Arizona. 

Primitive footpath to Walker Lake

The trek into this volcanic world begins on a closed road that brushes past an aspen protection area where wire fencing shields the iconic mountain trees from browsing animals so they have a chance to mature. 

Aspen exclosure area 

At the 0.3-mile point, the hike continues behind a large sign that reminds that motorized travel is prohibited in the area.

Lake viewed from the south rim

A short uphill walk on the wide road ends at a 3-way junction and the beginning of the rim loop hike. The trail becomes a slender path as it crawls up over the crater’s south brim.

Humphreys Peak seen from the crater's south rim

Soon, the massive profile of San Francisco Mountain and 12,633-foot Humphreys Peak— a stratovolcanoes that had at one time soared to over 16,000 feet— comes into view. 

Torrey's crag lily blooms in August

The lava domes of the Hochderffer Hills (9,152 feet) and the White Horse Hills cinder cones (9,065 feet) lap around its base.

Looking north from the crater

At several points, first glimpses of the internal crater lake peek through tall pines and a jagged lip of basalt. The trail swings eastward to emerge on the rim’s high point where amazing vistas fill the view frame. 

Arizona pea blooms May - October

Rangeland below is dotted with homesteads, pine glens, stock tanks and the faint scribble of the Arizona National Scenic Trail that skims the mountain 400 feet below. 

Beginning of the uphill hike

Through breaks in the fringe of Douglas firs and Ponderosa pines, views stretch all the way to the Painted Desert. As the trail moves north, 10,418-foot Kendrick Mountain looms large.

Far-reaching vistas

This hill that’s popular with hikers is a complex mix of lava domes and lava flows that built up over millions of years. Farther out, the lumpy profile of 8,215-foot Slate Mountain sits on a hazy horizon.  Interestingly, there’s no slate on Slate Mountain. 

Common silverweed blooms May - August

The complex lava dome volcano is a conglomerate of metamorphic rhyolite, sediments and magma flows. Also on show is 8,864-foot Saddle Mountain another hill of volcanic origins with a hikable road to its summit.

The 3-way junction

The rim loop trail then descends on slippery, rocky tread, landing back at the 3-way junction.  To visit the crater lake up close, follow the middle road and primitive footpaths into the bowl-like depression. Ringed with conifers and fields of wildflowers, the “lake” vacillates from soggy bog to substantial ponds depending on snow melt and monsoon rains.  Let it sink in that you’re standing inside a volcano that in the not-so-distant past (in geological terms—a blip) was a fiery fount of lava and molten ejecta.  And, the fireworks ain’t over yet. The San Francisco Volcanic Field is still active which means more eruptions will almost certainly occur in the future.  Whether that happens next week or in a hundred years, the rim of Walker Lake will be an ideal place to observe the show. 

Hike begins on FR9007S

LENGTH: 3.3 miles roundtrip

RATING: moderate

ELEVATION: 8,109 - 8,502 feet

GETTING THERE:

From Flagstaff, go 19 miles north on U.S.180 to Forest Road 151 (Hart Prairie Road) on the right just past milepost 235. Follow FR 151 1.6 miles to Forest Road 418. Continue 0.2-mile on FR418 to the second dirt road on the left which is Forest Road 9007S. FR9007S IS CLOSED TO ALL MOTORIZED USE but foot and horse travel is permitted. There’s limited parking at a turnout at FR9007S—maybe room for 2-3 vehicles as well as additional parking along FR418.  Be respectful of private property in the area and don’t block access roads or driveways.

HIKE DIRECTIONS:

From the FR418/9007S parking spot:

• Hike 0.2 mile to a fork 
• Veer right at the fork onto FR 9004S
• Follow FR9004S 0.1 mile to a large road closed sign
• Hike 0.3 mile up the road behind the sign (still 9004S, though not signed) to a 3-way junction which is the start of the rim loop trail
• Take the narrow single-track on the right which heads up to the crater rim. For reference, the wide central road heads down into the crater and the lake. The path that continues straight ahead is the return leg of the rim loop.