by Blake Herzog
The Arizona National Scenic Trail is an 800-mile path spanning our state from north to south, cutting through high plains, forests, mountains, deserts and canyons, slicing through the Grand Canyon itself.
The nonmotorized trail also links wildlife habitats and human communities, establishing or reinforcing ties along the way. Hikers, runners, bikers and equestrians can trek its entire length or ramble along a few miles on a weekend afternoon.
Better known as the Arizona Trail, it connects deserts with their mountain “sky islands,” threads across the Superstition Mountains and crawls over the Mogollon Rim before reaching the San Francisco Peaks outside Flagstaff on the way to the canyon and through the sagebrush-strewn plateau north to the Utah border.
It’s an invitation to adventure in every kind of landscape the state has to offer. The trail combines existing trails with connecting segments that create a continuous, non-vehicular route.
It’s one of the premiere long-distance trails in the U.S., and a whole culture has sprung up around it as “finishers” register their feats with the Arizona Trail Foundation, whether it took them 10 days or 10 years to complete all 800 miles.
A network of volunteers or “stewards” maintain the path through all weather patterns and occasional reroutes.
The trail slices through eastern Pinal County from the Superstition Mountains down through Oracle Ridge, letting users hike through mountains and canyons and carefully ford the Gila River (which does often have water there).
It is divided into “passages” for mapping and organizational purposes, and Pinal has seven diverse sections of single- and double-track trail to see the county’s past, present and future. From north to south they are:
Reavis Canyon, 17.8 miles — Begins at the Rogers Trough Trailhead and leads through saguaro-studded hills, then through the welcoming Reavis and Whitford canyons worn through the mountains by Queen Creek.
Alamo Canyon, 11.6 miles — Starts at the Picketpost Trailhead by the mountain of the same name, traversing areas on the eastern edge of last year’s Telegraph wildfire.
Gila River Canyons, 25.7 miles — This path takes you into the canyons along spectacular ridgelines and horizons. Then it follows the river itself, with its highly seasonal and variable flows.
Tortilla Mountains, 27.8 miles — This remote stretch crosses BLM wilderness with iconic desert plant and wildlife species along with vistas of the Spring Mountains.
Black Hills, 27.7 miles — Another lengthy stretch crosses numerous washes and passes remnants of earlier efforts to civilize this wildly open space, such as abandoned wells, windmills and cattle track.
Oracle — 8.6 miles — Here you see Oracle State Park, a wildlife refuge that offers self-guided tours of the historic Kannally Ranch House and is an International Dark Sky Park.
Oracle Ridge, 15.3 miles — The northernmost quarter of this segment is in Pinal County, entering the Santa Catalina mountain range. If you keep going you’ll reach Mount Lemmon.
MORE INFORMATION
Some of these segments are difficult to reach and hike, and all require more research before attempting. Find information at www.aztrail.org.
