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Arizona trails · Little Blue

Little Blue

A 9.6-mile out-and-back in Arizona, with 1,633 ft of climbing. Reaches Bear Valley Cabin Spring and other lake/spring/summit destinations. Managed by U.S. Forest Service.

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Length
9.6 mi
Elevation gain
1,633 ft
Difficulty
Expert
Max grade
55%
Steepest mile
+594 ft
Tread at ≥10% grade
1.5 mi
Shape
out-and-back
Managed by
U.S. Forest Service

Elevation profile

6,050 – 7,684 ft123456789

The climbing is spread fairly evenly along the route. It gives back about 897 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.

3-D terrain

3-D terrain view of Little Blue

USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5

Reaches

Heads up

Stream ford: expect at least one unbridged crossing.

Getting there

Little Blue access — parking nearby. About 3 h 09 min drive (102 mi, 11 of them unpaved) from Safford. 33.43461, -109.05719 · directions

Daylight at the trailhead

On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 5:54 a.m., the sun rises at 6:19 a.m. and sets at 5:44 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:09 p.m. (MST) — 11 h 24 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 19.2-mile round trip takes roughly 8 h 45 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 3:05 p.m. — 2 h 39 min before sunset.

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