Pine Loop

PINE LOOP

Mazatzal Mountains from Lower Pineview Trail

When asked what passage of the Arizona National Scenic Trail is the “best” one, trail users are quick to state that it’s the one you’re currently on. 

Pine Loop uses AZT Highline Passage 26

For those who have trekked the entire 800+-mile non-motorized route that runs from the Mexico border to Utah, the oft repeated refrain precisely sums up the experience.

Highline/Arizona Trail

Traveling south to north, the trail’s 43 Passages move through wildly diverse terrains. 

Highline/Arizona Trail

Deserts, mountains, riparian corridors, canyons, chaparral, grasslands, valleys, alpine meadows and coniferous forests. So, it’s easy to understand why naming a favorite is an impossible ask.

Mogollon Rim from Lower Pineview Trail

 

But for hikers, bikers and equestrians looking to sample the trail without committing to days-long backcountry hauls, a special bias must be directed at the Highline Passage 26.

Lower Pineview Trail

As the last Passage in the Central Arizona zone, in Tonto National Forest, the 23.9-mile single track marks the transition from arid desert mountains to Arizona’s woodsy high country.

Community of Pine below the trail

It’s also one of the more approachable Passages with several trailheads, connecting trails and access points.  Treatable water is available at several springs and creeks along the way.

Arizona Trail/Pineview junction

A popular family-friendly day hike option that’s doable spring through fall is the Pine Loop. Starting at the Pine trailhead north of Payson, the loop uses the Arizona Trail/Highline, Pineview, Lower Pineview and Pine Canyon trails.

Pine Canyon Trail

The well-signed hike starts out on the Arizona Trail, which shares space with the rerouted Highline Trail. This lower elevation side of the Passage features an interesting hybrid vegetation zone where cacti, yucca and agaves make their last stands as the dominant plants among oaks, junipers and Ponderosa pines.

Pine Canyon Trail

  The loop follows the AZT/Highline Trail for one mile to the Pineview, Lower Pineview junction.  Nearby, a large information kiosk marks the spot.  This is where the loop departs the AZT and heads west on the Lower Pineview Trail. (For a longer option, go north on the Pineview Trail and follow the signs.

The Pine Loop is well signed

This adds roughly a half-mile and 200 feet of elevation to the loop). 

Pineview Trail

Lower Pineview serves up some great views of the Mazatzal Mountains to the south, the craggy cliffs leading up to the 700-foot escarpments of the Mogollon Rim and glimpses of the community of Pine.

Map of the loop

At the 1.5-mile point, the loop swerves left onto the Pineview Trail that hangs on rolling foothills studded with junipers and scrub oaks. After less than a half-mile, the loop picks up the Pine Canyon Trail heading south.  Now, the route is shaded in tall pines as it winds through gullies and drainages before ending back at the AZT/Highline Trail where the loop concludes with a backtrack to the trailhead.

Pine Trailhead 

While short in length and only mildly challenging, this scenic little loop gives a concise tour of a major shift point on the Arizona Trail and might also tempt those just sticking their toes into the world-class trail to explore deeper and maybe discover their own “best” parts. 

LENGTH: 2.9 mile loop

RATING: easy

ELEVATION: 5,362 - 5,692 feet (525 feet of accumulated elevation change)

GETTING THERE:

From Payson, drive 12.6 miles north on State Route 87 to the turnoff for the Pine Trailhead on the right. Roads are paved all the way.  There’s a restroom but no other facilities. Restaurants and services are available a short drive up SR87 in the community of Pine. 

INFO: Arizona Trail Association
https://aztrail.org/explore/passages/passage-26-highline/

+-mile

Railroad Spring

RAILROAD SPRING

Swale at Railroad Spring

During Arizona’s late 19th-to-mid-20th century logging heyday, railroads ran through thick Ponderosa pine forests hauling woody loads to lumber mills in Flagstaff and other Northern Arizona towns.

Gate near Fulton Canyon Tank

Some of the old railroad grades have been decommissioned and either turned onto popular Rails-to-Trails paths like the Peavine Trail in Prescott and Railroad Grade in the White Mountains. 

The old railroad grade

Others have been incorporated into hiking routes like the Arizona National Scenic Trail.

Leftovers from a logging railway

Still others were unceremoniously disassembled and left to decompose adjacent to backwoods roads and rangeland.

Rocky Mountain Irises bloom May - Sept

While the remains of many old railroad grades are little more than scattered cinder beds, rock walls and rotting railroad ties, some retain remnants of life on old timey logging trails.

Start of the railroad grade segment

A few miles south of Mormon Lake, an unassuming dirt road leads to a fading stretch of scrapped railroad and a spring site. 

Fulton Canyon Tank

The short hike to Railroad Spring begins on Forest Road 9488K, moving easily into the pine woodlands of Coconino National Forest.

Spring box at Railroad Spring

The first 0.8-mile of the rough road is open to motorized vehicles, but where the route meets the shallow pocket of Fulton Canyon, a gate bars entry to all but foot and horse travel to protect sensitive soil, prevent the spread of invasive plants and preserve wildlife habitats. 

Railroad Spring

Beyond the gate, Fulton Canyon Tank, a glassy created water catchment, sits off to the left. 

Spring water flows over the railroad grade

The road gets much more rocky as it heads downhill to where it meets a fork at the 1-mile point. Take the left fork and then an immediate right at a bright yellow sign in front of boulders barring motorized travel. This is the entrance to the old railroad grade. 

Swale at Railroad Spring

Strewn with cables, ties and rusty nails, the disintegrating track parallels a green swale. (Leave all artifacts as you found them!). A few yards in, a slick curtain of tricking water spills over the track. 

Western Dog Violet bloom May - July

The spring water issues from a culvert-like structure built into a slope. Just across the track, a huge spring box made of concrete and native stone sits above the swale, metal pipes barely dripping moisture into the grassy channel.  Nearby, a pair of concrete water troughs hint at former livestock runs in the area.  Both were bone dry. 

Troughs at Railroad Spring

Even with the spring’s meager issue, the swale is a lively, lush natural drainage rife with irises, violets and swarms of butterflies. Tiny ponds and rivulets ramble through the mini wetland. It’s a beautiful place as well as an important resource for wildlife and native vegetation.  Beyond the troughs, a faint road heads uphill to the left.  A short walk through fragrant pines and wildflower meadows leads to a log fence and the junction with the Mormon Lake Passage 29 of the Arizona National Scenic Trail.

Arizona Trail Passage 29

The junction makes for a good turn around spot, otherwise, for a much longer hike, consult the Arizona Trail website (https://aztrail.org/) for how to continue on to Mormon Lake Village (north) or Happy Jack (south). 

trailhead

LENGTH: 4 miles round trip

RATING: easy, with uneven footing

ELEVATION: 7,208 - 7,479 feet

GETTING THERE:

From Interstate 17 just before entering Flagstaff, take the Lake Mary Road/ Mormon Lake Exit 339 and go right at the bottom of the offramp. Continue 28 miles south on Lake Mary Road (County Road 3) to Forest Road 9488K on the right just past milepost 315. There’s parking behind the gate. There are no facilities. Roads are paved up to the trailhead gate. 

Arizona Trail Passage 34: FR418 to Kelly Tank

ARIZONA TRAIL PASSAGE 34 SAN FRANCISCO PEAKS

Forest Road 418 to Kelly Tank

Aspens and pines on the Arizona Trail Passage 34

An Arizona “alpine start”-the pre-dawn trailhead call for a mountain hike- can be timed by the stars. Basically, if Orion has faded into the dawn, it’s already too late.

Hip-high ferns near Forest Road 418

The iconic winter constellation with its prominent three-star belt arcs over the night sky from December to late April.

Storm builds over the White Horse Hills

It then disappears for a few months before making its summer debut in the early morning hours of August. Visible low on the eastern horizon around 4 a.m., Orion the Hunter signals the hour Phoenix area day hikers must leave the Valley to beat high country monsoon storms. 

When thunder roars, go indoors.

There are three things to know about summer hiking on Arizona’s mountain trails. First, temperatures will be cooler, but fickle. Second, mountains make their own weather, often churning out thunder, lightning, high winds, and rain after 11 a.m. And finally, being caught on a mountain or in the open during a monsoon storm is a potentially deadly situation.  That’s why it’s smart to follow The Hunter’s lead and head out super early to be off peaks and into safety before noon.

Silverstem lupine bloom June - October

Per the National Weather Service, “When thunder roars, go indoors.” For more lightning safety education, visit:  https://www.weather.gov/safety/lightning.

In addition to staying alive, early morning hiking has many benefits.  

Alpenglow on the Walker Lake cinder cone

The crack of dawn is the best time to observe wildlife and witness the syrupy amber “alpenglow” the sun paints on mountain slopes.

Kendrick Peak viewed from the Arizona Trail

The San Francisco Peaks Passage 34 of the Arizona National Scenic Trail is one worth setting the alarm to experience.  The Flagstaff area favorite runs for 35.3 miles between the Weatherford Trailhead at the south edge of the peaks to Babbitt Ranch in Coconino National Forest.

Monsoon clouds over the Arizona Trail

Along its mostly easy course, the trail cuts through aspen glens, dense coniferous forests, meadows, and juniper-studded rangelands.  The entire passage is hemmed in by mounds and craters of the San Francisco Volcanic Field, an 1,800 square mile swath of the Colorado Plateau with over 600 volcanic features.

A hiker photographs a scenic moment on the AZT

Arizona Trail gate at FR 514

Passage 34 rounds the slopes of 12,633-foot San Francisco Mountain ( the Humphreys Peak Trail goes to its summit), a dormant stratovolcano, and heads north through a maze of cinder cones and lava flows.  For a volcano-centric day hike, the segment of the passage that runs between Forest Roads 418 and 514 is a beauty.

The 6.8-mile out-and-back trek begins in a thicket of aspens on the northwest edge of San Francisco Mountain.  An understory of ferns, lupines, and tall grasses lap at the legs as hikers take on the gentle inclines. Within a half-mile, the trail parallels the Walker Lake cinder cone.

San Francisco Mountain viewed from AZ Trail

A hikeable road leads to the summit of Saddle Mountain

Standing at over 8,400 feet, its pine-fleeced crater contains a shallow pond. The swampy pool is not visible from the trail, but a nearby dirt road leads to its innards. To the east, the weathered peaks of the White Horse Hills rise over Deadman Wash.

Western yarrow blooms June - September

The mostly treeless, isolated volcanic landforms top out at 9,065 feet with a choppy fringe of Ponderosa pines huddled at their bases. 

Elk leave "antler rub" scars on aspen trees

As this hike approaches its turnaround point at Forest Road 514, the tree cover thins out opening views of  10,418-foot Kendrick Peak to the west and 8,864-foot Saddle Mountain straight ahead. Both have trails to their summits. At hike’s end across from Kelly Tank, an Arizona Trail gate  marks the route’s transition into more arid terrain where junipers, brush and wide-open spaces commandeer the viewscape. Still, the mountain-borne lightning storms that happen on a near daily basis in summer are something to monitor and avoid.  An alpine start helps.

Gathering storm over the White Horse Hills

LENGTH: 6.8 miles out-and-back

RATING: easy

ELEVATION: 8,300 – 7,721 feet

GETTING THERE:

SOUTH ACCESS: FOREST ROAD 418 TRAILHEAD:

From Flagstaff, go 19.5 miles north on U.S.180 to the northern entrance  for FR151 (Hart Prairie Road) just past milepost 235.  Turn right and continue 1.6 miles to FR418. 

Continue 1.1 miles on FR418 to a dirt parking apron on the right. Hike begins on the north side of the road. Forest roads are maintained dirt suitable for most vehicles.

NORTH ACCESS: KELLY TANK TRAILHEAD:

From Flagstaff, go 21 miles north on U.S. 180 to Forest Road 514 (Kendrick Park Road) at milepost 236.6. Turn right and continue to just past the 3-mile marker at Kelly Tank and park in the dirt lot on the right at the beginning of Forest Road 9006R. This is directly across from an Arizona Trail gate.

Forest roads are maintained dirt suitable for most vehicles.

INFO & MAPS:

https://aztrail.org/explore/passages/passage-34-san-francisco-peaks/

Arizona National Scenic Trail Mormon Lake Passage 29

ARIZONA NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL MORMON LAKE PASSAGE 29

Old growth pine, spruce and fir trees on the AZT

The Mormon Mountain Passage 29 of the Arizona National Scenic Trail slides through the of forests and high plains of Anderson Mesa and the Plateau Lake region of Northern Arizona.

Pollinators alight on sunflowers near Double Springs

At 14.8 miles in length, it’s one of the shortest segments of the 800+-mile route that runs from the Mexico border to Utah and is also one of the most accessible.

Cliffs and clouds on Passage 29 of the AZT

The segment heads north from the Gooseberry Springs trailhead off Lake Mary Road and crosses paths with several campgrounds, water sources and the busy recreation hub around Mormon Lake Lodge to its terminus at Mayflower Spring north of the Dairy Springs Campground.

Navajo Spring site on the Arizona Trail near Mormon Lake

While the trail maintains its backcountry ambience in Coconino National Forest, it never wanders too far from civilization. That’s why this shady slice of the long-distance route located roughly 20 miles south of Flagstaff is a perfect place for day hikers or trail novices to step out with confidence and comfort. Multiple access points and make dropping in and out of the passage or creating abbreviated day hikes a cinch.

A day hike option that starts near the segment’s north end at the Mormon Mountain trailhead doubles down on the shade for a cool summertime escape.

Double Springs trailhead

  Located near the Dairy Springs Campground on the west shore of Mormon Lake, the trailhead is mainly used for the Mormon Mountain Trail, a 6-mile roundtrip hike to the 8,449-foot summit of the eponymous volcanic peak. From the trailhead, it’s a 0.4-mile walk to the Arizona Trail junction where this trip heads left (south). Smothered in old growth mix-conifer woodlands, mountain breezes whip up a cocktail of earthy-pine fragrance in the air. The fir-spruce deep woods that dominate the first mile gradually give way to a Ponderosa pines and Gamble oaks centric biozone.  Where a short stretch of alligator junipers takes over on a sunny ridge, the tree cover gives up fleeting peeks at the lake.

Wildflower meadow near Navajo Spring

After crossing Forest Road 240, the trail enters Double Springs Campground and follow a road a short distance to the Lakeview Trail on the right. The Arizona Trail follows Lakeview for a mile to a junction at the 3-mile point. For a 6-miler, this makes for a good turnaround point.

Part of Passage 29 follows the Lakeview Trail

Mormon Mountain Trailhead in Coconino NF

However, the Lakeview Trail continues for another mile on a sketchy path up to a scenic lookout spot. It’s an optional detour, but forest clearing operations make it somewhat difficult to follow. The Arizona Trail continues south through meadows and aspen glens.

Trail junction at the 3-mile point

At the 6-mile point just beyond Forest Road 90N, the trail meets the Navajo Spring site. A canopy of feathery aspens and acres of wildflowers foil the intrusion of an arc of rectangular concrete troughs.  Once used to water livestock, the decaying array sits in a sunny clearing where filtered light softens its manufactured edges.  

AZT rollovers simplify passing through gates

Farther down a shallow canyon, the Navajo Spring Trail spins off to the left and continues for just over a mile to Mormon Lake Lodge. This makes for another car shuttle or turnaround point option.

Part of the route follows an old railroad bed

For a longer trek, the trail continues south following parts of an old railroad bed before concluding at the Gooseberry Springs trailhead.

The trail is shady and pine-fresh!

 For hikers who still want more, lots of dispersed camp sites anchor the beginning of the trail’s 29.4-mile Happy Jack Passage 28 that explores the Mogollon Rim.

Gooseberry Springs trailhead

ARIZONA TRAIL IN A DAY:

With this primer completed, you might want to participate in the 6^th annual Arizona Trail in a Day event happening on October 17, 2023. The event rallies hikers all across the state to complete the entire trail (in coordinated segments) in 24 hours while raising awareness and funds for trail construction, maintenance and educational programs. Cool T-shirts, too! REGISTER HERE: https://aztrail.org/events/aztinaday-2023/

LENGTH:

From the Mormon Mountain Trailhead:

To Lakeview Trail Split: 3 miles one way

To Navajo Spring: 6 miles one way

To Gooseberry Springs Trailhead: 14 miles one way

RATING:  moderate

ELEVATION: 7,150 -7,484 feet (overall)

Mormon Mountain Trailhead (Dairy Springs Campground): 7,287

Double Springs Campground: 7,146 feet

Lakeview Trail junction: 7,383 feet

Wallace Spring: 7,333 feet

Navajo Spring junction 7,467 feet

Gooseberry Springs Trailhead: 7,484

 

GETTING THERE:

MORMON MOUNTAIN TRAILHEAD (as described here):

From Flagstaff, go 20 miles south on Lake Mary Road (Forest Road 3) and turn left on Mormon Lake Road (Forest Road 90) past milepost 323. Continue 3.6 miles to Montezuma Road and the turn off for Dairy Springs Campground, turn right and go 0.3 mile to the trailhead. Roads are paved and maintained dirt suitable for all vehicles.

DOUBLE SPRINGS CAMPGROUND:

From Flagstaff, go 20 miles south on Lake Mary Road (Forest Road 3)  to Mormon Lake Road (Forest Road 90) past milepost 323 on the right. Follow Mormon Lake Road 5 miles to  the Double Springs Campground turnoff and continue 0.2-mile to the trailhead. Roads are paved and maintained dirt suitable for all vehicles.

NAVAJO SPRING TRAILHEAD:

From Flagstaff, 20 miles south on Lake Mary Road (Forest Road 3) and turn left on Mormon Lake Road (Forest Road 90) past milepost 323. Continue 7 miles to Mormon Lake Lodge. Park in the dirt lot behind the reservation office and horse corral. Hike begins at the Environmental Education Center across the road. Roads are 100% paved.

GOOSEBERRY SPRINGS TRAILHEAD:

From Flagstaff, go 32 miles south on Lake Mary Road (County Road 3) to Forest Road 92. This is past mile post 313 on the left and signed for Gooseberry Springs. Continue a short distance to the trailhead on the right. Roads are paved and maintained dirt suitable for all vehicles.

INFO & MAPS:

Coconino National Forest

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/coconino/recarea/?recid=55006

Arizona Trail Association

https://aztrail.org/explore/passages/passage-29-mormon-lake/