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CLIFFROSE TRAILHEAD
Cottonwood
 |
| Cliffrose Trailhead in Cottonwood |
In what might be described as the "tip
of the iceberg", the Cliffrose trailhead in Cottonwood
represents the ongoing efforts of the Verde Valley Regional Trails
Concept Plan. This grassroots effort to enhance and maintain the
area's multi-use trail systems draws upon the expertise of residents
from towns of Jerome and Camp Verde, and staff from the Prescott
National Forest, Coconino National Forest, State Parks, City of
Sedona, City of Cottonwood, Town of Clarkdale, and Yavapai County.
Together these groups are working to
foster a long-range vision for Verde Valley trails and open spaces
for the development of interconnected recreational travel systems.
The compact, no-frills Cliffrose
trailhead sits near the Verde Valley Botanical Area and provides
access to the Lime KilnTrail which in turn provides an established
15-mile travel corridor between Cottonwood and Sedona. At this
writing (Jan. 2015), the trails here are unsigned but well defined.
A dirt road heading east from the trailhead curves north to meet Lime
Kiln in roughly 2 miles while a web of loop trails heading west trace
a starkly beautiful landscape of ravines and cave riddled,
jagged-edged limestone outcroppings. Beyond the chalk white sediments
and high-desert scrub, sweeping vistas of Sedona's angular, vivid,
rusty hued sandstone mesas and spires contrast with the hushed tones
and rounded slopes of the Bradshaw Mountains. Finding your way
around the roughly 3 miles of nicely maintained trails is easy. Just
use the lay of the land as a natural compass. The red rocks of Sedona
are in the northeast, Cottonwood and Jerome on the western frontier
and the hum of Cornville Road to the south provide all the navigation
tools you'll need.
LENGTH: variable, our GPS track of the loops read 3 miles
RATING: easy
ELEVATION: 3,089' – 3,353'
GETTING THERE:
From Phoenix, go north on
Interstate 17 to the McGuireville exit 293 and go 12.4 miles west on
Cornville Road (a.k.a. CR30, Mingus Ave.) to State Route 89A. From
here, cross 89A ,continue less than a mile and turn right at the
Cliffrose Trail sign.
INFO:
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