FALL COLOR COUNTDOWN 2015

FALL COLOR COUNTDOWN 2015

Abineau-Bear Jaw Trail

Here in Arizona, fall color season runs from late September through December. Autumn leaf-peeping begins in the high elevations of Flagstaff, the White Mountains and sky islands like the Santa Catalina Mountains near Tucson and Mount Graham near Safford. Above 8,000', you'll find mostly aspens---the quintessential mountain tree. The season trickles down to the Mogollon Rim, Prescott, Payson and Sedona, usually peaking in late October through early November. Look for electric red maples, golden oaks, ash, alders and hoptrees.  Finally, desert trees like cottonwood, sycamores and willows turn tawny toward the end of November. Here are some perfect hiking trails for fall color. Find trails descriptions and directions by scrolling to the  TRAIL INDEX on this blog. You can also click on "fall color" to read about 165 hikes for autumn splendor:

EARLY-MID OCTOBER:

Abineau-BearJaw, Flagstaff

Inner Basin, Flagstaff

Veit Springs, Flagstaff

Wilson Meadow, Flagstaff

Pole Knoll, Greer

West Baldy, Greer

Icehouse Canyon, Globe

Marshall Gulch, Tucson

Ash Creek, Safford

MID-LATE OCTOBER:

Barbershop Trail, Mogollon Rim

Rim Lakes Vista, Mogollon Rim

West Fork of Oak Creek, Sedona

LATE OCTOBER- EARLY NOVEMBER:

Red Rock State Park, Sedona

Huckaby Trail, Sedona

Baldwin Trail, Sedona

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER:

Hackberry Spring, Superstition Mountains

Jewel of the Creek, Spur Cross Ranch

New River Nature Reserve, New River
Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Globe

HANDY RESOURCES:
National Forest Service (AZ is in Region 3)

http://www.fs.fed.us/fallcolors/2015/index.shtml

Flagstaff-Sedona Updates

Flagstaff Leaf-O-Meter:

http://www.flagstaffarizona.org/leafometer/

BULLDOG SEGMENT of the MARICOPA TRAIL

MARICOPA TRAIL

Bulldog Canyon Trailhead to Pass Mountain Trail

Granite outcroppings on Maricopa Trail

Loop trails are fantastic inventions. Hiking on one feels sort of like a following a cinematographer filming a visually-rich sequence that ends where it began. Arizona has some impressive hiking hoops. Revered for their flowing, long lengths and community-unifying qualities, projects like the Flagstaff Loop Trail (42 miles), Prescott Circle Trail (54.4 miles) and the grand dame of them all--Maricopa Trail-- act as the glue for regional, non-motorized recreation systems. When complete (target 2017), the Maricopa Trail will form a 310-mile loop around Greater Phoenix, connecting parks, suburbia and surrounding cities. The thrill of trekking on fresh dirt is rekindled each time a new segment drifts into pristine tracts or provides an alternate path to familiar hiking haunts. With the recent opening of a 1.4-mile section in the East Valley, there's now another way to approach the popular Pass Mountain (PM) Trail. Previously, access to PM was only though Usery Mountain Regional Park or a lot off Meridian Road in Mesa. This new western approach from Bulldog Canyon Trailhead will eventually tie in with a yet-to-be-constructed corridor to the Granite Reef recreation area near the Salt River. Volunteers are needed to complete the work and you can sign up to be part of this historic effort by visiting the Maricopa Trail + Park Foundation website: http://mctpf.org/.

The "Bulldog" segment makes an easy, 300-foot ascent to the junction with 7.5-mile PM Trail (not signed). Roughly 5.6 miles of the PM loop trail is on the Tonto National Forest and there's no fee to hike on this scenic section. However, if you cross into the part of the trail that's in Usery Mountain Park, be prepared to pay the $2 per person fee (exact change required). You can avoid the fee by heading left at the junction. From here, its just under 2 miles to the saddle overlooking a valley straddling the desert space between the Superstition and Goldfield Mountains. This makes for a good turn around point for those left their wallets at home or are not up to the 10.3-mile circuit.

LENGTH: 1.4 miles one way (trailhead to PM)

or 10.3 miles roundtrip with Pass Mountain Loop

RATING: easy-difficult

ELEVATION: 2,010'- 2,340' (2,740' with PM)

FEE: $2 per person if you enter the park on foot. Exact change required.

GETTING THERE:

From Phoenix, go east on US60 to the Ellsworth Road exit. Go north 8.2 miles north on Ellsworth (turns into Usery Pass Rd.) to the trailhead corral on the right past milepost 22 which is 1.6 miles north of the Usery Mountain Park entrance.

MAP:
http://www.maricopa.gov/parks/usery/pdf/2015/usery-11x17.pdf

Maricopa Trail:

https://www.maricopa.gov/parks/MaricopaTrail/

Maricopa Trail + Park Foundation:

http://mctpf.org/

MORE PHOTOS:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10203309665301132.1073742037.1795269672&type=1&l=bfc8d713a3