Arizona trails · Arizona Trail
Arizona Trail
A 52.3-mile section of the Arizona National Scenic Trail in Arizona, with 2,428 ft of climbing. The full trail runs about 800 miles. Reaches Crystal Spring and other lake/spring/viewpoint destinations. Managed by U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
The climbing is spread fairly evenly along the route. It gives back about 2,544 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Crystal Spring (spring)
- Big Ridge Tank (lake)
- Dog Lake (lake)
- Crystal Spring Tank (lake)
- Bridge Tank (lake)
- Crane Lake (lake)
- Buffalo Trick Tank (lake)
- Government Reservoir (lake)
- East Rim Viewpoint (viewpoint)
Getting there
Great Western Trail access. 36.71732, -112.18839 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:09 a.m., the sun rises at 6:35 a.m. and sets at 5:53 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:19 p.m. (MST) — 11 h 19 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 52.3-mile route works out to roughly 20 h 35 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.
Loop options
- PIGEON + Arizona Trail — 3.2 mi loop, 846 ft gain
- Arizona Trail + Arizona National Scenic Trail — 4.1 mi loop, 442 ft gain
- Arizona National Scenic Trail + Arizona Trail — 4.5 mi loop, 779 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Great Western Trail — 6.5 mi