Grand Canyon’s Interior Peaks
Two miles down the Bright Angel Trail, it’s possible to trade the engineered switchbacks, drinking fountains, directional signs and emergency phones for crumbling slopes, fallen trees, loose rocks, thick brush, angry cactuses and poor footing for an another adventure – climbing The Battleship, a jutting rust-red ridge that forms one of the Grand Canyon’s interior summits. Bushwhacking to a ridge anchoring The Battleship to South Rim’s Mohave Point consumes an hour. At the saddle, guzzle water and study the 500-foot bulk of The Battleship. Cairns mark the hint of trail around the butte’s east flank. The trail leads to the base of a seemingly insurmountable cliff. But on closer inspection, a tall cairn on a ledge signals a route through a labyrinth of cracks and ledges. It’s a challenging scramble up a series of cracks, which run parallel to the cliff face; each is a void created where a block of rock leans away from the butte. At the top, a 360-degree view is nearly overwhelming – people perched on the rim at Maricopa Powell Points, hikers trudging toward Indian Garden Campground and Kolb Studio.
Trail Guide
Length: 7 miles
Elevation: 8,100 feet (with a 2,000 feet gain that varies with trail)
Difficulty: Strenuous
Directions: From Flagstaff, drive west on Interstate 40 for 30 miles to State Route 64 at Williams. Turn north (right) on State 64 and drive 58 miles to the Grand Canyon South Entrance. The route begins at the South Rim of Grand Canyon on the Bright Angel Trail.
Information: The Battleship route is sometimes closed to hikers when California condors nest in adjacent canyons. For details and current regulations, contact Grand Canyon National Park, 928-638-7888; www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm.
Veit Springs Trail
Veit Springs Trail, an easy 1.5-mile walk, makes a great hike for families and showcases the high country’s most colorful season. The trail follows an old jeep road uphill into the Lamar Haines Memorial Wildlife Area, a small preserve covering 160 acres at 8,600 feet elevation. Elk and mule deer are plentiful in the early morning, and squirrels and birds can be found midday. The route also may be used for mountain bikes and cross-country skiing. The road soon narrows to a well-marked path and heads downhill to a fork at .2 of a mile. The route makes a loop, where hikers should follow the left trail. The mass of lava rock testifies to the San Francisco Peaks’ volcanic origins. Following the first frost, trailside ferns will weave a gaudy mat of variegated dark green and gold colors under the Douglas fir and ponderosa pine trees. The trail rambles gently in and out of small arroyos for three-quarters of a mile to where a small spur trail leads left about 100 feet to Ludwig Veit’s cabin. Just beyond the house, an arrow carved into an aspen tree points to Veit’s name carved into a large boulder. Two small rock buildings house the springs that once attracted Veit. In spite of all the moisture that falls on the peaks, there are surprisingly few springs. The porous ground allows moisture to sink into underground rivers. Past the springs, the spur trail leads left along the basalt cliff, where a small seep trickles out of the ground and a cave cuts into the rock. To the left of the cave opening, look for three red handprints, pictographs from early Indians, and high on the rock face to the right, you’ll see another pictograph of two human figures, one with horns. Between the figures is a long pole with three dangling zigzags. Archaeologists estimate the figures are more than 1,000 years old and, like all pictographs and petroglyphs, their meaning remains mysterious.
Trail Guide
Length: 1.5 miles round-trip
Elevation: 8,600 feet (no gain)
Difficulty: Easy
Directions: From Flagstaff, drive for 7 miles on U.S. Route 180 to Forest Road 516 (paved Snowbowl Road) and turn right. Travel 4.5 miles and watch for a small parking area on the right side. The information sign is just inside the fence; Veit Springs Trail veers to the right immediately past the sign.
Information: Arizona Game and Fish Department, 928-774-5045; www.azgfd.gov.
Red Mountain Trail
The Red Mountain Trail has a certain star quality. The trail runs along a cinder cone that looks as though a demented giant grabbed a butcher knife and hacked off its eastern flank, leaving its innards to form a spectacular amphitheater. The cutaway cliffs blush red-orange in the morning sun. The 2.5-mile-round-trip stroll through a piñon-juniper-ponderosa forest along the old road that the Youth Conservation Corp turned into a trail in 1980. In summer, trail grass the color of an Anaheim green chile lines the path. After three-quarters of a mile, the trail drops down into Hull Wash with easy walking on hard sand. Ahead, Red Mountain’s walls are sliced, diced and eroded into a jumble of ledges and vertical gullies reminiscent of Bryce Canyon National Park. The trail narrows as the wash cuts between two black cinder walls. Occasionally, shiny black rocks cover the sandy wash bottom – an example of lapilli, glassy volcanic fragments measuring from .1 to 2.5 inches in diameter. Suddenly the trail enters The Gateway, a gap between two hulking basalt boulders that guard the entrance to the royal showroom. A small stone dam, built years ago to hold water for cattle, blocks the trail. It has backfilled with silt, but the Forest Service erected an eight-step ladder to climb over the dam.
Trail Guide
Length: 2.5 miles round-trip
Elevation: 6,300 to 6,800 feet
Difficulty: Easy but requires climbing a short ladder
Directions: From Route 66 in downtown Flagstaff, drive north on Humphreys Street, then north on U.S. Route 180 for 30 miles to Milepost 247. Turn left (west) and follow the dirt road (passable by car) for .3 of a mile to the trailhead.
Travel Advisory: April through October are the best months to make the hike. Summer monsoon season often brings afternoon rains. Always carry plenty of water, at least 1 gallon per day per person.
Information: Coconino National Forest, 928-527-3600; www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino.
White House Ruins, Canyon de Chelly
This steep, 2.5-mile round-trip trail descends 600 feet into Canyon de Chelly to the ancient White House Ruins. Begin the descent along the slippery sandstone. After a few feet of this slick, shallow trail, you’ll come to the steeper trail into the canyon. Here and there, benches perched along the narrow curves offer a moment’s respite from the moderately strenuous walk. Stunted junipers twist out of the rock. Prickly pear, snakeweed, sumac, sagebrush and narrow-leaf yucca thicken as you approach the canyon bottom. Off to the left, a fence protects a hogan surrounded with signs warning against unwanted photographs. The sandy path curves forward, hemmed in with thick brush, where pieces of white fleece from passing sheep dangle in the branches.
Trail Guide
Length: 2.5 miles, one-way
Elevation: 6,000 feet to 5,400 feet
Difficulty: Moderate to strenuous
Directions: From Flagstaff, take Interstate 40 east to U.S. Route 191. Turn left (north) onto U.S. 191 and drive approximately 80 miles to Chinle. Turn right onto Indian Route 7 and drive 2 miles to the Canyon de Chelly Monument visitors center. Turn right and follow the South Rim Drive 5.9 miles to the White House Overlook.
Travel Advisory: Spring and fall are the best seasons to hike the trail. Carry plenty of water.
Information: Canyon de Chelly National Monument, 928-674-5500; www.nps.gov/cach.
Kaibab Plateau
When Dale Shewalter hiked around the state of Arizona in the early 1980s, he wondered about the possibility of connecting all the diverse landscapes and one-of-a-kind historic areas in the state into a one-trail experience. That thought led to the creation of the Arizona Trail, which starts at the top of the state on the Arizona Strip and runs to its southern border at Coronado National Memorial. This hike gives a one-and-a-half-mile glimpse of the state-long trail that starts at an easy access off U.S. Route 89A. This brief portion travels on a relatively level grade through ponderosa “parks” – ponderosa pines scattered across grassy fields crossed by forest roads to Big Ridge tank. The old stock tank, a relic from the cowboy days, gets its name from a rise in the plateau called Big Ridge, just east of the trail. The hike starts on an easy climb up a sun-drenched hillside then relaxes atop the rise. At about mile 0.5, the trail makes a rocky drop onto a logging road and follows the road as it jogs east and continues southward. Arizona Trail signposts direct the way off the road, through more meadows, across another road, and into a final meadow next to Big Ridge tank, which draws a gathering of wildflowers. Big Ridge tank makes an excellent spot for a picnic. The surrounding forest and a field of waist-high grass and winged buckwheat have an inviting feel. Many visitors feel compelled to linger at the location, but you won’t have to end your hike here. The Arizona Trail proceeds southward across the Arizona Strip for another 34 miles, through more ponderosa parks, large meadows and aspen forests, to Grand Canyon National Park.
Trail Guide
Length: 1.5 miles.
Elevation: 7,000 feet
Difficulty: Easy.
Directions: From Flagstaff, take U.S. Route 89 north 102 miles to U.S. Route 89A at Bitter Springs. Follow U.S. 89A for 52 miles to the trailhead, which is on the south side of the highway, 3 miles east of Jacob Lake.
Travel Advisory: Always carry plenty of water, at least 1 gallon per day per person. Hike this trail in the late spring, summer and early fall months. Winterlike snowstorms may occur as early as September and as late as May with a corresponding drop in temperature.
Information: Kaibab National Forest, 928-643-7395; www.fs.fed.us/r3/kai/recreation/trails/index.shtml; Arizona Trail Association, 602-252-4794; www.aztrail.org/.
Walnut Canyon
Why did the Sinagua Indians living in the remote narrows of Walnut Canyon in the 14th century vanish? War? Famine? Disease? As you wander through their neighborhood some six centuries after they abandoned it, you may come up with your own theory: What if the Sinagua never really left? Senses heighten with each step down the 185-foot stairway the Civilian Conservation Corps built in 1941 along Walnut Canyon National Monument’s Island Trail. Across the canyon, built into rock frozen in mid-ooze, an inaccessible ruin basks in first light. Continue into the canyon that Woodrow Wilson saved from looters by designating it a national monument in 1915, following the trail along light limestone dwellings. Everywhere, buxom cliff rose hangs from the rock, like a feathery boa, interspersed with verdant stems of Mormon tea, mustard weed, fernbush, wolfberry, Fremont barberry, hoptree and maroon-tipped prickly pear, all lining the pathway like an ancient strip mall, complete with apothecary, produce stand and hardware store. Complete the loop to Third Fort and head back up the stairs, and then finish by exploring the short, flat length of the Rim Trail, where the Sinagua people farmed. Agaves dangle with ripe fruit along the path, dislodged nuts from piñon trees pepper the ground, ponderosas bleed sap while walnut leaves drift to the creek bed below.
Trail Guide
Length: 1.6 miles (Island and Rim Trails combined)
Elevation: 6,690 to 6,900 feet
Difficulty: Easy to strenuous
Directions: From Flagstaff, take Interstate 40 7.5 miles east of Flagstaff to Exit 204. Take Walnut Canyon Road south for 3 miles to the canyon’s rim.
Travel Advisory: Bring plenty of water and wear sunscreen. The paved Island Trail begins and ends with a steep, 185-foot stairway.
Information: Walnut Canyon National Monument, 928-526-3367; www.nps.gov/waca/index.htm.
Keyhole Sink
Gray-black basalt cliffs surrounding three sides of Keyhole Sink guard a small forest glade in the Kaibab National Forest, west of Flagstaff. From the Oak Hill Snow Play Area parking lot, 4 miles west of the tiny town of Parks, cross Historic Route 66 to the Keyhole Sink trailhead. The trail, a 2-mile round trip, is rated as easy. Rocky in spots, it gently slopes down into a small box canyon, where a thousand years ago, ancient Indians carved petroglyphs into the volcanic canyon walls. At an elevation of 7,000 feet, the route makes a cool summer hike, and blue triangle markers nailed to trees guide cross-country skiers along the trail in the winter. The trail gradually descends to the bottom of a small draw covered with wild rosebushes and irises. Over thousands of years, the erosion of a lava flow created this keyhole-shaped canyon. The trail ends at a small pond at the base of the darkest basalt cliffs that stand 30 to 40 feet high. The size of the water hole depends on precipitation and can range from bone-dry to about 4 feet deep.
Trail Guide
Length: 2 miles, round-trip
Elevation: 7,000 feet
Difficulty: Easy
Directions: From Flagstaff, travel west on Interstate 40 to Exit 178, Parks Road. Leaving I-40, drive north .4 mile on Parks Road to Historic Route 66 and turn left, heading west for 4.2 miles. A brown sign on the right marks the Oak Hill Snow Play Area; the parking lot is on the left just past the sign. The trailhead starts across the highway from the parking lot.
Information: Kaibab National Forest, Williams Ranger District, 928-635-5600; www.fs.fed.us/r3/kai/recreation/trails.
Mormon Lake Trail
Once used to haul logs in the 1920s, the railroad grade today carries hikers, equestrians and an elk herd through easy flatlands, ideal for summer family outings and bike rides at 7,100 feet elevation. The 6 miles of abandoned grade strewn with rotting ties is part of the 790-mile Arizona Trail that runs north to south bisecting the state. It’s possible to begin a day hike where the signed trail crosses a dirt road, Forest Road 132, about .3 mile west of paved Forest Road 90 and 6 miles north of the town of Mormon Lake. South of FR 132, the grade runs for about a half-mile, skirting the base of 8,456-foot Mormon Mountain before petering out where a logging camp once stood. The Arizona Trail continues southward. Passing through a section posted as the Pine Grove Quiet Area with motor-vehicle restrictions, the grade curves gently around Pine Grove Hill through prime elk habitat. About a mile from the FR 132 trailhead, the grade forks to create a short siding. If you continue north on the trail for a couple of miles, you’ll reach Going Pine Grove Campground, a private area that offers sites and water for a fee.
Trail Guide
Length: 6 miles, round-trip
Elevation: 7,100 feet
Difficulty: Easy
Directions: From Flagstaff, drive 21 miles southeast on Lake Mary Road (Forest Highway 3) to Forest Road 90. Turn right (west) and travel less than 2 miles to Forest Road 132. Turn right (northwest) on FR 132, a dirt road, and drive .3 mile to the Arizona Trail-signed railroad grade crossing.
Travel Advisory: May through October are the best months to hike this trail. Other trail uses include mountain biking and horseback riding.
Information: Coconino National Forest, Mormon Lake Ranger District, 928-774-1147
Strawberry Crater
Peaceful Strawberry Crater, located in the wilderness just north of Flagstaff in the San Francisco Volcanic Field, doesn’t let on right away about its tumultuous past. Serene and stark, the crater and its terrain lie dark and silent. Only the telltale crunch of cinders under foot gives any hint of the devastation from its volcanic blast. Grayed juniper limbs strewn across the black cinder landscape set a moody scene for this mile-and-a-half-loop hike. The Forest Service has lined the route between the parking area and loop junction loosely with the tree limbs to keep hikers on the path. The right fork at the junction heads directly to Strawberry Crater and starts a comfortable climb across the cinder cone’s south face. Midway across, the trail passes by the tail end of the lava flow that streamed from the cone in medieval times. The wall of long and brittle rock has the look of a coral reef. If hikers examine the ruddy lava, they can see scrape marks that formed as it oozed through cracks in the cooler surface. They may also notice how the volcano’s boiling rock cooled into solid bubbles. After a couple of switchbacks up to a saddle, the path parts from the lava flow and focuses on other examples of volcanism in the San Francisco Lava Field. On the descent down the east face, a pretty panorama shows how the northern edge of the lava field’s cinder-coned landscape stops abruptly at the terra cotta-colored Painted Desert. A short zigzag brings hikers to the base of Strawberry Crater, where the trail levels off, showing contours around the cone leading to more volcanic vistas to the north. When Humphreys Peak, located in the center of the lava field, comes into view, the trail drops back onto the floor of cinders to close the loop and head back to the trailhead.
Trail Guide
Length: 2-mile loop
Elevation: 5,500 to 5,900 feet
Difficulty: Moderate
Directions: From Flagstaff, take U.S. Route 89 about 15 miles north to Forest Road 546 (just past Milepost 434), and turn east (right); drive 3.5 miles to a fork and continue straight onto Forest Road 779; drive about 2 miles to the parking area.
Travel Advisory: This trail is located in the Strawberry Crater Wilderness, where no mechanized vehicles, including mountain bikes, are allowed.
Information: Coconino National Forest, Peaks Ranger District, 928-526-0866; www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino.
Nankoweap Trail
The Nankoweap Trail from the Kaibab Plateau into the Grand Canyon, described by geologist Charles Walcott as “a perfectly frightful trail,” has never shaken loose from its longtime reputation as a challenging route. In 1881, Walcott and Maj. John Wesley Powell developed a treacherous path along an Indian trail so Walcott could get a better look at the Canyon’s rock layers. The Nankoweap’s below-the-Rim infamy is well earned. The 4 miles of the trail above the Canyon traverse the Kaibab National Forest between House Rock Valley and the North Rim, presenting a hike that retains a bit of color, but mostly in cliffs and crags, rather than crime and crazy ideas. Nankoweap Trail 57 crosses a segment of the Saddle Mountain Wilderness and ends as it meets a forest road and a second trailhead. This little-used route will appeal to well-conditioned hikers who like variety and views. Eventually, the trail switches gears and makes a steep climb up a knob. The trail then plunges down a north-facing cliff in an unforgiving way on a testy tread of sand, cobbles and pinecones in the Coconino sandstone formation, into the ruddy Hermit shale formation where it continues to drop, but at a less manic pitch, to an overlook at the edge of the Grand Canyon. Hikers going into the Canyon proceed straight ahead about 50 feet to where the trail begins its 11-mile hair-raising descent to the Colorado River. To continue on Trail 57, turn left at a sign pointing toward “Road 445G” and head into the wilderness. The Nankoweap Trail ends at Forest Road 445. Hikers who don’t want to make the hard hike back up the plateau should plan to shuttle using two vehicles. Hikers in shape for the challenge can return the way they came for an instant replay of variety and views on the North Rim’s most colorful of trails.
Trail Guide
Length: 4 miles, one-way
Elevation: 6,800 to 7,640 feet
Difficulty: Strenuous
Directions: To reach Forest Road 610 Trailhead from Jacob Lake, drive 26.5 miles south on State Route 67 (just beyond DeMotte Park Campground entrance), and turn east onto Forest Road 611; after about 1.4 miles turn south onto FR 610 and go 12.3 miles to the end of the road at the trailhead. To reach Forest Road 445 Trailhead from Jacob Lake, drive about 20 miles east on U.S. Route 89A and turn south (right) onto Forest Road 8910 (House Rock Valley Road), which becomes FR 445; drive about 27 miles to the trailhead and stay on the right fork of the road.
Information: Kaibab National Forest, North Kaibab Ranger District, 928-643-7395; www.fs.fed.us/r3/kai.
Kendrick Mountain
Several trails lead to Mount Kendrick’s summit, but the 3.5-mile Kendrick Mountain Trail is short, sunny, easy and offers the best vistas. The trail begins at a parking lot at the end of Forest Road 190. At the summit, after an hour’s climb on a well-marked trail, you may meet a Forest Service fire lookout at the steel tower. He stands watch during the fire-danger months of summer, scanning the landscape for traces of smoke. From the tower, look 40 miles south to Bill Williams Mountain across vast the pine-filled countryside. To the east, view the lava slopes of Humphreys Peak, just 10 miles away. Summer and fall are best for climbing Kendrick, but beware of summer lightning storms. Plan for three hours going up and two hours back down.
Trail Guide
Length: 3.5 miles, one-way
Elevation: 7,700 to 10,600 feet
Difficulty: Moderate
Directions: From Flagstaff, follow U.S. Route 180 to Forest Road 245, and turn left. Head west for 3 miles to a junction with Forest Road 171. Turn right, driving north, then west for 2.5 miles to Forest Road 190. Follow FR 190 about 1 mile to the trailhead.
Information: Kaibab National Forest, Williams Ranger District, 928-635-5600; www.fs.fed.us/r3/kai.
Sandys Canyon
Sandys Canyon Trail is a 3-mile round-trip hike that follows level ground for the first half-mile, passing big yellow-bellied ponderosa pine trees with spiraled lightning scars. The trail skirts a massive tumble of car-sized basalt boulders, then swings around the head of Sandy’s Canyon and steps down into it, away from the thrum of the vehicles on the road. At the bottom, the trail enters Walnut Creek. Walnut Canyon National Monument lies a few miles downstream. In a mile and a half, the Sandys Canyon Trail officially ends where it meets the Arizona Trail, the 790-mile route that will eventually stitch the state together from south to north. The Arizona Trail drops in from Marshall Lake along peach-colored sandstone cliffs. Ahead is a sign that indicates 1.1 miles to Fisher Point. To reach Fisher Point, follow the Arizona Trail as it switchbacks up the side canyon and out onto the point, which offers splendid views back down the cliff into Walnut Canyon.
Trail Guide
Length: 1 mile, one-way
Elevation: 6,950 feet
Difficulty: Easy
Directions: Sandys Canyon Trail begins at Canyon Vista Campground off Lake Mary Road (Forest Highway 3). Turn into the campground, go past it and park in the designated day-use lot.
Information: Coconino National Forest, Mormon Lake Ranger District, 928-774-1147; www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino.
Inner Basin Trail
Few hiking trails offer as much variety as the Inner Basin Trail near Flagstaff. Hikers, mountain bikers, cross-country skiers, amateur geologists, regional history buffs and flora-and fauna-watchers all flock to this very popular 2- to 4-mile trail. The length of a hike on the Inner Basin Trail depends on how far past the basin one ventures. Although it's somewhat steep, the ascent feels only moderately strenuous if you pace yourself. The trail starts in Lockett Meadow at the end of an unpaved road. Following a primitive rock-strewn roadbed – an ankle-twister for the unwary – the path climbs 1,100 feet through a ponderosa pine and aspen forest. After 1.5 miles, the Inner Basin Trail comes to a junction at Jack Smith Spring, where water flows from an untreated tap. Continuing past Jack Smith Spring for another half-mile, the trail enters the Inner Basin.
Trail Guide
Length: 2-4 miles, one way
Elevation: 8,800 to 9,900 feet
Difficulty: Moderate
Directions: From Flagstaff, drive north on U.S. Route 89 for 12.5 miles to Forest Road 552, .8 of a mile past the turnoff to Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. Turn left (west) onto FR 552 and continue for approximately 1 mile to the Lockett Meadow sign. Turn right (north), and drive 3 miles to the trailhead.
Warning: The dirt road to Lockett Meadow is narrow and winding. A high-clearance vehicle is recommended. Snowdrifts may block the road in early spring and late fall.
Information: Coconino National Forest, Peaks Ranger Station, 520-526-0866
North Canyon Trail
Descend into North Canyon on Trail 7, the East Rim Trail. Dropping very steeply into the canyon, the trail, though clearly marked, proves quite brushy. Portions of the upper trail offer glimpses of House Rock Valley and Marble Canyon, but it soon drops down into a mixed forest of aspen, ponderosa pine and bigtooth maple trees. After 1.5 miles, the East Rim Trail intersects Trail 4, the North Canyon Trail. From there the North Canyon Trail, which crisscrosses a perennial creek where native Apache trout lurk, runs east 5.5 miles to the lower trailhead in House Rock Valley. A westward turn goes 1.5 miles to North Canyon Spring. From this point, a round-trip hike to House Rock Valley is 11 miles; to North Canyon Spring, 3 miles. Take your pick. Keep in mind, though, that you've already dropped 1,000 feet in just 1.5 miles, and, descending to the valley, you lose another 1,500 feet. So, unless you've shuttled a car to the lower trailhead, the hike back up to the rim will be long and steep.
Trail Guide
Length: 5.5 miles, one-way
Elevation: 8,900 to 7,400 feet
Difficulty: Strenuous
Directions: To reach the upper trailhead, drive 26.5 miles on State Route 67 from the Kaibab Plateau Visitor Center at Jacob Lake to Forest Road 611. Turn left (east) and drive 3 miles to the trailhead. To reach the lower trailhead, drive 20 miles east on U.S. Route 89A from the North Kaibab Visitor Center to the House Rock Valley-Buffalo Ranch Road (Forest Road 8910) and turn right (south). Drive 17.5 miles to Forest Road 631 and turn right (west). Continue 1.3 miles to the trailhead. A high-clearance pickup or 4WD vehicle is recommended.
Travel Advisory: The best months to hike North Canyon in the Saddle Mountain Wilderness are May through mid-October. Early snowfall may block access to the upper trailhead.
Information: Kaibab National Forest, North Kaibab Ranger District, 928-643-7395; Kaibab Plateau Visitor Center, 928-634-7298.
SCENIC DRIVES
Flagstaff to Munds Park
Drive through this picture-postcard country to visit some of Arizona’s century old lakes, and end your day in the pretty community of Munds Park. Scattered campgrounds and picnic areas can be found along the sides of both Lower and Upper Lake Mary, which are named for a Flagstaff pioneer’s daughter. Both Lower and Upper Lake Mary hold low water levels, but Mormon Lake, a little farther south, holds the least amount, even during a wet year. Mormon Lake can sometimes be seen filled with a blanket of yellow daises instead of water. The winding excursion through this back road is passable with an ordinary car, but can be bouncy in places.
Tour Guide
Route: Begin just south of Flagstaff on Lake Mary Road off Interstate 17 at Exit 339. The road also is known as Forest Highway 3. Continue southeastward on the road, past Lower and Upper Lake Mary, for 28 miles, to West Side Mormon Lake Road, also known as Forest Road 90. Turn left for a southward drive around Mormon Lake. Leaving the southern end of Mormon Lake, backtrack northward on FR 90 to Forest Road 240 and turn left (west). Continue for 2 miles on FR 240 to Forest Road 132A and bear left toward Munds Park. (Going right takes to atop Mormon Mountain.) Continue on FR 240 for a mile and the start of a long, rough descent. At the bottom, go right at the fork. Less than a mile later, at a T-junction, a sign will read Munds Park.Turn left and follow the road for 5 miles into Munds Park and Interstate 17.
Additional Information: Coconino National Forest, Mormon Lake District, 928-774-1147; www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino. Mormon Lake Lodge, 928-354-2227; www.mormonlakelodge.com
North Rim of the Grand Canyon
If you’re wondering where Mother Nature spends most of her time, this is it. The Canyon, the fall weather, the quiet… there’s nothing quite like the North Rim and its 44-mile parkway. The scenic drive starts on State Route 67 at Jacob Lake and continues for 30 miles to the entrance of Grand Canyon National Park on the North Rim – the rim itself is 14 miles farther south. Named for Jacob Hamblin, a Mormon pioneer known as the “buckskin apostle,” Jacob Lake is the home of the oldest existing ranger station in the U.S. It’s worth a look. From Jacob Lake, the road heads south for a few miles through a gorgeous stand of ponderosa pines and quaking aspens. Moving on, the plateau gradually rises to a point where the Douglas and white firs take over. These dense, mixed-conifer forests are an ideal place to spot wildlife. Be on the lookout for mule deer, wild turkeys, Kaibab squirrels, and maybe even a California condor. Continuing south, the forest changes once again near Crane Lake. Here, Engelmann spruce and subalpine firs rule the roost. Perhaps even more enjoyable, though, are the large grassy meadows. If you haven’t taken any photos up to this point, get your camera ready – this is where the deer and the antelope play. Eventually, you’ll cross into the national park, which features dozens of hikes, picnic areas, the Grand Canyon Lodge and, of course, one of the seven natural wonders of the world. No wonder Mother Nature spends so much time here.
Editor’s note: Visitor facilities on the North Rim are open mid-May through mid-October, however, the North Rim remains open for day use through December 1, or until snows close the road.
Tour Guide
Route: Route: From Flagstaff, take Highway 89 north for 110 miles to State Route 89A (about 25 miles south of Page). Go west on State 89A for 55 miles to Jacob Lake. The scenic drive starts on State Route 67 at Jacob Lake and continues for 30 miles to the entrance of Grand Canyon National Park on the North Rim.
Additional Information: www.nps.gov/archive/grca/grandcanyon/north-rim/index.htm
Williams to Rain Tank Wash
The road heading north from Williams to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon offers an obvious destination for most travelers, but adventurers, who want to examine another feature of the region’s history, can take a side trip off the beaten track. A few miles south of Tusayan, sits Rain Tank Wash, where ancient pictographs decorate the limestone overhangs along the dry arroyo. A drive through the gentle, rolling terrain of the Kaibab National Forest’s Tusayan District offers wonder opportunities for wildlife viewing. Along the back roads, it’s easy to spot deer and elk, as well as a variety of birds and smaller mammals. In fact, the people that created the pictographs of Rain Tank Wash illustrated the much of the area’s wildlife. Viewing this ancient rock art requires a short quarter-mile to a half-mile hike, but it’s well worth the trip.
Tour Guide
Route: Route: From Williams, drive north on State Route 64 approximately 50 miles to Forest Road 347. Turn left (west) onto FR 347 and drive 6 miles to Forest Road 306. If you cross the Grand Canyon Railway tracks, you’ve gone about .25 miles too far. Turn right (north) onto FR 306 and continue 1.25 miles to Forest Road 2615. Turn left (west) onto FR 2615 and drive 5 miles until the road is blocked by large rock piles. (WARNING: This road becomes treacherous during and following rain.) Park here and hike a quarter-mile to a half-mile to the limestone overhangs on the left. Faint footpaths lead to the hunting shelter/pictograph area. Look closely to find the pictographs, they are not marked by any signage.
North Rim to Horse Spring Point
No matter which road you take, you can’t beat the views at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, and this route takes in some of Mother Nature’s best work. Beginning at the North Rim service station near the campground’s entrance, State Route 67 heads north to Forest Road 22, also called West Side Road, that runs along the west side of the Kaibab Plateau. The landscape is cloaked with a rich green carpet of pine and fir trees, intermittently interrupted with groves of white-trunked aspens. You’ll be tempted to turn down many different roads that branch off FR22 and lead to canyons, springs and hiking trails, but drive for approximately 20 miles to Forest Service Road 447, which drops 1,000 feet in elevation in the first 4 miles as it winds into Pine Hollow. The vegetation changes to shady oak trees and stately ponderosa pines. Continuing from there to Horse Spring Point, the roads wind down through pinon pines, junipers, high-desert scrub and tall grasses. The views include Mount Trumbull to the southwest, the Sawmill Mountains to the north, and the Vermilion Cliffs.
Tour Guide
Route: Begin on State Route 67 at the North Rim and drive north approximately 8 miles to Forest Road 22, also called West Side Road, and turn left (northwest). Drive on FR 22 for 20 miles to Forest Road 447 and turn left (west), driving approximately 5 miles to Forest Road 427 and turn right (north). Drive 3 miles to Forest Road 236 and turn left (west) and follow for approximately 10 miles to Horse Spring Point, where the road ends. Retrace the route back to State 67 and turn right to return to the North Rim.
